How to hire a team lead system administrator

How to hire a team lead system administrator, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your team lead system administrator job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a team lead system administrator for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A team lead system administrator's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, team lead system administrators from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of team lead system administrator salaries for various roles:

   Type of Team Lead System Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Team Lead 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.	$29-57
   Clinic Administrator	A clinic administrator is primarily in charge of overseeing the daily operations in a clinic or similar establishment, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities include setting objectives, managing the budgets and schedules, supervising insurance procedures, spearheading new programs and treatments, and developing strategies to optimize clinic operations... Show more	$23-50
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Windows Server
   • Linux
   • OS
   • Production Environment
   • SCCM
   • VMware
   • DNS
   • SQL Server
   • System Administration
   • Infrastructure
   • Level Agreements
   • Unix
   • Java
   • Disaster Recovery

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Plan and manage delivery of UNIX change work packages as required by the business.
   • Manage web base ticketing system to monitor and troubleshoot report problems and implement necessary changes to ensure simulations systems availability.
   • Used a basic knowledge of using Korn shell command lines in Unix and vi/Vim (command line editors) in Linux.
   • Maintain the NIS+ database & DNS entries.
   • Perform server buildup, cloning of LINUX servers
   • Involve in hardware and OS design reviews.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your team lead system administrator job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A team lead system administrator can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, team lead system administrators' average salary in nebraska is 41% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level team lead system administrators 49% less than senior-level team lead system administrators.
   • Certifications. A team lead system administrator with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a team lead system administrator's salary.

   Average team lead system administrator salary

   $85,974yearly

   $41.33 hourly rate

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   Entry-level team lead system administrator salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

4. Writing a team lead system administrator job description

   A team lead system 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. Below, you can find an example of a team lead system administrator job description:

   Team lead system administrator job description example

   Time Type: Full time
   Minimum Clearance Required to Start: TS/SCI with Polygraph
   
   Employee Type: Regular
   
   Percentage of Travel Required: Up to 10%
   
   Type of Travel: Local
   
   CACI's Business and Information Technology Solutions (BITS) Sector is seeking a Team Lead/Systems Administrator who will assist in the operations and maintenance (O&M) support to Microsoft Windows Server. This work includes encompasses server administration and network administration. The server administrator's responsibilities include: leading a team and helping in the areas of implementation of baseline changes and respond to change requests; perform technical evaluations, analysis, and troubleshooting for all supported servers; build servers by providing technical configuration, setup, installation services, hardware and coordination of application projects; ATO; and operate and maintain servers. Be a part of something greater than yourself and make a lasting impact at CACI.
   
   What You'll Get to Do:
   Lead a team of administrators for a small enclave supporting mission analytics Liaison between the Customer and Vendors to ensure Software license agreements, maintenance contracts, service repairs, and firmware updates Liaison between development teams, customers, and IT providers on all operational IT issues Demonstrates professional customer service skill utilizing excellent verbal and written communication Implement baseline changes to servers and storage devices Respond to assigned change requests that are submitted by "internal" and "external" customers. Attend TEMs to discuss and agree upon MOAs - ensure MOA is within scope of server team's work Support customer in the development of a dedicated server build report as well as an internal build report Perform technical evaluations, analysis, and troubleshooting for all "supported" servers in response to help requests which include but is not limited the following activities: Server failures, full system outage. Perform Operation and Maintenance of all servers Perform operating system software updates/upgrades Build servers: Provide technical configuration, setup, installation services, hardware and coordination for application projects Establish server baselines Understand and implement established technical and workflow procedures Analyzing, troubleshooting, and resolving issues within the IT infrastructure Managing the configuration and operation of client-based computer operating systems Upgrading systems and processes, as required for enhanced functionality and issue resolution Auditing application logs and addressing issues that are discovered Providing technical support for hardware and software issues users encounter C2S DevOps/Admin support such as - certificate management, backups/restores, accreditation support, and operations monitoring, patch/upgrade support, experience with VPC, EC2, EBS, S3, RDS and CloudWatch
   
   You'll Bring These Qualifications:
   Active TS/SCI Polygraph clearance Prior experience as a Team Lead Experience with virtual machines and administration of servers within C2S. Demonstrated experience in Information Security Demonstrated experience conduction Certification and Accreditation scans and understanding how to mitigate issues - working knowledge of Xacta 7 years of demonstrated experience as a Systems Administrator. Evaluate new network technologies and make recommendations Plan new configurations for integration into networks to ensure effective integration and optimal performance Prepare technical proposals for presentation to engineering review boards; review requests for upgrades or additions to the network to assess impacts and provide guidance on moving forward Ensure vendor, industry and security best practices are followed. 7 years of demonstrated experience implementing network security and group policies using active directory / LDAP integration techniques. 7 years of demonstrated experience designing and maintaining stable, dynamic and high performing datacenter network topologies including multi-hop network interfaces to offsite locations 5 years of demonstrated experience with IT configuration management including creating and updating network diagrams, cable run lists and rack elevations: proficiency in layer two and three system design 7 years of demonstrated experience in configuring static and dynamic IPv4 allocation on a per subdomain basis to include configuration and maintenance of internal vLAN, WAN interfaces, DNS, NAT, clustering, application load balancing, etc.
   
   Candidate must have one of the following:
   12 Years of job related experience and High School/GED diploma 10 Years of job related experience and Associates degree 8 Years of job related experience and Bachelor's degree 6 Years of job related experience and Master's degree 4 Years of job related experience and Doctorate
   
   These Qualifications Would be Nice to Have:
   Demonstrated experience in Information Security Demonstrated experience conduction Certification and Accreditation scans and understanding how to mitigate issues C2S experience with Route53, and other services in support of DevOps (e.g. CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy) Demonstrated experience with planning, configuring, deploying and implementing automated software and firmware patching for heterogeneous operation system environments (Windows, Linux) such as WSUS, SCCM, YUM, SolarWinds, etc. Demonstrated experience in installing, configuring, deploying administrating and troubleshooting cloud technology servers and services such as Hyper-v, Citrix, VDI, Hadoop, AWS, etc. Linux administration Desire to want to become involved in mission related analytical work, helping exploiters discover and exploit collected data
   
   Work Location:
   McLean/Tysons, VA
   
   Work Hours:
   Core hours 0930 - 1430
   
   What We Can Offer You:
   - We've been named a Best Place to Work by the Washington Post.
   - Our employees value the flexibility at CACI that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives.
   - We offer competitive benefits and learning and development opportunities.
   - We are mission-oriented and ever vigilant in aligning our solutions with the nation's highest priorities.
   - For over 55 years, the principles of CACI's unique, character-based culture have been the driving force behind our success.
   
   Company Overview: At CACI, you will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact by providing information solutions and services in support of national security missions and government transformation for Intelligence, Defense, and Federal Civilian customers. CACI is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities.
   
   As a federal contractor, CACI is subject to any federal vaccine mandates or other customer vaccination requirements. All new hires are required to report their vaccination status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find team lead system administrators for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any team lead system administrators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level team lead system administrators with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your team lead system administrator job on Zippia to find and recruit team lead 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

   Recruiting team lead system administrators requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a team lead system administrator applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and 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 team lead system administrator

   Once you've found the team lead system administrator candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new team lead 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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