Systems Engineer - Herndon, VA

Company:

Cogent Communications is a global, Tier 1 facilities-based ISP, consistently ranked as one of the top five networks in the world and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol CCOI. Cogent specializes in providing businesses with high-speed Internet access and Ethernet transport services. Cogent's facilities-based, all-optical IP network backbone provides IP services globally. Since its inception, Cogent has unleashed the benefits of IP technology, building one of the largest and highest capacity IP networks in the world. This network enables Cogent to offer large bandwidth connections at highly competitive prices. Cogent also offers superior customer support by virtue of its end-to-end control of service delivery and network monitoring. A competitive base salary and a full benefits package including; Health, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off (PTO), Short- and Long-Term Disability, Life Insurance, Holidays, Parental Leave, 401(k) plan with employer match, stock options, and an Employee Assistance Program. Most benefits take effect within 30 days of employment, and some require a waiting period.

Job Summary:

The Systems Engineer works as part of the IT Team providing 24x7 operational support of Windows servers, storage systems and virtual environments in the corporate datacenters and offices. This includes general administration, Tier II/Tier III support, design, engineering and implementation. This role includes communicating, participating in, and documenting best practices for the general administration and management of servers, storage platforms, and applications in our datacenters. This individual is also responsible for actively managing their projects and achieving deadlines and milestones. As a subject matter expert, they will utilize their strong technical background and related experience to achieve the organizations goals and vision.

Compensation: [Starting / Initial] Base Salary Pay Range: $100,000-$130,000/yr.

Specific offers within the listed pay ranges are determined by a variety of factors such as experience, education, skills, certifications and business needs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Conduct general system administration, security patching, O/S upgrades, and troubleshooting of problems to ensure critical system availability

Initiate and sometimes lead technical discussions and projects and work collaboratively with teams to meet deadlines

Monitor systems to ensure system health and functionality as well as remediate problems/issues in a timely manner

Design and implement standards (hardware, software, configurations, security, etc.), and policies and procedures around these standards

Evaluate, define and manage infrastructure strategy to ensure capabilities of supporting current and future business demands at optimal cost

Prepares, submits, and manages operating and capital expenditures for technology needed to support the organizations technology projects

Implements technical controls to support Cybersecurity initiatives, which ensures secure operations in network and computing environments

Identify and evaluate potential hardware and software solutions which will contribute to organizations overall goals

Support 24/7 operations including periodic on-call rotation

Collaborates with Director, Cybersecurity and other team members on risk assessment, response and remediation

Provides weekly updates with project timelines and goals to Director, IT

Keeps abreast of new knowledge, research, products, and services in technology that will benefit the organization

Rack and stack server and storage hardware

Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

6+ years of relevant IT systems administration/engineering experience in a hands-on capacity

Ability to work independently and manage multiple task and priorities for operational deliverables

Ability to interact and work effectively with internal and external customers while providing the highest quality of customer service

Preferred knowledge of industry security standards, audits, and certifications

Detail oriented with strong problem-solving skills

Manage vendor relationships and negotiations

Excellent communication and organization skills

Ability to write and present formal documentation

Strong experience:

Windows Server OS

AD Certificate, Domain and Federation Services, DHCP, DNS, File, NPS, Print, RDS, IIS, WSUS, Failover Clustering/AOAG, Group Policy

Email

Exchange on-prem/hybrid

Mailbox/Edge Transport roles, databases, DAGs, virtual directories, certificates, load balancing

SMTP, IMAP

DNS & Authentication

MX, A/AAAA, PTR

SPF, DKIM, DMARC

Spam, phishing, and malware filtering

SharePoint on-prem/online

Server

Dell PowerEdge hardware or similar including management thereof via Lifecycle Controller, iDRAC, OpenManage, etc.

Storage

DAS, NAS, SAN, CIFS/SMB, iSCSI, NFS, FC, FCoE, NVMe-oF

Backup, disaster recovery, high availability and fault tolerance

System monitoring, performance tuning and capacity planning

Scripting for automation and system administration

Bonus experience:

Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV

Microsoft stack licensing

Datacenter buildout

Racks, PDU’s, structured cabling, cable management

Cisco switching, routing and firewall

VMware vSphere (vCenter, ESXi)

NetApp AFF/CDOT

Rubrik CDM

Zoom Enterprise suite

Physical Requirements:

Remains in a sitting/stationary position continually or almost continually during the work day

Operates a computer and performs desk-based computer tasks continually; frequently viewing a computer screen

Prefer the ability to lift, carry, push, pull objects and/or equipment that weighs up to 50 pounds on rare occasions

COVID-19 Policy:

Cogent has adopted a mandatory vaccination and booster policy which requires all U.S. employees to be fully vaccinated with one booster against COVID-19. Prior to beginning employment, new employees must provide proof of vaccination or apply for and receive an accommodation to be exempt from the policy.

By submitting an application or resume for this position, I agree to abide Cogent’s mandatory vaccination policy.

To apply for the Systems Engineer position, please submit your resume and cover letter to [email protected].

Cogent Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer.