Cloud Systems Administrator

ECHO Incorporated is an industry leader in developing and manufacturing high-performance, professional-grade, handheld outdoor power equipment. With distributors and thousands of dealers across North and South America, ECHO is constantly anticipating the future of the outdoor power equipment industry and the need for environmental sustainability. Working for ECHO means joining a team of people who are committed to collaboration, innovation, creativity, and high-quality products that make us a globally competitive brand.

ECHO is adding to the IT department! The Cloud Systems Administrator is responsible for designing, implementing, securing, and supporting the organization’s cloud and on-premises infrastructure. This role will have a strong focus on Microsoft Azure while continuing to support critical on-premises technologies including VMware, enterprise storage, backup and disaster recovery platforms, Windows Server, and related infrastructure services. 

The Cloud Systems Administrator will work closely with IT Infrastructure, cybersecurity, application teams, business stakeholders, and external partners to build, maintain, secure, and scale a reliable hybrid to cloud infrastructure. This position requires a strong understanding of traditional systems engineering combined with the ability to evaluate and migrate workloads to cloud platforms when appropriate. 

Security, resiliency, recoverability, and operational stability should be considered throughout all infrastructure design and implementation activities. 

The salary range for this position is $100,000-$110,000 based on experience and qualifications.

This is a hybrid position that will offer the flexibility of working from home and on-site at our Lake Zurich facility.

ECHO’s benefits include:

• 11 paid holidays
• Extremely affordable medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off
• Yearly bonus potential
• 5% 401K match
• Tuition reimbursement

Duties/Responsibilities:

Cloud Infrastructure 

• Design, engineer, and implement secure, scalable, and resilient cloud solutions across Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Lead the assessment, planning, and migration of on-premises applications and infrastructure to Azure and AWS cloud platforms.
• Architect and optimize hybrid-cloud environments, ensuring reliable connectivity, performance, and integration between cloud services, corporate networks, and remote locations.
• Analyze cloud performance, availability, utilization, and cost and recommend opportunities for optimization. 
• Establish and evolve cloud engineering standards, including resource architecture, governance, security controls, identity management, automation, and lifecycle management.
• Design, develop, and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automation frameworks, and operational tooling to enable consistent, repeatable, and scalable cloud deployments.
• Document cloud architecture, configurations, and standard operating procedures to support knowledge continuity across the team.
• Deploy, manage, monitor, and troubleshoot containerized workloads and Kubernetes-based platforms, including Docker, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), and Amazon EKS.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, networking, and application teams to integrate security, resiliency, and operational best practices into cloud and container platform designs.

VMware and Server Infrastructure 

• Engineer and optimize the organization’s VMware virtualization environment, including ESXi hosts, vCenter, virtual machines, clusters, storage connectivity, and related infrastructure. 
• Support Windows Server and other infrastructure platforms hosted both on-premises and in the cloud. 
• Monitor infrastructure health, capacity, performance, and availability and proactively address potential issues. 
• Perform system upgrades, patching, lifecycle management, and infrastructure modernization. 
• Troubleshoot complex server, virtualization, networking, storage, and application infrastructure issues. 

Storage, Backup, and Disaster Recovery 

• Leads cloud-based backup, replication, immutable storage, and disaster recovery technologies 
• Administer and support enterprise NAS, cloud storage, and related storage technologies. 
• Manage enterprise backup platforms and ensure critical infrastructure and business systems are appropriately protected. 
• Monitor backup jobs, investigate failures, and regularly validate successful backups. 
• Assist with the development and maintenance of Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity strategies. 

Security and Infrastructure Protection 

• Maintain a security-first approach when designing and administering infrastructure. 
• Work closely with Cybersecurity to ensure cloud and on-premises systems align with organizational security standards and industry best practices. 
• Support security monitoring, logging, endpoint protection, and cloud infrastructure security tools. 
• Owns cloud, on-premise, and backup configurations for security risks and opportunities for improvement. 
• Administer, monitor, and support containerized workloads and orchestration platforms to ensure reliable and scalable application delivery.

Additional Responsibilities 

• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive administrative and operational tasks. 
• Stay current with developments in Azure, AWS, VMware, storage, backup, cybersecurity, and infrastructure technologies. 
• Participate in an on-call or after-hours support rotation when necessary for critical infrastructure issues or planned maintenance. 
• Create and maintain clear technical documentation, runbooks, and knowledge base articles.
• Provide mentorship and knowledge-sharing to junior IT staff as needed.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other IT teams (networking, applications, service desk) to support enterprise projects and initiatives.

Job Experience/Skills:

• 5+ years of experience supporting enterprise systems, cloud infrastructure, virtualization, or a related technology environment. 
• Experience working in a hybrid Microsoft Azure /on-premises enterprise environment. 
• Experience supporting VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter environments. 
• Strong experience with Windows Server administration and enterprise infrastructure technologies. 
• Experience with enterprise storage technologies including SAN, NAS, and cloud-based storage. 
• Understanding of networking concepts including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, routing, VPNs, firewalls, and cloud networking. 
• Strong understanding of identity and access management concepts, including Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, role-based access control, MFA, and least privilege. 
• Experience with PowerShell or other scripting/automation technologies.  Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively with technical teams, business users, vendors, and leadership. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly document and explain technical concepts. 
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in a fast-paced environment.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field. 

Equal Opportunity Employment:

We are an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants.

E-Verification:

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.