Wintel Server Engineer / Administrator

Wintel Server Engineer / Administrator – Onsite Role (Galway) | Full-Time – Contract

Are you an experienced Wintel Server Engineer with strong hands-on expertise across Microsoft enterprise environments, infrastructure operations, and IT security?

Do you thrive in structured, mission-critical environments where service reliability, security, and operational excellence are essential?

We are seeking a Wintel Server Engineer / Administrator to provide onsite IT infrastructure support and administration, contributing to the reliable operation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of enterprise IT services within a public-sector environment.

Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 5 days per week

Daily Hours: 7.5 hours per day (excluding breaks), between 8:00am and 6:00pm

Contract Start Date: 1st May 2026 (or as soon as possible thereafter)

Engagement Type: Full-time

Contract Duration: 1 year

Location: Onsite – Oranmore, Co. Galway

Occasional travel within Ireland may be required (fewer than four times per year), including visits to offices in Dublin 2, Furnace (Co. Mayo), or research vessels when in Irish ports. Approved travel costs will be reimbursed in line with public-sector contractor travel rates.

This is a fully onsite role. Candidates unwilling to attend onsite as required should not apply.

Role Overview

The Wintel Server Engineer / Administrator will be responsible for the day-to-day operation, maintenance, and security of enterprise IT infrastructure.

The role involves supporting business-critical systems, ensuring high availability, applying security controls, and contributing to infrastructure projects, service provisioning, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Operations & Support

• Perform daily system and service health checks to ensure availability of IT and telephony services.
• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve incidents escalated via the IT Service Desk.
• Conduct proactive security monitoring to prevent intrusion, malware, ransomware, or spyware incidents.
• Perform daily and weekly backup operations to ensure system and data integrity.
• Manage user account provisioning, including creation, modification, and removal of access.
• Develop and implement Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with associated KPIs for IT service quality and delivery.

Maintenance & Infrastructure

• Apply critical security patches and system updates in a timely manner.
• Ensure all infrastructure components are covered by vendor support and maintenance contracts.
• Conduct performance testing and capacity planning across virtual and physical servers, SANs, and network infrastructure.
• Maintain server rooms, communications cabinets, cabling, and equipment to required operational standards.
• Ensure all IT operational procedures and service documentation are current and maintained.
• Conduct and document disaster recovery, business continuity, and intrusion detection testing.
• Work with IT management to ensure IT policies, standards, and procedures remain current.
• Maintain accurate records of infrastructure changes and maintenance activities.
• Support IT security audits and ensure timely remediation of audit findings.

Service Provisioning & Projects

• Provision IT services for new staff, relocations, and organisational changes.
• Participate in infrastructure and systems projects, advising on technical feasibility and security considerations.
• Configure system software in support of new services and project delivery.
• Engage with vendors and service providers to install and expand IT infrastructure.
• Extend and support the Wide Area Network (WAN) as required.

Out-of-Hours Support

• Provide occasional out-of-hours support to facilitate installations, maintenance, or system upgrades:
• Approximately 4 hours of evening work per quarter
• Approximately 4 hours of weekend (Saturday) work per quarter

Experience & Skills Required (Mandatory)

• Minimum 4+ years’ extensive professional experience in Wintel server administration or a closely related role
• Administration of Microsoft enterprise environments including:
• Windows Server Operating Systems
• Active Directory
• Microsoft Azure
• Hyper-V
• System Centre Configuration Manager
• Operations Manager & Virtual Machine Manager
• Microsoft Exchange
• Microsoft 365 Enterprise Mobility & Security administration, including:
• Endpoint Management
• Identity & Access Management
• Data Protection
• Security monitoring and threat detection experience using tools such as Microsoft Sentinel, Darktrace, or equivalent
• Backup, restore, and disaster recovery administration supporting business SLAs
• Experience with CommVault and Azure Site Recovery is advantageous
• System administration experience including:
• LAN/WAN administration
• SAN management (e.g. Dell EMC Unity)
• Firewall administration (e.g. Juniper)
• Endpoint security (Defender for Endpoint, Intune)
• Working knowledge of Unix/Linux
• Experience implementing IT security policies, controls, and structured service delivery frameworks (e.g. ITIL)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including technical documentation and stakeholder reporting
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary IT teams

Qualifications (Mandatory)

Degree (NFQ Level 6 or higher) in IT, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline

Driving Licence & Transport (Mandatory)

Full clean Irish driving licence and own transport ( A “clean licence” means the candidate is not currently disqualified from driving)

English Language Requirement (Mandatory)Must be fluent in English

• CV must indicate whether the candidate is a native English speaker
• Non-native speakers must hold CEFR Level C2 (Mastery/Proficiency) certification