<p>A Systems Administrator is responsible for the stability, security and performance of an organisation's IT infrastructure. This role requires practical experience with servers, networks, and cloud services, along with strong troubleshooting and communication skills. The Systems Administrator will work closely with IT teams and stakeholders to deliver resilient IT services and continuous improvement.</p>
<p>This job description outlines the role, duties and required qualifications for a Systems Administrator. It is designed for HR professionals and recruiters seeking top candidates who can maintain and optimise IT environments.</p>
<h2>Systems Administrator Job Profile</h2>
<p>The Systems Administrator provides day-to-day operational support for servers, virtual environments, storage and network elements. They ensure systems are secure, patched and performing to agreed service levels.</p>
<p>They liaise with colleagues to implement changes, carry out backups and disaster recovery tests, and contribute to IT policy and capacity planning.</p>
<h2>Systems Administrator Job Description</h2>
<p>The Systems Administrator manages installation, configuration and maintenance of physical and virtual servers, on-premises and in cloud platforms. They monitor system health, investigate incidents, apply updates and automate routine tasks to improve reliability. A strong focus on security ensures compliance with policies and protection of data and services.</p>
<p>The role involves troubleshooting across operating systems, file systems and network stacks, and collaborating with application teams to resolve performance issues. The Systems Administrator documents changes, maintains runbooks and supports planned maintenance windows. They also participate in projects to deploy new infrastructure, migrations and upgrades, ensuring minimal disruption to services.</p>
<p>Continuous improvement is expected. The successful candidate will propose optimisations, adopt automation tools and participate in capacity planning. They will escalate complex problems appropriately and contribute to the on-call rota where applicable.</p>
<h2>Systems Administrator Duties and Responsibilities</h2>
<ul>
<li>Install, configure and maintain servers, hypervisors and virtual machines.</li>
<li>Manage user accounts, permissions and directory services such as Active Directory or LDAP.</li>
<li>Monitor system performance, logs and availability; respond to alerts promptly.</li>
<li>Apply security patches and updates; enforce configuration standards and hardening.</li>
<li>Perform regular backups and test disaster recovery procedures.</li>
<li>Troubleshoot hardware, OS and network issues to restore services quickly.</li>
<li>Automate routine tasks using scripts or configuration management tools.</li>
<li>Maintain documentation, runbooks and change records for audits and handover.</li>
<li>Support server and application deployments alongside development and operations teams.</li>
<li>Participate in planning for capacity, upgrades and cloud migrations.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Systems Administrator Requirements and Qualifications</h2>
<ul>
<li>Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or equivalent experience.</li>
<li>Proven experience administering Linux and Windows server environments.</li>
<li>Knowledge of virtualisation platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V or KVM.</li>
<li>Familiarity with cloud services such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform.</li>
<li>Experience with networking fundamentals: TCP IP, routing, switching and firewalls.</li>
<li>Competence in scripting languages such as PowerShell, Bash or Python.</li>
<li>Experience with automation and configuration tools such as Ansible, Puppet or Terraform.</li>
<li>Strong understanding of backup solutions, storage and recovery processes.</li>
<li>Excellent problem-solving, communication and documentation skills.</li>
<li>Relevant certifications are desirable, such as CompTIA, Microsoft, RHCE, or AWS.</li>
</ul>