IT Senior Systems Administrator

Full Job Description

About us:

At the Office of the State Treasurer (OST), the work matters—and so do the people doing it.

As Washington State’s financial hub, we manage banking, investments, and debt services that support agencies and communities across the state. But what makes OST stand out is our team. With about 70 employees, we’re intentionally small, highly collaborative, and focused on making an impact.

Here, you won’t get lost in the crowd. Employees are trusted with real responsibility, empowered to make decisions, and encouraged to bring new ideas forward.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits, support work-life balance, and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where different perspectives are valued.

Career growth may not always follow a traditional path but that’s by design. At OST, development comes through meaningful work, cross-functional experience, and the opportunity to expand your skills in a supportive setting.

It’s a place where people come to contribute and choose to stay.

About the team:

The Information Services Division (ISD) provides the technology foundation that powers OST’s mission. Our work supports everything from core financial operations to enterprise cybersecurity, data management, and technology modernization efforts across the agency.

Opportunity:

OST is seeking a highly experienced Senior Systems Administrator to serve as the agency’s senior technical specialist for server infrastructure, virtualization, disaster recovery, and operational resiliency.

This role provides expert-level technical leadership across OST’s enterprise infrastructure, ensuring systems are secure, highly available, and compliant with state and federal standards.

The position plays a critical role in maintaining business continuity, supporting modernization initiatives, and responding to high-impact incidents.

The Senior Systems Administrator reports to the IT Operations Senior Manager and is recognized agency wide as a subject matter expert for complex infrastructure design, troubleshooting, and recovery operations.

Requirements

What we are looking for:

We’re seeking a seasoned infrastructure professional who thrives in complex environments and brings deep hands-on expertise, sound judgment, and a collaborative mindset.

The ideal candidate is both a strategic thinker and a practical problem-solver who can lead by example during high-stakes operational events.

Key Competencies

Successful candidates will demonstrate the following competencies:

• Technical Leadership – Serves as a senior technical authority for enterprise infrastructure and resiliency solutions.
• Operational Excellence – Ensures stability, performance, and availability of mission-critical systems.
• Problem Solving & Judgment – Diagnoses complex issues, performs root cause analysis, and implements effective solutions.
• Security & Risk Awareness – Integrates security, compliance, and risk management into infrastructure design and operations.
• Collaboration & Communication – Effectively partners with technical teams, leadership, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Accountability & Integrity – Demonstrates professionalism, reliability, and ethical decision-making.
• Learning, Adapting, & Advocating – Demonstrates the ability to take action to learn, grow and take action to meet the needs of others.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the engineering, configuration, and operational support of OST’s physical and virtual server environments.
• Design, implement, and maintain enterprise backup, disaster recovery, and data protection solutions.
• Serve as the agency’s senior technical specialist for virtualization, storage, and infrastructure resiliency.
• Monitor system performance and proactively identify and remediate risks to availability and security.
• Respond to high-severity incidents, including after-hours and emergency events, providing senior-level technical judgment.
• Support SaaS architecture planning and client-side implementation efforts.
• Research emerging technologies and recommend infrastructure improvements aligned with OST strategy.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and journey-level IT staff.
• Ensure compliance with OST, OCIO, and statewide IT security and infrastructure standards.

Qualifications

A combination of relevant education, training, certifications, and experience will be considered.

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Seven (7) or more years of progressively responsible experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, or enterprise IT operations.
• Five (5) or more years of hands-on experience managing enterprise infrastructure, including servers, virtualization platforms, storage, backup, and cloud services.
• Experience supporting disaster recovery, business continuity, and resiliency solutions in production environments.
• Proven ability to diagnose and resolve complex infrastructure and performance issues.
• Working knowledge of SQL administration, including backup, recovery, and performance monitoring.
• Working knowledge of IT service management (ITSM), change control, and incident management practices.

Desirable Education, Experience, and Competencies:

• Experience in Washington State or public-sector IT environments.
• Familiarity with OCIO standards and statewide IT governance.
• Industry certifications (e.g., Microsoft, VMware, AWS, CompTIA, Cisco, ITIL).
• Experience supporting hybrid cloud environments and modernization initiatives.

Additional Information

How to apply:

In addition to completing the online application profile on careers.wa.gov, applicants must attach to their profile a current resume and a letter of interest explaining aligning your interest and experience to applicable qualifications.

A background check including criminal record history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the candidates' suitability and competence to perform in the position.

Benefits:

Washington State offers a competitive benefits package.

Beyond the traditional benefits such as health insurance, life insurance and retirement benefits, we offer flex spending accounts, dependent care assistance, deferred compensation, 12 paid holidays, paid vacation, and sick leave.

Click on the “Benefits” tab near the top of the page to learn more.

Location & Schedule:

This position is based in Olympia, Washington, in the Helen Sommers Building on the Capitol Campus. OST maintains a flexible, hybrid work environment.

Our hybrid schedule approach gives you the best of both worlds: remote work with regular in-person collaboration.

Employees are onsite at least twice a month, with additional in-office work expected during the first six months.

After that, schedules are tailored to fit the role, work styles, and position requirements.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC):

OST is an equal opportunity employer; committed to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.

OST provides equal access and opportunity to anyone who qualifies regardless of immigration status, on the bases of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age (40 and older), disability, genetic information (including employer requests for, or purchase, use, or disclosure of genetic tests, genetic services, or family medical history) retaliation for filing a charge, reasonably opposing discrimination, or participating in a discrimination lawsuit, investigation, or proceeding.

Recruitment access, assistance and contact information:

For questions about this recruitment or for applicants in need of assistance during the application process, please contact Nadine Sordahl at (360) 902-8919 or via email to nadine.sordahl@tre.wa.gov. TTY users should first call 711 to access the Washington Relay Service.