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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for IT Analyst

💰 $60,000 - $95,000

Information TechnologyIT SupportSystems Analysis

🎯 Role Definition

An IT Analyst is a hands-on technical professional responsible for ensuring the availability, performance, and security of an organization's IT systems and services. The IT Analyst troubleshoots incidents and service requests, analyzes systems and business requirements, implements operational improvements, supports infrastructure and cloud resources, and partners with cross-functional teams to deliver reliable IT services. This role blends desktop and server support, network and cloud administration, application troubleshooting, and process improvement with a customer-centric approach.

This position is ideal for candidates who are technically strong, service-oriented, and experienced with ticketing systems, monitoring tools, standard operating procedures, and IT best practices (ITIL). Key outcomes include reduced incident mean time to resolution (MTTR), improved patch and asset compliance, stable production environments, and high end-user satisfaction.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Desktop Support Technician / Help Desk Analyst
  • Junior Systems Administrator
  • Network Support Technician

Advancement To:

  • Senior IT Analyst / Systems Engineer
  • Infrastructure Engineer / Systems Administrator
  • IT Operations Lead or IT Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Cloud Engineer (Azure/AWS)
  • Security Analyst / Cybersecurity Specialist
  • Business Systems Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Act as first- and second-line technical support for enterprise users by diagnosing and resolving hardware, software, and network issues across Windows, macOS, and mobile platforms, reducing incident backlog and improving SLA compliance.
  • Triage, prioritize, and manage incidents and service requests through a ticketing system (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira), ensuring accurate documentation, timely communication, and closeout of tickets to meet established SLAs.
  • Perform hands-on server administration tasks for Windows Server and Linux hosts, including configuration, patching, user and group management, and performance tuning to maintain availability and security.
  • Administer Active Directory and Azure AD environments: user lifecycle management, group policy objects (GPOs), access reviews, and integration with SSO and identity providers to enforce least-privilege access.
  • Deploy, configure, and update endpoint management tools (e.g., Microsoft Intune, SCCM/ConfigMgr) to orchestrate OS deployments, software distribution, and device configuration at scale.
  • Implement and maintain backup and disaster recovery procedures for critical systems and data using backup solutions (e.g., Veeam, Commvault), and coordinate periodic restore tests to validate recoverability.
  • Monitor infrastructure performance and availability using observability platforms (e.g., Nagios, Zabbix, Datadog, Azure Monitor), proactively resolving issues and tuning alerts to reduce noise and detect anomalies early.
  • Troubleshoot and maintain LAN/WAN network components and connectivity (switches, routers, firewalls), collaborate with network engineers for configuration changes, and escalate as required to preserve network uptime.
  • Support virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware vSphere, Hyper-V) by provisioning VMs, managing snapshots and templates, and optimizing resource allocation for performance and cost efficiency.
  • Administer cloud resources (Azure, AWS) including VM provisioning, IAM roles, security group configuration, cost monitoring, and integration with on-premises systems during hybrid cloud operations.
  • Perform application support for line-of-business applications, working with vendors and development teams to investigate root causes, reproduce issues, apply fixes, and coordinate releases or patches.
  • Manage software licensing, procurement, and asset inventory; maintain accurate configuration management database (CMDB) entries and lifecycle tracking to ensure compliance and cost control.
  • Lead and participate in incident response and post-incident reviews (postmortems), documenting root cause analysis, corrective actions, and process changes to prevent recurrence and improve resilience.
  • Execute scheduled patch management across endpoints and servers, validate patch compatibility, coordinate maintenance windows with stakeholders, and report patch status to leadership and auditors.
  • Design and implement automation and scripting solutions (PowerShell, Bash, Python) to streamline repetitive administrative tasks, accelerate deployments, and improve consistency.
  • Configure and support email and collaboration platforms (Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, Teams), including mailbox provisioning, tenant configuration, and migration activities.
  • Enforce information security standards and controls in partnership with security teams: vulnerability remediation, endpoint protection, logging and alerting configuration, and participation in security assessments.
  • Coordinate hardware lifecycle activities: procurement, imaging, asset tagging, deployment, on-site setup, and secure disposal, ensuring timely refresh cycles and minimal disruption to users.
  • Create and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to support knowledge transfer and consistent incident resolution.
  • Participate in projects to implement new systems, upgrades, and integrations, contributing technical analysis, implementation planning, testing, and cutover support.
  • Provide end-user training and knowledge-base articles to reduce repeat incidents and encourage self-service while measuring adoption and feedback for continuous improvement.
  • Assist with vendor management: escalate issues, manage support cases, negotiate escalations, and validate vendor deliverables against contractual SLAs and service expectations.
  • Maintain regulatory and audit readiness by ensuring controls and evidence are in place for compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC, ISO, HIPAA), and respond to auditor inquiries with accurate system information.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Windows Server administration (2012/2016/2019/2022), Active Directory, Group Policy — user and domain management, authentication troubleshooting.
  • Endpoint management and patching: Microsoft Intune, SCCM/ConfigMgr, and centralized software distribution processes.
  • Cloud fundamentals and administration: Microsoft Azure (VMs, Azure AD, Resource Manager) and/or AWS (EC2, IAM, VPC).
  • Networking knowledge: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, routing basics, and experience troubleshooting switches, firewalls, and VPN connectivity.
  • Virtualization: VMware vSphere, ESXi, or Hyper-V — provisioning, resource management, and troubleshooting.
  • Scripting and automation: PowerShell, Bash, or Python for task automation, configuration management, and log parsing.
  • Ticketing and ITSM systems: ServiceNow, Jira Service Desk, BMC Remedy — incident, problem, change, and asset management processes.
  • Monitoring and observability tools: Nagios, Zabbix, Datadog, Splunk, or Azure Monitor for alerting, dashboards, and log analysis.
  • Backup and disaster recovery technologies: Veeam, Commvault, Azure Backup; ability to plan and execute restores and failover tests.
  • Security fundamentals: endpoint protection (EDR), vulnerability scanning, access controls, secure configuration and remediation workflows.
  • Email and collaboration platforms: Microsoft 365/Exchange Online administration and troubleshooting.
  • Database basics and query experience: SQL fundamentals to investigate application and data-related incidents.
  • Hardware troubleshooting: desktops, laptops, printers, peripherals, and on-site diagnostics for break/fix situations.
  • Familiarity with configuration management and CMDB maintenance for accurate asset and dependency tracking.

Soft Skills

  • Strong customer service orientation with a professional, patient approach to end-users and stakeholders.
  • Clear verbal and written communication skills for status reports, documentation, and cross-team coordination.
  • Analytical and problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and an ability to trace complex technical issues to root cause.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance reactive incidents and proactive projects under SLA constraints.
  • Collaborative team player able to work effectively with developers, network engineers, security, and business owners.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning mindset to adopt new technologies, processes, and automation opportunities.
  • Effective stakeholder management and ability to explain technical issues to non-technical audiences.
  • Initiative and ownership — drives issues to closure and follows up until full resolution and user satisfaction.
  • Stress tolerance and decisiveness during high-severity incidents and production outages.
  • Documentation and knowledge sharing skills to create runbooks and train other team members.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or equivalent technical training and work experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or related field.
  • Professional certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator, Microsoft 365 Modern Desktop Administrator, VMware Certified Associate (VCA), or ITIL Foundation are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Information Technology
  • Network Engineering
  • Cybersecurity
  • Systems Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of hands-on IT support, systems administration, or network support experience in an enterprise environment.

Preferred:

  • 3–7+ years with direct experience in hybrid cloud environments, enterprise ticketing/ITSM workflows, patch and asset management, and participation in cross-functional IT projects such as migrations or security remediations.
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