Senior System Administrator

Job Category : Administrative

Job Type : Full Time

Job Reference Number : HR-FT-02-2026

Job Open Date : 2026-01-21 - Deadline: 2026-02-21

Job Location : Abu Dhabi, UAE

Job Description

The purpose of this role is to manage and maintain the stability, integrity, performance, and efficient operation of the computing and storage infrastructure of the University. Responsibilities include designing, implementing, and managing complex IT infrastructure systems focused on private and public cloud environments that will support the business operations.

Key Accountability

System Architecture & Infrastructure Management

Design, develop, and implement system architectures for private and public cloud environments aligned with organisational goals and requirements.
Administer, maintain, and support compute, virtualisation, storage, and operating systems across enterprise environments.
Participate in requirements gathering, analysis, and collaboration with internal teams to produce system and software architecture designs.

Cloud, Virtualisation & Storage Technologies

Maintain and support cloud environments, virtualization platforms, and storage infrastructure.
Demonstrate strong troubleshooting abilities to identify and resolve issues related to cloud environments, systems, and storage infrastructure.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of compute, virtualization, and storage technologies, architectures, and industry best

Planning & Performance Optimisation

Perform capacity planning to forecast future infrastructure requirements based on business growth and system usage trends.
Monitor system and infrastructure performance and conduct performance tuning and optimization to enhance efficiency, scalability, and reliability.

Security, Compliance & Data Protection

Implement and enforce security controls and best practices to safeguard SUAD systems and data.
Maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of all proprietary and sensitive information related to SUAD, including student, faculty, and staff data.
Ensure compliance with institutional policies, standards, and security requirements.

Maintenance, Operations, Backup, Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Plan, design, and implement disaster recovery (DR) solutions enabling enterprise systems to maintain business continuity.
Establish, test, and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity procedures in the event of system failures, natural disasters, or other disruptions.
Support high availability and system resilience across infrastructure platforms.
Conduct regular maintenance activities on systems and storage infrastructure to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
Apply software, firmware, and security updates in a controlled and timely manner.
Troubleshoot system components and resolve complex hardware and software issues.
Maintain, upgrade, and enhance system environments as required.

Collaborate on Requirements & Stakeholder Engagement

Participate in requirements analysis & collaborate with internal teams and departments to propose solutions that address the requirements.
Liaise between IT teams, vendors and other SUAD project stakeholders.
Collaborate with IT management on project planning and reporting.

Support Audit Readiness & Compliance Gaps Resolution

Collaborate with internal audit, compliance, and risk management teams to prepare for IT audits.
Maintain up-to-date documentation for all systems and security configurations, change logs, asset inventories, and access control records.
Provide systems architectural diagrams, SOPs, risk assessments, and incident response records

Policies and Procedures

Assist in updating the section's policies and procedures and ensuring alignment with departmental strategies, goals, KPIs, and standards.
Assist in developing detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for system configurations, security device management, and IT tasks.

Reporting

Prepare accurate and timely reports on SUAD users' support services, incident findings, and case logs for review by the Head of IT.
Prepare and deliver periodic reports on system performance, availability, bandwidth utilisation, and system health.
Provide executive summaries highlighting risks, actions taken, and lessons learned.

Related Duties

Perform other responsibilities and assignments as delegated by the Line Manager to support departmental operations.
Assist in creating awareness programs and training materials to ensure stakeholders understand and comply with policies.
Provide briefings or onboarding sessions for new technical staff on applicable procedures and controls.

Qualification

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor of Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent
Professional level active certifications in two of these areas: Microsoft, Linux, Storage and Virtualization
Professional certificates in networking & security
Professional active certification in CCNP Datacentre, Enterprise Infrastructure or Security
Professional active certification in Palo Alto firewalls administration
Professional active certification in CCIE is preferable, along with progress towards CISSP
Professional active Cybersecurity certification related to Network Defense

Minimum Experience

8+ years with System administration and engineering experience.
Knowledge of Azure Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service Models
Expertise and hands-on experience with Microsoft Purview DLP and DLM
Proficiency in Mobile Device Management platform Intune and endpoint security platforms like Defender.
Knowledge security compliance and best practices
Strong Knowledge of Microsoft AD and SAML protocols with SaaS and cloud integrations.
Deep knowledge of M365 administration, Azure AD/Entra Connect, and hybrid configuration is a must
Thorough understanding of Server Virtualization, Storage virtualization.
Experience in Windows, Solaris/Linux environments is a must.
Working experience in configuring and managing Red Hat Satellite Server
Ability to align to strategic plan and communicate with vendors for project related work.
Expert level understanding and troubleshooting knowledge of Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI), Server Operating Systems, Server and storage Hardware, Enterprise Storage, Data Protection, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity, Private and public cloud environments.
Thorough understanding of clustering requirements; ability to build and maintain Microsoft Windows clusters. Deep understanding of failover clusters.
Ability to participate in internal and external audits in relevant areas
Strong understanding of networking concepts end-to-end in large campus 3-tier network infrastructure deployments, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and VLANs.
Provide first-line troubleshooting for LAN/WAN, wireless, VPN, and firewall issues.
Knowledge on creating and managing Firewall Policies
Monitor network health and escalate performance or availability problems.
Support security controls: apply patches, manage endpoint protection, and enforce password/MFA policies.
Assist in incident triage of network and security related issues
Apply and monitor endpoint and server security controls (antivirus, patching, basic compliance checks).
Support execution of security policies (password resets, MFA enrolment, user access provisioning).
Perform initial triage of incidents — classify severity and escalate major events.
Maintain up-to-date access control records for users and systems.
Support internal/external audit preparation by providing logs and configurations when requested.

Preferred Experience

5 or more years of experience in the higher education sector
Working knowledge of Pure Storage and Brocade SAN Switches
Working knowledge of HCI – Dell VxRail or another equivalent
Working knowledge of Oracle Linux
Working knowledge of KVM and VMware virtualisation
Experience in working with hyperscale’s like AWS, Azure, GCP

Job Specific Skills

High level of proficiency in System Architecture Life Cycle
Information Security knowledge and experience, including understanding of information security principles, policies, and standards.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills
Ability to manage and prioritise workload to deliver high-quality work products on time with minimal direction.
Continuous learning, creative thinking/innovation, multi-tasking, analysis/assessment, problem solving.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to work with both technical and non-technical users.

Senior System Administrator