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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Network and System Administrator

💰 $60,000 - $110,000

ITNetwork AdministrationSystems AdministrationInfrastructureSecurity

🎯 Role Definition

A Network and System Administrator is responsible for deploying, maintaining, and securing an organization's IT infrastructure — including on-premises servers, cloud resources, network devices, virtualization platforms, and end-user systems. This role blends network engineering, systems administration, security hardening, monitoring and automation, and hands-on incident response. The ideal candidate ensures high availability, performance optimization, compliance with policies, and cost-effective operations while collaborating with application owners and security teams.

Key SEO/LLM keywords: Network and System Administrator, network administration, system administration, Windows Server, Linux, Active Directory, Cisco, Juniper, firewalls, routing, switching, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure, cloud migration, VPN, network security, infrastructure automation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Help Desk Technician or Desktop Support Specialist (1–3 years)
  • Junior Network Administrator or Systems Support Engineer
  • IT Technician with core experience in Windows/Linux administration

Advancement To:

  • Senior Network & System Administrator
  • Systems Engineer / Network Engineer
  • Cloud Infrastructure Engineer or Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
  • IT Operations Manager or Infrastructure Architect

Lateral Moves:

  • Cybersecurity Analyst / Network Security Engineer
  • Cloud Solutions Engineer (AWS / Azure)
  • DevOps Engineer / Automation Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, deploy, and maintain physical and virtual network infrastructure, including switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless controllers to ensure secure, resilient connectivity across data centers and branch offices.
  • Administer Windows Server environments (Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, file/print services, IIS) and perform account lifecycle management, domain design, and GPO implementation to enforce security and operational policies.
  • Install, configure, and support Linux server distributions (Ubuntu, CentOS/RHEL) including package management, cron jobs, SELinux/AppArmor configuration, and troubleshooting of kernel/network-related issues.
  • Manage virtualization platforms (VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V) including VM provisioning, resource allocation, snapshot management, HA/DRS configuration, and P2V/V2V migrations to optimize compute utilization.
  • Implement and maintain cloud infrastructure and hybrid architectures on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform: provisioning VPCs, subnets, security groups, IAM roles, EBS/EFS, and cloud-native networking services.
  • Configure and maintain enterprise firewall policies (Cisco ASA, Palo Alto, Fortinet), VPN concentrators (IPsec, SSL), and network segmentation to protect sensitive systems and enforce least-privilege access.
  • Monitor network and system health using APM and NMS tools (SolarWinds, Nagios, Zabbix, Datadog, Prometheus) and set proactive alerts, dashboards, and capacity thresholds to prevent outages.
  • Perform routine patch management for servers, network devices, and endpoints via SCCM/WSUS, Ansible, or other patch orchestration tools, validating updates in staging and documenting rollbacks.
  • Execute backups, retention policies, and disaster recovery plans using enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, NetBackup), perform restore testing, and maintain RTO/RPO documentation.
  • Troubleshoot complex, multi-layer incidents across network, compute, storage, and application stacks; conduct root cause analysis, produce incident reports, and implement permanent remediation.
  • Automate repetitive tasks and infrastructure provisioning using IaC and scripting (Ansible, Terraform, PowerShell, Bash, Python) to improve deployment speed and reduce human error.
  • Manage storage arrays and SAN/NAS solutions, including LUN provisioning, multipathing, RAID management, and performance tuning to support high I/O applications.
  • Maintain and review system and security logs (SIEM integration — Splunk, ELK) to detect anomalies, support forensic investigations, and meet compliance reporting requirements.
  • Participate in vulnerability management and remediation efforts: run scans, triage findings, coordinate patching, and implement compensating controls to reduce risk exposure.
  • Implement and manage identity and access management systems, single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and privileged access workflows to protect critical admin accounts.
  • Lead and coordinate data center operations: rack-and-stack hardware, cabling standards, power/cooling monitoring, capacity planning, and vendor coordination for hardware lifecycle management.
  • Enforce configuration management and change control processes: maintain CMDB entries, document architecture changes, produce maintenance windows, and participate in CAB reviews.
  • Support application teams with system and network requirements for deployments, perform pre-production testing, and offer infrastructure recommendations for performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency.
  • Maintain up-to-date runbooks, run-level procedures, and technical documentation for system builds, incident response, and standard operating procedures to ensure consistent operations.
  • Provide on-call support, respond to escalations, coordinate cross-team incident responses, and perform after-action reviews to improve system resilience and incident handling.
  • Conduct network capacity planning and performance tuning (QoS, MTU, TCP settings), network traffic analysis, and implement optimizations to support business SLAs.
  • Manage endpoint management systems (MDM, Intune, JAMF) and enterprise imaging solutions to standardize configurations and secure end-user devices.
  • Evaluate and pilot new infrastructure technologies, propose improvements, produce cost/benefit analyses, and drive technical roadmaps that align with business goals.

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.
  • Train IT staff and end users on infrastructure best practices, security hygiene, and new tools to increase competency and reduce tickets.
  • Assist procurement and asset management with vendor quotes, warranty tracking, and lifecycle replacement planning.
  • Help design and test Business Continuity and DR tabletop exercises with stakeholders across departments.
  • Participate in compliance audits (PCI, HIPAA, SOC2) by providing evidence and remediating infrastructure findings.
  • Maintain licensing inventories and renewals for enterprise software, hypervisors, and network device subscriptions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Network design and troubleshooting: TCP/IP, VLANs, OSPF/BGP, STP, NAT, routing/switching fundamentals, and network segmentation.
  • Firewall and VPN management: experience with Palo Alto, Cisco ASA/Firepower, Fortinet, or similar next-gen firewalls and IPS/IDS.
  • Windows Server administration: Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS/DHCP, File Servers, IIS, and Windows clustering.
  • Linux server administration: systemd, package managers, user/group management, SELinux/AppArmor, and kernel/network tuning.
  • Virtualization & hyperconvergence: VMware vSphere, vCenter, ESXi, vSAN, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix.
  • Cloud platforms and services: AWS (EC2, VPC, IAM), Azure (VMs, VNets, Azure AD), cloud migration and hybrid networking.
  • Infrastructure as Code & automation: Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell DSC, CloudFormation, Jenkins, CI/CD pipelines.
  • Scripting and automation: proficiency in PowerShell, Bash, and at least one higher-level language (Python) for tooling and integration.
  • Monitoring, logging & observability: experience with Nagios, Zabbix, Datadog, Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, or ELK stack.
  • Backup & disaster recovery: Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, replication strategies, and regular restore testing.
  • Storage and SAN administration: iSCSI, NFS, FC, RAID, LUN management, and performance tuning.
  • Endpoint management and security tools: Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Intune), SCCM, EDR solutions (CrowdStrike, Carbon Black).
  • Identity & access management: SSO, MFA, LDAP, Azure AD, AD Federation Services (ADFS), and privileged access management.
  • Security fundamentals: vulnerability scanning, patch management, hardening, encryption, and secure configuration baselines.
  • Hardware and vendor knowledge: familiarity with Cisco, Juniper, HPE, Dell EMC, NetApp, and rack hardware lifecycle.
  • Troubleshooting methodologies: root cause analysis, post-mortem reporting, and capacity planning techniques.
  • Network performance tools: Wireshark, NetFlow/sFlow analysis, iperf, and traffic shaping/QoS configuration.
  • Compliance and audit readiness: knowledge of PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, GDPR implications on infrastructure.
  • Change and configuration management: ITIL-aligned processes, CMDB management, and use of ticketing systems (ServiceNow, JIRA).
  • Container and orchestration basics: Docker, Kubernetes fundamentals for integrating infrastructure with application platforms.

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset with attention to detail during incident diagnosis and remediation.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication for cross-team coordination, documentation, and executive reporting.
  • Customer-service orientation: ability to balance technical priorities with stakeholder business needs and SLAs.
  • Time management and prioritization: managing competing incidents, projects, and maintenance workstreams effectively.
  • Collaboration and teamwork: working with developers, security, and business units to deliver integrated solutions.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning: staying current with evolving networking, cloud, and security technologies.
  • Project leadership: ability to lead infrastructure projects from requirements through deployment and handoff.
  • Critical thinking and decision-making under pressure during on-call incidents and major outages.
  • Mentoring and knowledge transfer: guiding junior administrators and contributing to team skill growth.
  • Process-driven with a focus on automation and repeatability to reduce toil and improve reliability.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Network Engineering, or equivalent technical diploma with proven hands-on experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Network Engineering, or related field. Relevant certifications may substitute for formal education in some organizations.

Relevant Fields of Study:

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

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of hands-on experience in systems and network administration for mid-level roles; 5+ years for senior positions.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years managing mixed Windows/Linux server environments, virtualization, and enterprise networking.
  • Demonstrated experience with cloud platform deployments (AWS/Azure) and hybrid network connectivity.
  • Professional certifications such as CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator, MCSA/MCSE, Cisco CCNA/CCNP, VMware VCP, or RHCE are highly desirable.
  • Prior experience supporting regulated environments (PCI, HIPAA, SOC2) and participating in audit remediation is a plus.
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