Principal Windows Server Engineer

About the role

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 engineer 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

• Windows Server Administration: Deploy, configure, and maintain enterprise Windows Server environments (2016, 2019, 2022); perform server builds, provisioning, decommissioning, and lifecycle management; maintain standards, hardening guidelines, and operational procedures; support physical, virtual, and cloud‑based infrastructure.
• Patch & Vulnerability Management: Plan, schedule, and execute OS patching; coordinate maintenance windows; remediate security vulnerabilities; ensure compliance with corporate security and regulatory requirements; produce patching compliance metrics and executive‑level reporting.
• Operating System Upgrades: Lead Windows Server upgrade and migration initiatives; develop migration strategies; perform impact assessments and compatibility analysis; coordinate application validation and testing; maintain upgrade roadmaps and lifecycle plans.
• Software Deployment & Tooling Management: Install, configure, and maintain infrastructure software agents and management tools (monitoring, backup, security, endpoint management, vulnerability scanning, logging/observability); develop automated software deployment processes.
• Automation & Infrastructure as Code: Develop automation using PowerShell, Desired State Configuration (DSC), Ansible, and other IaC frameworks; automate repetitive operational tasks; create self‑service capabilities; improve operational efficiency through workflow automation.
• Performance & Capacity Management: Monitor and analyze Windows Server performance; identify CPU, memory, disk, and network bottlenecks; perform root cause analysis; develop capacity forecasts and growth recommendations; optimize OS configurations for performance and stability.
• License & Asset Compliance: Maintain inventory of Windows Server assets; track software licensing consumption and compliance; produce audit support documentation and reports; partner with asset management and procurement teams; support internal and external compliance reviews.
• Security & Compliance: Implement and maintain security baselines; support Active Directory and Group Policy administration; ensure compliance with SOX, security, and infrastructure standards; participate in security incident response and drive remediation of identified risks.
• Incident & Problem Management: Provide Level 3 engineering support for critical incidents; participate in outage investigations and root cause analyses; develop permanent corrective actions; support after‑hours maintenance and incident response when required.
• Documentation & Reporting: Maintain architecture diagrams and operational documentation; develop standard operating procedures and technical runbooks; create executive and 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 (e.g., AZ‑800, AZ‑801, Azure Administrator).
• 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, Desired State Configuration (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‑designated holidays)
• 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)
• Extensive employee 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 within this range may depend on geography, experience, expertise, and education/training.

Schedule

Full‑time, 40 hours per week (regular time). Office presence required a minimum of 5 days per week. Positions are located in Alpharetta, GA; Bothell, WA; Dallas, TX; and Plano, TX.