How to hire an enterprise systems administrator

How to hire an enterprise systems administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step enterprise systems administrator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an enterprise systems administrator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new enterprise systems administrator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an enterprise systems administrator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the enterprise systems administrator you need to hire. Certain enterprise systems administrator roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an enterprise systems administrator to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an enterprise systems administrator that fits the bill.

   This list presents enterprise systems administrator salaries for various positions.

   Type of Enterprise Systems Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Enterprise Systems Administrator	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$30-59
   Systems Engineer	Systems engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing systems related to the overall operations of the organization. They are in charge of assessing the organization's needs in terms of systems and creating plans to address these needs... Show more	$29-52
   LAN Administrator	LAN administrators are responsible for maintaining the local area network of an organization. These administrators manage the server that connects an organization's network to computers and equipment that need them... Show more	$20-41

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Troubleshoot
   • PowerShell
   • Database
   • Linux
   • Windows Server
   • SCCM
   • SharePoint
   • Management System
   • SQL Server
   • DHCP
   • DNS
   • SAN
   • DOD
   • Desktop

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Work with e-services, EarthLink's customer facing team to manage mail and dns environment.
   • Save company many hours of manual testing and developing by engineering Java applications to automate tedious tasks.
   • Contact and coordinate with local network support to open appropriate SCCM, iLO, SCOM and HBSS ports.
   • Work with DNS for and on internal devices.
   • Lead for backup strategy and key member for PC imaging.
   • Install, maintain and troubleshoot server equipment and computer hardware/ software.

   More enterprise systems administrator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your enterprise systems administrator job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An enterprise systems administrator salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, enterprise systems administrators' average salary in alaska is 44% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level enterprise systems administrators earn 49% less than senior-level enterprise systems administrators.
   • Certifications. An enterprise systems administrator with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an enterprise systems administrator's salary.

   Average enterprise systems administrator salary

   $89,075yearly

   $42.82 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level enterprise systems administrator salary

   $63,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average enterprise systems administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$123,588	$59
   2	Pennsylvania	$100,055	$48
   3	Washington	$96,652	$46
   4	Massachusetts	$95,521	$46
   5	New York	$94,571	$45
   6	Virginia	$92,130	$44
   7	District of Columbia	$91,388	$44
   8	Connecticut	$86,982	$42
   9	Texas	$84,986	$41
   10	Arizona	$84,947	$41
   11	Maryland	$84,041	$40
   12	Oregon	$83,729	$40
   13	Florida	$83,707	$40
   14	North Carolina	$81,760	$39
   15	Ohio	$81,204	$39
   16	Michigan	$80,721	$39
   17	Mississippi	$77,624	$37
   18	South Carolina	$75,052	$36
   19	Oklahoma	$74,239	$36
   20	Missouri	$73,983	$36

   Average enterprise systems administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Adobe	$125,751	$60.46	31
   2	Costco Wholesale	$116,798	$56.15	3
   3	AbbVie	$115,431	$55.50	16
   4	Signature Bank	$112,747	$54.21
   5	Dominion Energy	$107,068	$51.48	4
   6	Trustmark	$103,883	$49.94	1
   7	NCI	$102,431	$49.25
   8	Burton Snowboards	$99,485	$47.83
   9	T-Mobile	$97,204	$46.73	2
   10	Novetta	$94,686	$45.52
   11	Randstad North America, Inc.	$94,160	$45.27	29
   12	First Western Trust	$93,795	$45.09
   13	Accenture Federal Services LLC	$92,556	$44.50	7
   14	AECOM	$92,273	$44.36	57
   15	Busek	$90,864	$43.68	3
   16	Robert Half	$90,797	$43.65	311
   17	Kaztronix	$90,764	$43.64	2
   18	Peraton	$90,176	$43.35	181
   19	eHealth	$89,914	$43.23
   20	SR Homes	$89,841	$43.19	10

4. Writing an enterprise systems administrator job description

   A job description for an enterprise systems administrator role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an enterprise systems administrator job description:

   Enterprise systems administrator job description example

   FIND YOUR FUTURE
   We're excited about the potential people bring to our organization. You can grow your career here while enjoying first-class perks, benefits and commitment to diversity and inclusion.
   
   Overview
   The Enterprise Systems Administrator-Senior will demonstrate a thorough and well-versed understanding of information technology fundamentals, concepts, and disciplines. This position will be responsible for implementing and supporting various applications for the PBD business and key stakeholders. This position will require a proficient level of experienced analytical aptitude responsible for leading requirements, definition gathering and maintaining cross functional applications/systems while managing support services to meet business and/or technical unit needs. The position will be responsible for planning, design, complex configuration and implementation of integrated systems and related components. The ESA-Senior will demonstrate strong leadership and communication skills driving interaction at all levels of the organization and applying independent decision making and critical thinking to maximize both business and technical engagements with key stakeholders and vendors. The position will be responsible for training other team members and will help the company develop clear strategies for assigned functional areas.
   
   Qualifications
   Associates degree required. Bachelor's degree preferred. Microsoft Dynamics or CRM certification preferred. An additional two (2) years of experience will be considered in lieu of degree.Four (4) years of experience performing application analysis, design, and/or implementation. Knowledge of and configuration experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Applications or similar technologies such as Cloud Computing solutions and/or Customer Relationship Management (CRM), required.Advanced technical knowledge and understanding of application/system design principles and architectural concepts.Experience with data analysis working with complex levels of disparate data to support the interpretation and mapping translations from primary and secondary data sources into applicable business language and systems.
   
   Essential Accountabilities
   
   Business Analysis
   Lead projects and initiatives while working with cross functional SME's and vendors. Understand the requirements/needs and expectations of multiple stakeholders across the business.Provides analysis (analytical, technical, and business process expertise) to ensure technology alignment with strategic and/or department project initiatives (proposed or accepted).Proactively identify and define projects process opportunities that support business strategies, goals, and objectives. Provide project support as needed.Analyze processes and diagnose opportunities for improvement by utilizing analytical skills and ability to translate to support common understanding.Create logical, repeatable data models representing translation of system data to business-friendly outputs directly responsible for driving business decisions and outcomes.
   Systems and Applications, Administration, Design, Planning and Maintenance
   Perform system administration responsibilities, including implementing customizations and/or changes to PBD applicable lines of business and teams.Serve as an enterprise subject matter expert providing technical and administrative direction related to MS Dynamics core capabilities.Proactively assess and conduct evaluations of vendor software, including participating in cross functional business and/or project teams; serving as technical lead as needed.Play a key role in participating in cross-functional design and implementation discussions regarding data integrity and integration between systems, supporting internal and external users, software and related upgrades, and user enhancements. Responsible for the analysis, design, maintenance, and deployment of systems as well as defining the support processes required to maintain SOP's and to drive increased data integrity and accuracy.Provide extended support of integrated I.T. processes responsible for delivery of data triggering and driving enterprise processes.Responsible for installation of third-party software and configuration of vendor systems while following established standards, policies, and configuration guidelines.Responsible for coordinating testing, validating data and technical process for application/system readiness leading to deployments. Facilitate, review, and analyze test plan execution. Assist with defect remediation and support team members and functional areas as required.Participate with other technical, operations and/or IT staff, in overall systems design and configurations providing direction and recommendations from technical analysis and supports acceptance testing validations.Act as a primary point of contact in the identification and resolution of system/user problems working with various departments across IH affiliation and vendors.Provide references for users through Microsoft Dynamics 365 Applications 365 online training, writing, and maintaining user documentation, and providing end-user applications support.
   Leadership and Engagement
   Responsible for training and mentoring of junior team members to build highly competent skills.Foster strong associate relations within PBD to align with business process leaders to deliver solidified requirements for all projects.Develop business cases with management and lead team and/or cross-functional discussions for implementation of software related upgrades or new implementations, including documenting business requirements to effectively implement enhanced solutions.Lead technical discussions related to the development of test cases and conduct testing of system upgrades, large data upgrades, modifications, including the development of storage of support documentation.Coordinate and drive annual product data life cycles working with leadership and business partners to develop an annual project plan to outline all requirements and tasks that need to be managed to ensure successful execution of go to market strategies.Stay abreast on updates and new releases in CRM and/or other technologies and to educate end-users on CRM functions.Monitor multiple projects simultaneously and work to ensure strategic and tactical business goals are met.Make recommendations to PBD Leadership to help develop strategic business direction and be a key internal partner on initiatives.
   
   As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer, Independent Health and its affiliates will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, color, creed, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, physical and mental disability, criminal record, genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, status with respect to receiving public assistance, domestic violence victim status, a disabled, special, recently separated, active duty wartime, campaign badge, Armed Forces service medal veteran, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law. Click here for additional EEO/AAP or Reasonable Accommodation information.
   
   Current Associates must apply internally via their Career Worklet.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right enterprise systems administrator for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with enterprise systems administrators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit enterprise systems administrators who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your enterprise systems administrator job on Zippia to find and attract quality enterprise systems administrator candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with enterprise systems administrator candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview enterprise systems administrator candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new enterprise systems administrator

   Once you have selected a candidate for the enterprise systems administrator position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an enterprise systems administrator?