Sr Systems Administrator

Overview

At TDS Telecom, connecting people is at the heart of everything we do. We are forward thinkers who leverage cutting-edge fiber internet technology to strengthen communities. We are dedicated to excellence, which drives us to succeed together, creating a better world through meaningful connections. Ready to make an impact?

 

As a Sr. Systems Administrator on the Cloud Infrastructure team, you will build, operate, and automate the server and virtualization platforms that power TDS Telecom’s fiber‑optic internet services. This hands-on role supports enterprise compute and hypervisor environments (including VMware ESXi and Nutanix AHV) with a focus on reliability, scale, and continuous improvement. You will partner with system administrators and engineers to manage thousands of virtual machines across on‑premises data centers and regional peering sites nationwide, using strong Linux command-line and scripting skills to solve complex platform challenges.  Experience integrating hypervisors with Fibre Channel SAN storage a plus.

 

This position is based in the Denver, CO metro area and includes occasional onsite support for physical equipment installations in our Denver-area data center. Experience working in a Tier II (or higher) data center and familiarity with best practices for airflow/heat management and long-term hardware servicing are a plus.

 

This position works with significant autonomy and independence. The scope of work includes small system implementations to major system projects. As an experienced systems administrator and a beginning technical leader, the position receives regular mentoring, feedback, and supervision by senior technical staff and management on team leadership skills.

 

Ability to work nights and weekends, as needed for system implementation and resolving system problems and participation in a 24x7 on-call rotation is required.

Responsibilities

• Designs, develops, implements, tests, and fixes defects in systems. Systems may be routine to moderately complex.
• Independently resolves complex problems with systems.
• Performs complex maintenance, administration, and capacity planning activities on systems to ensure continued reliability, performance, and security targets are met. Automates system administration activities through scripting tools.
• Independently prepares work estimates and project schedules for all technical work for the projects within the team.
• Maintains expert-level knowledge:
  • On the systems and tools within the scope of the team's responsibility.
  • Of the business processes supported by the systems.
  • Of system configuration and administration best practices, tools, and methodologies that are recognized throughout Information Systems.
• Actively participates in quality and continuous improvement initiatives across business units within the company.
• Maintains expert knowledge of the technologies and practices of the company's chosen markets and maintains awareness of trends in technologies and vendor product offerings.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Associates degree (or higher) -OR- 2+ years professional work experience.
• 3+ years of systems administration experience.

Other Qualifications:

• Experience with networking, security including IPv4, IPv6, load balancers, and firewalls.
• Experience with enterprise Linux solutions (preference for experience with Red Hat or Ubuntu Linux derivatives).
• Experience with enterprise virtualization and container technologies.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD, including Puppet, Ansible, Jenkins and GitHub.
• Experience with Python and RESTful APIs.
• Experience with SSL certificates and PKI infrastructure.
• Familiarity with various aspects of Intel-based computer server hardware.
• Familiarity with AWS or Azure cloud computing technologies
• Experience with Kanban and Agile practices and DevOps and SecOps.
• Knowledge of systems development methodologies, practices, and tools.
• Knowledge of observability and monitoring solutions.
• Knowledge of team leadership skills, practices, and behaviors.
• Ability to travel as needed for company business and professional development.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to sit, stand, write and operate a computer keyboard, standard office equipment and telephone. The associate regularly communicates with customers. The associate is frequently required to move about and reach for items. The associate may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The physical deman