Systems Administrator; L3 - Rockford, IL

MSP4, LLC | Full-Time | Onsite (United States) | Up to 10% Regional Travel | 4 to 6 years experience

This is a hands‑on operational role. You own the day‑to‑day administration of client infrastructure across a portfolio spanning professional services, manufacturing, distribution, legal, and government sectors. Environments range from roughly 50 to 1,500 users and carry real compliance weight: CMMC L2, NIST 800‑171, and SOC 2 are active requirements across this client base.

You implement, operate, and maintain within the framework set by the Principal Solutions Architect and the Senior Engineering team. Your work turns an approved design into a running, monitored, documented environment that passes audit:
Windows Server, virtualization clusters, SAN and HCI storage, Veeam backup, Microsoft 365 and Azure tenants, and defined‑scope network change work. Design authority sits above your tier.

At the L3 tier, you sit between the L2 Field Support Technicians and Senior Infrastructure and Network Security Engineering. L2 escalations land with you; design questions and architecturally novel changes escape up from you. You own the outcome at the server and platform layer at your assigned locations and touch the client environment every day. This is a full onsite role at a client facility in your posted location, with regional coverage for nearby MSP4 clients where it applies.

• Administer Windows Server environments:
  Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, file and print services, and certificate services at an operational level.
• Operate VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper‑V clusters day to day: VM lifecycle, capacity monitoring, host patching, vMotion or Live Migration, HA and DRS behavior, and snapshot hygiene.
• Run SAN and HCI storage operations across Net App, Pure Storage, Nutanix, or VMware vSAN: provisioning, volume and LUN changes, capacity monitoring, and health checks. Storage architecture sits with Senior Infrastructure Engineering.
• Operate Veeam Backup and Replication: job management, backup verification, restore execution, immutable repository and tape operations where applicable, and backup gap remediation.
• Execute network change at a defined scope: firewall rule adds and modifications against approved standards, VLAN configuration on managed switches, and switch port and access layer work. Routing, firewall architecture, and policy design sit with Senior Network Security Engineering.
• Administer Microsoft 365 and Azure tenants: identity, licensing, Intune policy application, Conditional Access within established standards, and baseline tenant hygiene.
• Perform operational SQL Server work in support of client ERP and line‑of‑business applications: installation, patching, version upgrades, backup coordination with Veeam, and baseline instance administration. DBA‑level query tuning, indexing, and application‑side schema sit with client DBAs or application vendors.
• Own L2 escalations: take the tickets that pass the endpoint and site layer, resolve within scope, or escalate cleanly to Senior Engineering.
• Apply STIG hardening and NIST 800‑171 control execution at the server layer in support of CMMC L2 and SOC 2.
• Communicate with clients on infrastructure work, change windows, and incident response, working with both technical contacts and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Produce documentation: change records, operational runbooks, and audit‑ready configuration records written so another engineer can operate the environment without asking you questions.
• Maintain ticketing discipline in a PSA or ITSM platform such as Jira Service Management, HaloPSA, Connect Wise, Autotask, or Service Now, keeping change records clean and audit‑ready.

• 1 – Windows Server operations (Technical):
  Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, PKI basics, and file and print services with hands‑on operational fluency.
• 2 – Virtualization operations (Technical):
  Production VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper‑V host and cluster administration, VM lifecycle, patching, snapshot management, and HA/DRS behavior at an operator level.
• 3 – SAN / HCI storage operations (Technical):
  Provision, monitor, and…