Senior system administrators manage a team of system administrators as well as other employees of the IT department. They are responsible for designing, planning, putting into place, and having the highest level of performance as an expert in the system administration for computers and their complex operating systems. With this, senior system administrators research and select upgrades, software and other necessities for their company's computer systems. They also work with other administrators and the IT department to resolve or implement new hardware for computers, printers and other service systems for the company. Senior administrators are also responsible for training and supervising new employees that would work under them. They must be well versed in technology and have a strong ability to plan, organize, evaluate and redesign system designs to have them work better for the company. In addition, senior systems administrators must have strong communication skills (both verbal and written), be a team player and perform difficult tasks well under pressure.
Most companies require their senior systems administrators to have, at the very least, an associate's degree in computer science or related field. Training and work experience in computer programming, computer science, computer engineering, mathematics and statistics will be very helpful for these kinds of positions, and people with extensive computer system backgrounds will likely be highly considered. Also, many companies prefer that their senior systems administrators have at least five years of system administration experience. Along with these requirements, senior systems engineers should keep up to date on all of the new technologies since they are ever changing. This will help in making decisions that will be the best for their company in the long run.
Senior Systems Administrator Tasks
- Lead a team of systems administrators to manage servers and other computer system aspects of a company.
- Configure and troubleshoot software and hardware enhancements, application deployments and infrastructure up-grades.
- Diagnose and correct computer systems issues.