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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for IT Technical Analyst

💰 $65,000 - $95,000

Information TechnologyTechnical SupportSystems Administration

🎯 Role Definition

The IT Technical Analyst provides technical support, system administration, and operational troubleshooting across endpoints, servers, networks, and cloud services. This role combines hands-on incident response, configuration and deployment, change management, and proactive health monitoring to ensure availability and performance of business-critical IT systems. The analyst acts as a first- and second-line technical contact for internal users and vendors, owns ticket lifecycle to SLA, documents technical solutions, and drives continual improvement of IT processes using ITIL best practices. Core keywords: IT Technical Analyst, service desk, incident management, Active Directory, PowerShell scripting, virtualization (VMware/Hyper-V), AWS/Azure, network troubleshooting, SCCM/Intune.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Help Desk Technician / Service Desk Analyst (1st line support)
  • Desktop Support Engineer / End-User Support Technician
  • Network Technician / Junior Systems Administrator

Advancement To:

  • Senior IT Technical Analyst / Senior Systems Analyst
  • Systems Administrator / Infrastructure Engineer
  • IT Operations Lead / Team Lead
  • Cloud Engineer / DevOps Engineer
  • IT Manager / IT Service Delivery Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Business Systems Analyst
  • Project Coordinator / IT Project Specialist
  • Cybersecurity Analyst (SOC/Threat Ops)
  • Application Support Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Serve as the primary technical point of contact for escalated incidents, owning the full incident lifecycle from initial triage through diagnosis, remediation, documentation, and closure to meet or exceed SLA targets.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve complex desktop, laptop, mobile device, and peripheral hardware issues, including imaging, driver conflicts, firmware updates, and warranty/vendor escalations.
  • Administer and maintain Active Directory (user and group management, GPOs, OU design), Azure AD synchronization, and single sign-on (SSO) configurations; implement user provisioning and deprovisioning processes securely.
  • Manage Windows and Linux server environments: patching, performance tuning, service restarts, log analysis, system hardening, and routine maintenance to ensure availability and compliance.
  • Configure, deploy, and maintain virtualization platforms (VMware vSphere, Hyper-V), including VM provisioning, snapshot management, resource allocation, and performance troubleshooting.
  • Perform network troubleshooting for LAN/WAN issues: TCP/IP diagnostics, switch and router configuration verification, VLAN, DNS/DHCP troubleshooting, and collaborate with network engineers on escalations.
  • Support cloud infrastructure and SaaS services (AWS, Azure, Office 365), including subscription management, role-based access control, resource provisioning, and cloud-native troubleshooting.
  • Execute endpoint management and patching via SCCM/ConfigMgr, Intune/MEM, Jamf, or equivalent MDM tools; validate update rollouts, mitigate patch failures, and maintain deployment baselines.
  • Implement and maintain backup and disaster recovery processes: schedule and validate backups, perform restores, maintain runbooks, and participate in DR drills and post-incident reviews.
  • Operate within ITSM frameworks (ITIL) to handle change requests, problem management, asset tracking, and release coordination; use ticketing tools such as ServiceNow, JIRA Service Desk, or BMC Remedy.
  • Create, update, and maintain technical documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), knowledge base articles, and runbooks to improve first-contact resolution and institutional knowledge transfer.
  • Build and run monitoring and alerting systems (Nagios, Zabbix, Datadog, SolarWinds) to identify degradation or outages early; tune thresholds and collaborate with engineering to remediate root causes.
  • Conduct security-first operational practices: apply least privilege principles, integrate endpoint protection platforms, support vulnerability scanning remediation, and work with security teams for incident response triage.
  • Automate repetitive tasks and workflows using scripting languages (PowerShell, Bash, Python) and orchestration tools to improve operational efficiency and reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR).
  • Manage hardware lifecycle and vendor relationships: procure, configure, warranty, and decommission servers, storage, workstations, and networking equipment following organizational procurement policies.
  • Participate in capacity planning and performance trend analysis to forecast resource needs, recommend hardware/software upgrades, and present technical impact assessments to stakeholders.
  • Provide desktop application support and troubleshooting for productivity suites, line-of-business applications, VPNs, Citrix/Remote Desktop environments, and database client connections.
  • Lead or contribute to technical projects such as migrations, upgrades, rollouts, and integrations—plan tasks, estimate effort, conduct testing, and coordinate cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Perform log aggregation and analysis (Syslog, Windows Event Viewer, application logs) to identify patterns, correlate events, and support root cause analysis for recurring incidents.
  • Mentor junior team members and deliver informal training sessions on troubleshooting methods, new technologies, and process improvements to build team capability.
  • Ensure compliance with IT policies and regulatory requirements by enforcing configuration standards, performing periodic audits, and documenting remediation activities.
  • Coordinate with business units to gather requirements, translate business needs into technical specifications, and architect operationally sustainable solutions.

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.
  • Assist in on-call rotation and incident escalation outside business hours as part of operational continuity planning.
  • Provide vendor coordination for firmware updates, RMA processing, and third-party escalations.
  • Support audit readiness activities by providing technical evidence, system configurations, and operational procedures.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Incident Management & ITSM (ServiceNow, JIRA Service Desk, BMC Remedy) — ticket lifecycle, SLA adherence, change management.
  • Active Directory & Azure AD Administration — user lifecycle, group policy, identity management, SSO, ADFS.
  • Windows Server & Linux Server Administration — patch management, services, storage, permissions, shell scripting.
  • Networking Fundamentals — TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, switching, VPNs, VLANs, network troubleshooting tools (ping, traceroute, ipconfig).
  • Virtualization & Hypervisors — VMware vSphere, Hyper-V: provisioning, resource management, troubleshooting.
  • Cloud Platforms (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Office 365) — basic resource provisioning, IAM, monitoring, troubleshooting.
  • Endpoint Management & MDM — SCCM/ConfigMgr, Intune/MEM, Jamf; imaging, patch deployment, compliance reporting.
  • Scripting & Automation — PowerShell, Bash, Python for task automation, reporting, and remediation playbooks.
  • Backup & Disaster Recovery Solutions — Veeam, NetBackup, native cloud backups, restore testing and verification.
  • Security & Compliance — endpoint protection, vulnerability scanning tools, least-privilege models, MFA, encryption basics.
  • Monitoring & Observability — SolarWinds, Nagios, Datadog, Splunk for alerting, dashboards, and logs analysis.
  • Database & Application Support Basics — SQL querying for troubleshooting, application connectivity, and configuration.
  • Hardware Support & Vendor Management — PC/laptop repair, server maintenance, procurement, and RMA coordination.

Soft Skills

  • Clear, empathetic communication for technical and non-technical stakeholders and strong customer service orientation.
  • Analytical problem-solving and root cause analysis with a bias for data-driven decisions.
  • Time management, prioritization, and the ability to manage multiple concurrent incidents and projects.
  • Collaboration and teamwork across IT, business units, and third-party vendors.
  • Adaptability to shifting priorities, new technologies, and evolving security landscapes.
  • Documentation discipline and the ability to create repeatable procedures and knowledge artifacts.
  • Stakeholder management — presenting technical impacts and recommendations in business terms.
  • Initiative and continuous learning mindset to keep up with industry best practices and certifications.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent professional experience and industry certifications.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or related field.
  • Additional professional certifications (Microsoft MCSA/MCSE, CompTIA A+/Network+/Security+, AWS/Azure Fundamentals, ITIL Foundation).

Relevant Fields of Study:

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

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of hands-on IT support, systems administration, or network operations experience.

Preferred: 3–7 years with demonstrated experience in Active Directory administration, virtualization (VMware/Hyper-V), cloud support (AWS/Azure/O365), ITSM tool usage, and scripting (PowerShell/Bash). Experience supporting enterprise-scale environments, working with SLAs, and participating in on-call rotations preferred.

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