Principal Windows Server Engineer

We are seeking a highly skilled Windows Server Engineer to join our Infrastructure Engineering team. This role is responsible for the engineering, administration, security, automation, and lifecycle management of enterprise Windows Server platforms supporting critical business applications and services. The position will collaborate with application owners, security teams, storage teams, virtualization teams, cloud engineers, and operations personnel to ensure a secure, reliable, and highly available server environment.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, configure, and maintain enterprise Windows Server environments (Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022); perform server builds, provisioning, decommissioning, and lifecycle management.
• Maintain server standards, hardening guidelines, and operational procedures; support physical, virtual, and cloud‑based Windows infrastructure.
• Plan, schedule, and execute operating system patching; coordinate maintenance windows; remediate security vulnerabilities; produce patch compliance metrics and executive reporting.
• Lead Windows Server upgrade and migration initiatives; develop migration strategies, perform impact assessments, coordinate application validation, and maintain upgrade roadmaps.
• Install, configure, and maintain infrastructure software agents and management tools (monitoring, backup, security, endpoint management, vulnerability scanning, logging/observability); develop automated software deployment processes.
• Develop automation using PowerShell, Desired State Configuration (DSC), Ansible, and other IaC frameworks; create self‑service capabilities and improve operational efficiency.
• Monitor and analyze Windows Server performance; identify bottlenecks, perform root‑cause analysis, develop capacity forecasts, and optimize configurations for stability.
• Maintain inventory of Windows Server assets; track licensing consumption and compliance; produce audit documentation and support compliance reviews.
• Implement and maintain security baselines; support Active Directory and Group Policy administration; ensure compliance with SOX and other security standards; participate in incident response and remediation.
• Provide Level 3 engineering support for critical incidents; participate in outage investigations, develop corrective actions, and support after‑hours maintenance when required.
• Maintain architecture diagrams, SOPs, technical runbooks, and executive/operational dashboards; report on patch compliance, server health, vulnerability status, and lifecycle metrics.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of Windows Server administration experience in a large enterprise environment.
• Hands‑on experience with Windows Server 2016/2019/2022, Active Directory, Group Policy, PowerShell scripting, Microsoft IIS, Windows Failover Clustering, DNS, and DHCP.
• Experience with enterprise patching solutions.
• Experience supporting virtualized environments using VMware or Hyper‑V.
• Strong troubleshooting and root‑cause analysis skills.
• Experience managing infrastructure in regulated environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Microsoft certifications (AZ‑800, AZ‑801, Azure Administrator, etc.).
• Experience with Azure, AWS, SCCM/MECM, Tanium, ServiceNow, Splunk, Dynatrace, SolarWinds, Ansible, Terraform.
• Experience with infrastructure security and vulnerability management programs.
• Experience supporting large‑scale environments consisting of hundreds or thousands of servers.
• Familiarity with disaster recovery and business continuity processes.

Technical Skills

• Operating Systems: Windows Server 2016/2019/2022, Windows Core Administration.
• Automation: PowerShell, DSC, Ansible, Terraform.
• Monitoring & Reporting: Splunk, Dynatrace, Grafana, SolarWinds.
• Virtualization & Cloud: VMware vSphere, Hyper‑V, Microsoft Azure, AWS.
• Security: Active Directory, Group Policy, MFA, Vulnerability Management, Security Hardening.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) plan.
• Tuition reimbursement program.
• Paid time off and holidays (minimum 23 days vacation + 9 company holidays based on hire date).
• Paid parental leave and paid caregiver leave.
• Additional sick leave beyond statutory requirements (unprotected).
• Adoption reimbursement.
• Short‑term and long‑term disability benefits.
• Life and accidental death insurance.
• Supplemental benefit programs: critical illness, accident, hospital indemnity, group legal.
• Employee assistance programs (EAP) and extensive wellness programs.
• Employee discounts up to 50 % on eligible AT&T mobility plans, accessories, internet, and phone services.

Pay

Annual salary range: $128,400.00 – $215,800.00 USD (individual starting salary may depend on geography, experience, expertise, and education/training).

Schedule

Weekly hours: 40 hours (regular time). Office presence required 5 days per week.

Location

• Alpharetta, Georgia
• Bothell, Washington
• Dallas, Texas
• Plano, Texas

This position does not offer relocation and will not sponsor applicants now or in the future.