How to hire an operations system administrator

How to hire an operations system administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step operations system 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 operations system administrator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new operations system administrator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an operations system administrator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The operations system administrator hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect operations system administrator also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of operations system administrators.

   Type of Operations System Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Operations System 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.	$28-47
   Network/Server Administrator	A Network Administrator ensures an organizations' network is operational and up to date. They solve problems that arise within computer networks, maintaining computer networks, interacting with clients, and consulting with them to determine their system requirements... Show more	$27-51
   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:

   • Technical Support
   • Linux
   • Customer Service
   • VMware
   • SQL
   • Windows Server
   • Technical Issues
   • Unix
   • DOD
   • DNS
   • Data Entry
   • PowerShell
   • Tcp Ip
   • OS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage VOIP Digium phones for clients.
   • Manage and update share drive and SharePoint.
   • Manage DNS, SMTP for Webservers contacting customers.
   • Manage LDAP accounts on across the enterprise system.
   • Manage machines and accounts in active directory and dhcp.
   • Lead a team of 5 engineers providing PC support to 1,000 customers and implement PC disaster recovery efforts for 400 customers.

   More operations system administrator duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, operations system administrators' average salary in mississippi is 39% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level operations system administrators earn 40% less than senior-level operations system administrators.
   • Certifications. An operations system 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 operations system administrator's salary.

   Average operations system administrator salary

   $76,891yearly

   $36.97 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level operations system administrator salary

   $59,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average operations system administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$105,184	$51
   2	Massachusetts	$91,485	$44
   3	Delaware	$84,548	$41
   4	Washington	$84,100	$40
   5	Arizona	$79,341	$38
   6	Virginia	$79,230	$38
   7	New Jersey	$78,661	$38
   8	Ohio	$77,013	$37
   9	Rhode Island	$76,076	$37
   10	Minnesota	$75,886	$36
   11	Georgia	$72,935	$35
   12	New York	$72,233	$35
   13	Colorado	$68,588	$33
   14	Texas	$68,506	$33
   15	North Carolina	$68,431	$33
   16	Florida	$67,638	$33
   17	New Mexico	$63,472	$31

   Average operations system administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	PayPal	$128,559	$61.81	2
   2	Verisign	$113,013	$54.33
   3	Santander Bank	$109,070	$52.44	1
   4	Santander Private Banking International	$105,764	$50.85	1
   5	Zoetis	$105,271	$50.61	7
   6	Citrix	$104,864	$50.42
   7	State Street	$99,450	$47.81	45
   8	DreamWorks Animation	$98,214	$47.22
   9	Broadcom	$97,995	$47.11	25
   10	RTI International Metals	$86,688	$41.68
   11	Jacobs Engineering Group	$85,480	$41.10
   12	University of California-Berkeley	$83,367	$40.08	1
   13	Sherwin-Williams	$82,159	$39.50	13
   14	Kavaliro	$81,843	$39.35	23
   15	MassMutual	$81,519	$39.19	3
   16	Susquehanna International Group	$81,162	$39.02	30
   17	Modis	$80,352	$38.63	3
   18	Expeditors	$79,650	$38.29	1
   19	Sentar	$79,385	$38.17	23
   20	Tribalco	$78,435	$37.71

4. Writing an operations system administrator job description

   A job description for an operations system 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 operations system administrator job description:

   Operations system administrator job description example

   U-Haul is seeking a Systems Administrator to join the Systems Operations team as a Windows, Linux and IIS. The ideal candidate will have an outgoing personality, be self-motivated, have strong interpersonal skills, and a positive attitude. Additionally, they will have experience working with .NET applications and supporting development teams.
   Assist with hosting and troubleshooting IIS/.NET application issues alongside developers Monitor critical infrastructure and applications using monitoring solutions like SolarWinds, Dynatrace, and ExtraHop Perform administrative tasks on Windows and Linux servers, including patching, reviewing logs, and software installation/configuration Monitor and respond to issue sent via email and Teams Support code releases done via Azure DevOps
   Requirements/Education:
   2+ years experience working with Windows Server 2012+ 6+ months experience working with Linux distros like Ubuntu, RHEL, and CentOS 1+ years experience working with IIS 8.5+ 1+ years experience working in a virtualized environment, like vCenter/ESXi Basic PowerShell knowledge Experience working with scrum is a plus Experience working with CI/CD deployments is a plus Basic Azure and Azure Active Directory knowledge is a plus Preferred certifications: Server 2012/2016 MCSA.
   
   Perks of joining the U-Haul fleet:
   
   Get your career moving with a company who empowers team members to the healthiest version of themselves! We provide robust wellness benefits, events, and resources to help team members becomes the happiest and healthiest they can be.
   
   Here are just some of the programs U-Haul has available:
   U-Haul Offers: Full Medical coverage Prescription plans Dental & Vision Plans New indoor fitness gym Gym Reimbursement Program Registered Dietitian Program Weight Watchers Onsite medical clinic for you and your family Career stability Opportunities for advancement Valuable on-the-job training Tuition reimbursement program Free online courses for personal and professional development at U-Haul University® Business and travel insurance You Matter Employee Assistance Program Paid holidays, vacation, and sick days Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) 401(k) Savings Plan Life insurance Critical Illness/Group Accident 24-hour physician available for kids Subsidized gym/ membership MetLaw Legal program MetLife auto and home insurance Mindset App Program Discounts on cell phone plans, hotels, and more LifeLock identity Theft Savvy consumer wellness programs- from health care tips to financial wellness Dave Ramsey's SmartDollar Program U-Haul federal credit union Wellness Program
   
   AMERCO and its family of companies, including U-Haul, have strived to create a culture of health and wellness. As of February 1, 2020, and consistent with applicable state law, no AMERCO or U-Haul company will hire individuals in states where it may lawfully decline to hire individuals who use nicotine products. By continuing with this application, you are indicating that, if hired, you consent to nicotine screening in the future. This policy will not apply to team members hired before February 1, 2020.
   
   U-Haul is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants for employment will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, provincial, state or local law. Individual accommodations are available on requests for applicants taking part in all aspects of the selection process. Information obtained during this process will only be shared on a need to know basis.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right operations system 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 operations system administrators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit operations system 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 operations system administrator job on Zippia to find and recruit operations system administrator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit operations system administrators, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview operations system 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 operations system administrator

   Once you've selected the best operations system administrator candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new operations system administrator. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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