Systems Engineer

About the role

The Systems Engineer is responsible for the analysis, design, security, and long-term operation of the systems that support the client's corporate and manufacturing locations. The position works with business users, IT, cybersecurity, and plant personnel to understand system requirements and develop technical solutions that meet those needs. This position serves as the technical owner for assigned infrastructure platforms. The Systems Engineer evaluates technical options, develops system specifications, establishes standards, and makes recommendations concerning architecture, security, capacity, availability, and disaster recovery.

The primary focus of the position is infrastructure engineering and systems analysis. Routine help desk tickets, basic end-user support, printer maintenance, and equipment installation are handled by Level 1 and Level 2 support resources. The Systems Engineer becomes involved when an issue requires advanced analysis, a system change, or a permanent technical solution.

Responsibilities

• Systems Analysis and Design: Meet with business, IT, cybersecurity, and plant personnel to understand operational needs and translate them into system requirements. Analyze existing systems and identify changes needed to improve security, availability, capacity, performance, or supportability. Design and document infrastructure solutions involving servers, virtualization, storage, cloud services, identity, networking, backups, and disaster recovery. Develop system specifications, architecture diagrams, configuration standards, testing plans, implementation plans, and rollback procedures. Evaluate technical alternatives and recommend solutions based on business need, security risk, cost, system compatibility, and long-term support requirements. Test and modify infrastructure systems before changes are placed into production. Determine the technical approach for assigned infrastructure projects within established IT and security policies.
• Infrastructure Engineering: Design, configure, and maintain Windows Server environments and related infrastructure services. Serve as the technical owner for Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, file services, and other assigned Windows services. Design and maintain VMware ESXi and Proxmox virtualization environments, including virtual machines, clusters, storage, replication, and capacity planning. Plan and lead server, operating-system, virtualization, storage, and infrastructure upgrades. Review system performance, capacity, backup results, security events, and availability trends to identify risks before they interrupt operations. Develop and maintain technical standards for server configuration, virtualization, patching, backups, access, monitoring, and recovery. Design and test backup, restoration, disaster-recovery, and business-continuity procedures. Lead the technical work associated with infrastructure migrations, system replacements, new-location deployments, and company integrations.
• Microsoft Cloud and Identity: Design and maintain Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Entra ID, and hybrid identity services. Establish standards for user access, authentication, role-based permissions, multifactor authentication, and conditional access. Review access and identity configurations for security, consistency, and business needs. Design and maintain endpoint-management solutions using Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager/SCCM, or similar platforms. Develop automation using PowerShell or other appropriate tools to reduce manual administration and improve consistency. Evaluate changes to Microsoft cloud services and determine their effect on the client systems and users.
• Network and Security Engineering: Analyze network requirements involving TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, routing, switching, Wi-Fi, VPNs, firewalls, and remote access. Design or recommend changes to corporate LAN, WAN, wireless, and remote-access environments. Establish technical requirements for network segmentation, access controls, monitoring, and secure remote connectivity. Review network performance and security data to identify capacity concerns, recurring problems, and potential risks. Work with cybersecurity personnel to evaluate vulnerabilities, determine remediation methods, and plan infrastructure security improvements. Perform root-cause analysis following significant or recurring infrastructure incidents and develop permanent corrective actions.
• IT and OT Infrastructure: Serve as the infrastructure engineering resource for systems that connect corporate IT services with manufacturing OT environments. Work with the OT Systems Engineer to define ownership, access, security, connectivity, backup, and recovery requirements for shared systems. Design infrastructure supporting OT-related servers, virtual machines, storage, identity services, backups, and network connectivity. Develop and maintain secure separation between corporate IT and plant-floor OT networks. Review proposed infrastructure changes for their effect on production systems and manufacturing operations. Coordinate joint IT and OT incident response when an event affects shared infrastructure. Ensure changes to production-controlled systems are reviewed and approved by the appropriate OT owner before implementation.
• Projects and Technical Decisions: Lead infrastructure projects from requirements gathering through design, testing, implementation, and post-implementation review. Develop project scope, technical requirements, resource needs, risks, and implementation schedules. Evaluate infrastructure products, service providers, and vendor proposals. Provide technical recommendations for system purchases, renewals, replacements, and service agreements. Make or recommend decisions that affect infrastructure security, availability, capacity, cost, and business continuity. Coordinate technical work performed by vendors and confirm that completed work meets the client's standards. Maintain current documentation for assigned systems, technical decisions, configurations, dependencies, and recovery procedures.
• Advanced Technical Support: Serve as the escalation point for infrastructure incidents requiring advanced systems analysis or changes to the underlying environment. Determine whether recurring incidents require a configuration change, architecture change, automation, replacement, or additional controls. Provide technical direction to Level 1 and Level 2 support personnel. Create procedures and troubleshooting documentation that allow routine issues to be resolved without engineering involvement. Participate in an on-call escalation rotation for significant infrastructure or business-continuity incidents.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Seven to ten years of progressive experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, or enterprise technology.
• Experience in analyzing business or technical requirements and translating them into system specifications and infrastructure designs.
• Advanced knowledge of Windows Server, Windows 10/11, Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, file services, and related technologies.
• Strong experience with VMware ESXi, Proxmox, or comparable enterprise virtualization platforms.
• Experience designing and supporting Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Entra ID, and hybrid identity environments.
• Experience with Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager/SCCM, or another enterprise endpoint-management platform.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, Wi-Fi, VPNs, firewalls, and network segmentation.
• Experience with enterprise backup, recovery, replication, monitoring, patch management, and endpoint-security systems.
• Experience in planning and leading infrastructure upgrades, migrations, integrations, or system replacements.
• Proficiency with PowerShell scripting and systems-administration automation.
• Ability to evaluate technical options, identify risks, and explain recommendations to both technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Ability to manage infrastructure incidents where decisions may affect production, security, or business continuity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Systems-engineering experience in a manufacturing, distribution, or industrial environment.
• Experience working with IT and OT systems in the same operating environment.
• Knowledge of industrial network segmentation, production availability, manufacturing cybersecurity, and secure remote access.
• Familiarity with MES, ERP, SCADA, HMIs, industrial computers, barcode systems, and other plant technology.
• Experience designing highly available infrastructure and disaster-recovery solutions.
• Experience supporting storage systems, clustering, replication, and multi-site environments.
• VMware, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, or comparable certifications.

Pay

Annual Base Salary Range for CA, CO, IL, NJ, NY, WA, and DC: $130,000 to $140,000. Actual compensation offered may vary depending on factors including but not limited to, position offered, location, education, training, and/or experience.