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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Windows Server Administrator

💰 $ - $

ITInfrastructureSystems Administration

🎯 Role Definition

The Windows Server Administrator is responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle management of Windows Server infrastructure, ensuring high availability, performance, security, and compliance. This role owns Active Directory and domain services, Group Policy design and enforcement, patch management, system hardening, backup and disaster recovery procedures, virtualization and cloud integration (Hyper-V/VMware/Azure), and automation through scripting and configuration management tools. The Administrator partners with network, security, and application teams to support business services, leads operational improvements, and participates in project delivery and incident response in a 24x7 production environment.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Help Desk Technician (Level 2) with Windows escalation experience
  • Junior Systems Administrator / Desktop Support Engineer
  • Network Support Technician with Windows Server exposure

Advancement To:

  • Senior Windows Server Administrator / Systems Engineer
  • Infrastructure Engineer / Virtualization Engineer
  • Cloud / Azure Infrastructure Engineer
  • IT Infrastructure Architect or Infrastructure Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Security Operations / Windows Security Engineer
  • Cloud Administrator / DevOps Engineer
  • Storage / Backup Administrator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, implement, and maintain enterprise Windows Server environments (Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022), including domain controllers, file and print services, DFS, and clustered services to ensure resilience and alignment with business continuity requirements.
  • Administer and maintain Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), including user and group management, OU structure design, domain controller provisioning, FSMO roles, AD replication troubleshooting, and AD health monitoring to support authentication and authorization across the organization.
  • Create, test, and enforce Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and security baselines to control user and computer settings, implement OS hardening standards, and ensure compliance with corporate security policies and regulatory frameworks.
  • Plan and execute patch management and Windows OS servicing using WSUS, SCCM (ConfigMgr), or Windows Update for Business, ensuring timely deployment of security and feature updates, rollback procedures, and maintenance windows coordination.
  • Build and maintain highly available virtualized infrastructure using Hyper-V and VMware vSphere, including VM provisioning, resource allocation, host and cluster management, and performance tuning to maximize uptime and resource efficiency.
  • Implement, manage, and monitor backup and restore solutions (e.g., Veeam, NetBackup, Windows Server Backup, Microsoft DPM) including full system recovery testing, disaster recovery runbooks, and retention policy enforcement to meet RTO/RPO targets.
  • Design and manage storage integration for Windows servers, including SAN/NAS connectivity, LUN management, iSCSI, SMB/CIFS shares, mount points, and storage performance troubleshooting in collaboration with storage teams.
  • Configure, monitor, and troubleshoot DNS and DHCP services to ensure reliable name resolution and IP address management for on-premises and hybrid environments, including DNS scoping, zone replication, and DHCP failover.
  • Develop and maintain automation and scripted deployments using PowerShell, Desired State Configuration (DSC), or configuration management tools to reduce manual tasks, ensure consistency, and accelerate provisioning lifecycles.
  • Manage certificate services and PKI implementations (AD CS), including issuance, renewal, CRL distribution, and certificate enrollment automation for servers, services, and applications.
  • Implement and administer endpoint and server security technologies and practices, including antivirus/EDR, host-based firewalls, secure baseline deployments, privilege management, and audit logging to detect and mitigate threats.
  • Monitor infrastructure health and performance using SCOM, Nagios, SolarWinds, or other observability platforms; configure alerts, dashboards, and escalations to proactively address performance degradation and capacity issues.
  • Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and post-incident reviews for Windows server outages, implement corrective actions, and update runbooks and configuration documentation to prevent recurrence.
  • Manage server lifecycle activities including hardware provisioning, OS installation, configuration, hardening, patching, decommissioning, and inventory reconciliation with CMDB systems.
  • Support hybrid identity initiatives including Azure AD Connect, single sign-on (SSO), and Azure AD integration; assist with migrations to Microsoft 365 and hybrid identity scenarios while ensuring secure authentication flows.
  • Collaborate with application owners and development teams to plan and execute Windows server-based application deployments, ensure compatibility with middleware and runtimes, and maintain environment configuration drift control.
  • Develop, review, and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and architecture diagrams for Windows server infrastructure and operational processes.
  • Participate in capacity planning and forecasting for compute, storage, and network resources; provision resources to meet current and future business demands while optimizing cost and performance.
  • Coordinate and manage vendor relationships, support contracts, and escalations for server hardware, virtualization platforms, backup vendors, and security vendors to ensure timely resolution and lifecycle support.
  • Implement and support remote access, VPN, and RDP gateway solutions for secure administrative access to Windows servers, enforcing least privilege and multi-factor authentication where required.
  • Ensure compliance with internal controls and external regulatory requirements (e.g., PCI, HIPAA, SOX) by implementing logging, retention, access controls, and participating in audit activities and remediation efforts.
  • Participate in cross-functional project workstreams to deploy infrastructure changes, OS upgrades/migrations, and cloud lift-and-shift projects; provide technical leadership, testing, and cutover support.
  • Serve as a primary on-call resource for Windows server escalations, respond to critical incidents outside normal business hours, and document incident handling and remediation steps.
  • Conduct vulnerability assessments and remediation for Windows servers in collaboration with security teams, including patch remediation, configuration changes, and verification of mitigations.
  • Mentor junior administrators, conduct knowledge-sharing sessions, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives to raise the operational maturity of the server administration function.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide technical support for ad-hoc infrastructure requests and Windows-related troubleshooting from business units and application teams.
  • Assist with Active Directory health checks, cleanup activities, and decommissioning of legacy domains or domain controllers during consolidation projects.
  • Support automation of build pipelines for Windows server images, templates, and golden images used by virtualization and cloud provisioning systems.
  • Participate in capacity reviews, change advisory board (CAB) meetings, and release planning to align Windows server activities with broader IT change schedules.
  • Contribute to the organization's disaster recovery plan by participating in DR drills and maintaining server recovery runbooks and dependencies.
  • Work with security and compliance teams to remediate findings from internal and external audits and penetration tests related to Windows infrastructure.
  • Help coordinate migrations of on-premises Windows workloads to Azure, Azure VMware Solution, or other cloud platforms, ensuring compatibility and secure configurations.
  • Provide input to procurement processes for server hardware, virtualization licenses, backup solutions, and cloud services to align purchases with operational needs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep expertise in Windows Server operating systems (2012/2016/2019/2022) including installation, configuration, patching, and performance tuning.
  • Extensive Active Directory design and administration skills: AD DS, AD FS, AD Connect, replication, trusts, FSMO, and Group Policy management.
  • Strong PowerShell scripting skills for automation, reporting, configuration management, and bulk user/object operations.
  • Experience with virtualization technologies (Hyper-V, VMware vSphere) including VM provisioning, HA/DRS, DRS/HA clusters, templates, and snapshot management.
  • Proficiency with patch management and endpoint configuration tools such as WSUS, Microsoft SCCM / ConfigMgr, Intune, or third-party patching solutions.
  • Backup and disaster recovery expertise with tools like Veeam, Commvault, NetBackup, Microsoft DPM, and associated restore procedures.
  • Networking fundamentals for Windows environments: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, firewall interactions, and load balancer integration.
  • Familiarity with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) and hybrid identity technologies (Azure AD, AD Connect) and experience migrating workloads to cloud environments.
  • Hands-on experience with monitoring and alerting tools (SCOM, SolarWinds, Nagios, Datadog) and proven ability to define useful metrics and alerts.
  • Knowledge of security frameworks and server hardening practices, including certificate management (PKI/AD CS), EDR solutions, and compliance controls.
  • Experience with storage technologies and protocols (SAN, NAS, SMB, iSCSI) and integrating Windows servers with enterprise storage.
  • Familiarity with containerization basics and Windows containers is a plus for modern application hosting strategies.
  • Experience with configuration management and infrastructure-as-code tools (Desired State Configuration, Ansible, Terraform) is beneficial.
  • Strong troubleshooting skills for complex multi-tier applications and infrastructure stacks with a methodical and metrics-driven approach.
  • Competence in maintaining CMDB entries, change control processes, and technical documentation standards.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills for documentation, runbooks, and coordination with stakeholders and vendors.
  • Strong collaboration and teamwork across cross-functional teams (networking, security, applications, cloud).
  • Analytical problem-solving mindset with the ability to perform RCA and implement durable fixes.
  • Customer-focused service orientation with the ability to prioritize incidents and requests based on business impact.
  • Time management and organizational skills to manage recurring operational tasks and project work simultaneously.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning attitude to stay current with Microsoft server advancements and cloud-native trends.
  • Leadership and mentoring capabilities to coach junior staff and lead technical workstreams or small projects.
  • Attention to detail and process discipline for compliance-driven environments and audit readiness.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree or technical diploma in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Network Engineering, or related field.
  • Industry certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, MCSA/MCSE (legacy), CompTIA Server+, or vendor-specific virtualization certifications (VMware VCP).

Relevant Fields of Study:

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

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3 - 7 years administering enterprise Windows Server environments, virtualization platforms, and related infrastructure components.

Preferred: 5+ years of hands-on experience in large-scale or multi-site Windows Server administration, demonstrated experience with Active Directory and Group Policy at scale, proven automation using PowerShell/DSC, virtualization experience (Hyper-V and/or VMware), and exposure to hybrid cloud migrations (Azure/Azure AD). Previous experience supporting 24x7 environments and participating in on-call rotations is highly desirable.

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