Application Systems Engineer

The Application Systems Engineer is responsible for the infrastructure administration, operational support, monitoring, maintenance, and continuous improvement of a mission-critical FAST platform hosted in an on-premises environment. This role supports the application and its underlying Windows-based infrastructure, including application servers, web services, databases, reporting components, batch processes, file and image services, integrations, and monitoring tools.

The Engineer will work closely with application developers, database administrators, network and security teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and other technical teams to maintain system availability, resolve complex incidents, implement upgrades, strengthen security, and improve platform performance. The position requires hands-on expertise with Windows Server administration, Microsoft IIS, enterprise application support, PowerShell automation, monitoring, troubleshooting, and infrastructure lifecycle management.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. FAST Platform Infrastructure Support

·    Administer and support the on-premises infrastructure hosting the FAST platform and its related application services.

·    Maintain Windows application servers, Microsoft IIS, clustered services, file and image servers, reporting services, batch processes, and supporting middleware.

·    Perform server builds and configure application software, Windows roles and features, folder structures, service accounts, access controls, and security settings.

·    Maintain platform stability, availability, capacity, performance, and operational readiness across production and non-production environments.

·    Coordinate infrastructure activities with FAST platform resources, internal technical teams, and third-party vendors.

2. Production Support and Incident Management

·    Provide advanced, top-tier support for complex platform, server, application, performance, and connectivity issues.

·    Take ownership of incidents from detection through resolution, including stakeholder communication, escalation, root-cause analysis, and follow-up actions.

·    Use logs, performance counters, packet captures, SQL performance information, application monitoring, and server diagnostic tools to isolate issues.

·    Develop proactive monitors, alerts, and automated recovery procedures to improve uptime and reduce customer impact.

·    Participate in after-hours, on-call, evening, or weekend support as required for critical incidents, releases, maintenance, or disaster recovery.

3. Monitoring, Performance, and Capacity

·    Monitor server health, resource utilization, application performance, capacity, security events, system efficiency, and failure indicators.

·    Use enterprise monitoring and analytics tools such as Dynatrace, SolarWinds, Windows performance tools, and related platforms.

·    Analyze trends, identify bottlenecks, recommend corrective actions, and provide recurring health and performance reporting.

·    Collaborate with application developers and database administrators to optimize application and database access performance.

4. System Maintenance, Patching, and Upgrades

·    Install, configure, patch, upgrade, and maintain Windows-based application infrastructure and commercial off-the-shelf software.

·    Assess upgrade dependencies, risks, benefits, rollback requirements, and implementation schedules before production changes.

·    Maintain documented procedures for server, database, application, and platform patching.

·    Coordinate releases and configuration changes across application, database, network, security, and infrastructure teams.

5. Automation and DevOps

·    Create and maintain PowerShell scripts to automate administrative tasks, configuration, data gathering, troubleshooting, deployment, and maintenance activities.

·    Reduce manual configuration errors by developing repeatable Infrastructure-as-Code and configuration automation practices where appropriate.

·    Use Azure DevOps or equivalent tools for source control, work tracking, release coordination, and deployment support.

·    Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, consistency, recovery time, and supportability through automation.

6. Security and Access Management

·    Implement and maintain secure infrastructure configurations in accordance with organizational and applicable government security standards.

·    Manage infrastructure-level access, permissions, service accounts, certificates, and related controls supporting the FAST platform.

·    Review security findings, patch vulnerabilities, respond to malware or intrusion events, and coordinate remediation with security teams.

·    Maintain system confidentiality, integrity, availability, and protection of sensitive or personally identifiable information.

7. Disaster Recovery and Continuity

·    Maintain and test disaster recovery configurations, procedures, dependencies, and technical documentation for the FAST platform.

·    Support application and system recovery, incident response, failover, and alternate-site operations.

·    Participate in recovery exercises and implement improvements identified through testing or production incidents.

8. Documentation, Collaboration, and Project Support

·    Create, review, and maintain architecture diagrams, build guides, support runbooks, standard operating procedures, troubleshooting guides, and recovery documentation.

·    Provide technical consultation, knowledge transfer, and training to support teams and business partners.

·    Participate in or lead infrastructure projects involving new systems, modernization, upgrades, integrations, monitoring, or security improvements.

·    Communicate technical risks, options, recommendations, progress, and incident status clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.