Peaple Talent have exclusively partnered with a market leading transportaion software company who are recruiting a hands-on System Administrator on an initial 6 month fixed term contract to support our clients on-premises IT infrastructure through a combination of project-based work and day-to-day operational support. The role requires solid technical expertise in Windows Server and database administration, virtualisation technologies (Hyper-V and VMware), storage systems, and high-availability configurations including failover and stretched clustering.
The position will primarily focus on delivering infrastructure-related projects such as data centre migrations and system upgrades while also maintaining the stability, performance, and security of core services. The System Administrator will contribute to the implementation of secure, scalable solutions and ensure alignment with compliance standards such as ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus. This role supports multiple office locations and data centres and is expected to actively troubleshoot issues, optimize systems, and maintain service continuity throughout the engagement.
Accountabilities
The On-Prem System Administrator will be responsible and accountable for:
* Ensuring timely delivery of infrastructure upgrade and data centre migration projects.
* Managing and maintaining the health, performance, and availability of on-premises Windows-based infrastructure and Azure cloud services.
* Supporting the implementation and enforcement of security controls aligned with organizational policies and compliance standards (e.g., ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR).
* Overseeing Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and other core infrastructure services.
* Managing system configuration, performance tuning, and incident/problem resolution across both on-prem and Azure environments.
* Participating in disaster recovery and business continuity planning and testing.
* Collaborating with cross-functional teams to support infrastructure projects and business needs.
Role Requirements/Dimensions
* Strong hands-on experience with Hyper-V and VMware, including VM deployment, migration, resource optimisation, and backup/restore procedures.
* Expertise in failover clustering and stretched clustering for high availability and business continuity across sites.
* Proven knowledge of NetApp and other enterprise storage platforms, including configuration, performance tuning, and replication.
* Experience with SAN environments, iSCSI, Fiber channels and data protection mechanisms.
* Capable of designing scalable and secure IT infrastructure solutions, both on-prem and hybrid, to support evolving business and security needs.
* Practical experience managing IAM, including role-based access control (RBAC), conditional access policies, GPO and on-prem Active Directory.
* Familiarity with securing identities and implementing least privilege principles.
* Experience in managing on-premises data centre operations including rack/stack, cabling, cooling, power, access control, and physical security best practices.
* Responsible for hardware lifecycle, capacity planning.
* Understanding of database servers, proxy servers, and load balancers; ability to support and collaborate with teams managing these components is a strong advantage.
* Knowledge of health monitoring, fault tolerance, and performance optimisation across server layers.
* Familiar with architecture documentation and solution design principles with HLD and LLD.
* Working knowledge of networking fundamentals including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, firewalls, and VPNs.
* Ability to troubleshoot and collaborate on network-related issues in a multi-site or hybrid cloud environment.
* Skilled in managing and supporting Office 365 applications and services, including Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, and Intune.
* Experience with user onboarding, license management, and service configuration.
Typical Outputs
* Successful execution of infrastructure projects, including migrations and data centre operations, delivered on time with minimal business disruption.
* Ongoing administration of virtualised environments using Hyper-V and VMware, NetApp storage, services to ensure high availability and performance.
* Delivery of a stable and secure infrastructure environment through proactive management and maintenance of on-prem environment.
* Configuration and management of Azure identity and access controls, ensuring alignment with organisational security and compliance standards.
* Creation and maintenance of accurate technical documentation HLD and LLD covering infrastructure, network configurations, system builds, and support procedures.
* Implementation of monitoring and alerting systems that provide visibility into infrastructure health and support timely issue resolution.
* Systems and processes maintained in compliance with regulatory and security standards such as ISO 27001, GDPR, and Cyber Essentials Plus.
* Disaster recovery and incident response plans developed, documented, and tested to ensure readiness and business continuity.
* Effective collaboration with other technical teams to troubleshoot and resolve complex infrastructure issues.
* Consistent and reliable delivery of second and third-line support services, improving user satisfaction and operational efficiency.