How to hire a senior server administrator

How to hire a senior server administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior server administrator hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior server 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 senior server 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 presents senior server administrator salaries for various positions.

   Type of Senior Server Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Server 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.	$26-64
   Information Technology Administrator	An Information Technology (IT) administrator is a professional responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of an organization's IT systems and ensuring that the systems are running effectively. IT administrators must conduct consistent analyses of the computer system and install updates when needed... Show more	$24-50
   Systems Administrator Lead	A systems administrator lead is responsible for planning, designing, and implementing procedures for critical enterprise systems. Typical duties of systems administrators include managing the day-to-day operations of a company's computer and network systems, developing new application and system implementation plans, and establishing guidelines for installing and managing the organization's computer operating systems... Show more	$37-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • PowerShell
   • Linux
   • Troubleshoot
   • DNS
   • Microsoft Windows Server
   • DHCP
   • Citrix
   • Technical Support
   • Server Environment
   • Disaster Recovery
   • SCCM
   • Azure
   • SQL Server
   • Unix

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all backup, Citrix and remote systems.
   • Manage several internal URLs host under IIS across multiple servers.
   • Manage L2/L3 switches, as well as routers and the company firewall.
   • Assist in managing and creating GPO's to be deploy to enterprise systems.
   • Manage and configure Cisco network equipment including switches and routers.
   • Manage virtual machine snapshots as requested by application management personnel.

   More senior server administrator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior server administrator job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior server administrator salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior server administrator in Indiana may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level senior server administrator usually earns less than a senior-level senior server administrator. Additionally, a senior server administrator with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior server administrator salary

   $86,797yearly

   $41.73 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior server administrator salary

   $55,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average senior server administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$103,259	$50
   2	Maryland	$77,705	$37
   3	New York	$75,734	$36
   4	Arizona	$74,997	$36
   5	New Jersey	$72,043	$35
   6	Rhode Island	$70,388	$34
   7	Massachusetts	$62,768	$30
   8	Texas	$62,670	$30
   9	District of Columbia	$60,859	$29
   10	Michigan	$60,028	$29
   11	Minnesota	$59,999	$29
   12	Florida	$59,936	$29
   13	North Carolina	$59,897	$29
   14	Virginia	$57,210	$28
   15	Connecticut	$55,352	$27
   16	Georgia	$54,972	$26
   17	Ohio	$54,665	$26
   18	Colorado	$53,366	$26
   19	Illinois	$52,446	$25
   20	Missouri	$52,222	$25

   Average senior server administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Unisys	$122,619	$58.95	2
   2	Bozeman Health	$118,912	$57.17	3
   3	Amazon	$113,044	$54.35	166
   4	CVS Health	$108,735	$52.28	1
   5	Levi, Ray & Shoup	$106,599	$51.25	1
   6	OCC	$106,567	$51.23	1
   7	CQG	$104,471	$50.23
   8	PeaceHealth	$104,045	$50.02	1
   9	Holland America Line	$100,902	$48.51	16
   10	UMass Memorial Health	$99,194	$47.69	2
   11	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	$98,356	$47.29	6
   12	NuScale Power	$93,573	$44.99
   13	Ernst & Young	$93,532	$44.97	76
   14	By Light Professional IT Services	$91,700	$44.09	3
   15	Blue Shield of California	$91,498	$43.99
   16	Solutions	$90,873	$43.69
   17	UGI	$90,755	$43.63	2
   18	Sentinel Technologies	$89,844	$43.19	2
   19	Login Consulting	$87,846	$42.23
   20	ABBTECH	$85,102	$40.91	2

4. Writing a senior server administrator job description

   A senior server administrator job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a senior server administrator job description:

   Senior server administrator job description example

   The America R&D Lab is seeking a Server Administrator to join our team. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, the ability to work on projects (as well as day-to-day operations), and a solid understanding of the technologies in place to support the-day-to day environment.
   Job Responsibilities:
   Maintaining the server, storage, and application environment for the enterprise. Build and deploy servers for the business units as they are required. Project Coordination: Align/Negotiate/Apply each stakeholder's requirements to HQ's standard process IT Infra Resource/Member Management Create, design, and maintain a Disaster Recovery testing process for all needed environments. Work with project teams to evaluate and recommend technology to support the enterprise. Monitor storage usage and forecast demand Constantly monitor lifecycle of current hardware and software within the server environment and prepare migration plan. Present information to IT management team. The Server Administrator position will be responsible for day-to-day support & management of server environment The position will also require occasional domestic/international travel and weekend work as part of a formal Change Process and occasional after hours work to respond to any issues. The position will require the ability to rack and install servers as needed.
   
   Job Requirements:
   Related Bachelor's Degree; or 3 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience 3-5years of experience in Server and Database Environment Strong troubleshooting methodology is required Possess a broad knowledge of servers along with operating systems Good customer service skills, communication, work independently and have interpersonal skills. Leadership to manager junior IT members Knowledge in Windows/Linux Server Environment Knowledge in server architecture Knowledge in Symantec NetBackup Architecture Knowledge in DevOps tools (Nagios, Cacti, Jira System) Expertise in troubleshooting and resolving system and database problems Basic Network knowledge Great Communication and presentation skills and must be a team player.
   
   Preferred Qualifications:
   Possess a broad knowledge of network equipment Microsoft Certification Cloud Vendor Certification (Amazon/MS) Understanding of MS Office and other standard software Understanding of Active Directory and Windows System Infrastructures Fluent in Korean/English is a plus Knowledge in Cloud (AWS, Azure) is a plus Knowledge in virtualization configuration (VMware, KVM, etc.) is a plus Knowledge in Disk and San Switch configuration (EMC, NetApp, etc.) is a plus
   
   LG Electronics, USA Inc.; LG Mobilecomm USA, Inc., LG Mobile Research USA LLC, and Zenith Electronics LLC provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.Further, the Company takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated during employment without regard to any of these characteristics.
   
   #LI-JH1

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior server administrators for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior server administrators, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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.

   If your interviews with senior server administrator applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • 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 senior server administrator

   Once you've selected the best senior server 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   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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