IT Administrator

Ryan Mahoney

Ryan Mahoney

Director of Product, FirstWho

“This level is tricky because you need someone comfortable with a real tension: they own production systems deeply, but they resist the urge to insert themselves into every critical path. A Platform Engineer here builds automation that product teams actually adopt, which takes architectural judgment to anticipate failure modes they have not encountered yet. They also need the backbone to push back when teams want quick fixes that compromise reliability, and the interpersonal skill to make that pushback feel collaborative rather than obstructive. Strong candidates can point to something they built, something that broke at 3am, and how they rethought their assumptions afterward. You are not hiring for whether they know Terraform or Kubernetes today; you are hiring for how they think when the runbook ends.”

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Competency Questions

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Enterprise IT Administration

Operates and automates enterprise infrastructure with focus on platform reliability, developer self-service, and internal tooling that reduces cognitive load for product teams. Emphasizes infrastructure as code, SaaS platform governance, and service reliability engineering to support multi-team scalability.

AI/ML Systems Operations

Configures MLOps pipelines for model versioning; optimizes compute resource allocation for inference workloads; implements basic AI security controls; manages training data pipelines and storage.

Interview round: Infrastructure & Security Technical

A team wants to deploy an AI coding assistant that sends code snippets to a third-party API. Engineering is enthusiastic; security has concerns. You're asked to evaluate. How do you proceed?

Positive indicators

  • Mentions specific data leakage risks
  • Describes technical controls beyond policy
  • Proposes measurable pilot with guardrails

Negative indicators

  • Approves based on engineering enthusiasm alone
  • Blocks without proposing alternative path
  • No plan for monitoring actual usage

Attitude Questions

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Active Listening

The disciplined cognitive and behavioral practice of fully concentrating on, comprehending, and responding to spoken and unspoken communication in ways that ensure the speaker feels understood, valued, and accurately represented. For IT Administrators, this involves suspending technical solutioning to capture operational context, emotional subtext, and implicit constraints; verifying understanding through paraphrasing and clarification; and adapting communication style to bridge technical-non-technical divides while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.

Interview round: Recruiter Screen

Someone submits a request for 'faster laptop' citing vague performance issues. How do you proceed?

Positive indicators

  • Proposes specific diagnostic questions
  • Mentions observing workflow
  • Considers non-hardware solutions

Negative indicators

  • Immediately approves replacement
  • Dismisses request without exploration
  • Assumes user just wants new equipment

Progression Framework

This table shows how competencies evolve across experience levels. Each cell shows competency at that level.

Enterprise IT Administration

7 competencies

CompetencyJuniorMidSeniorPrincipal
AI/ML Systems Operations

Monitors AI service health dashboards for anomalies; executes predefined model deployment scripts without modification; manages prompt libraries for administrative copilots; reports anomalies to senior staff rather than attempting independent resolution.

Configures MLOps pipelines for model versioning; optimizes compute resource allocation for inference workloads; implements basic AI security controls; manages training data pipelines and storage.

Architects secure AI integration patterns for enterprise data; implements vector database and RAG infrastructure; establishes model governance and bias monitoring; optimizes cost-performance for AI workloads.

Strategizes enterprise AI operational readiness; architects private AI infrastructure and on-premise LLM deployment; establishes AI ethics and compliance frameworks; pioneers AIOps for predictive IT management.

Automation & Workflow Orchestration

Executes existing PowerShell/Python scripts; modifies basic automation parameters based on documentation; monitors scheduled task execution through observability tooling; documents runbook procedures with sufficient detail for peer execution.

Develops intermediate scripts for user provisioning and system configuration; implements CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure code; creates automated alerting and remediation workflows; manages configuration drift.

Architects complex orchestration across heterogeneous systems; implements Infrastructure as Code at scale; develops self-service automation portals; establishes error handling and rollback procedures for automation.

Defines enterprise automation strategy and standards; evaluates RPA and low-code platforms; establishes governance for automation safety and auditability; drives hyperautomation initiatives across business processes.

Cloud Infrastructure Architecture

Deploys predefined cloud resources via templates; monitors basic resource health through observability dashboards; executes routine maintenance tasks; manages cost allocation tags to support FinOps visibility.

Configures virtual networks, VPN gateways, and hybrid connectivity; implements infrastructure as code (IaC); optimizes resource sizing and autoscaling; manages backup and disaster recovery configurations.

Architects multi-region, multi-cloud environments; designs network segmentation and security perimeters; implements GitOps workflows; optimizes cloud cost governance and FinOps practices.

Defines enterprise cloud strategy and landing zone architectures; establishes cloud governance frameworks; negotiates enterprise agreements with CSPs; pioneers serverless and containerization strategies for IT operations.

Endpoint Security & Device Management

Deploys standard OS images; installs antivirus and monitoring agents; processes hardware procurement and retirement tickets; applies predefined security baselines while monitoring endpoint telemetry for compliance drift.

Configures MDM policies (Intune, Jamf) for diverse device types; manages patch deployment rings; troubleshoots endpoint security incidents; implements disk encryption and DLP policies.

Architects endpoint security strategy across heterogeneous environments; integrates EDR/XDR solutions; develops custom compliance scripts; manages hardware refresh lifecycle and vendor relationships.

Defines enterprise endpoint architecture and BYOD policies; evaluates and selects security vendors; establishes zero-trust device compliance frameworks; drives automation of endpoint provisioning at scale.

Identity & Access Governance

Executes user account provisioning and deprovisioning per standardized tickets; resets credentials; applies predefined access templates; monitors basic identity synchronization alerts with attention to anomalies that indicate systemic issues.

Configures MFA policies, conditional access rules, and SSO integrations; conducts periodic access reviews; troubleshoots identity federation issues; implements role-based access control (RBAC) schemes.

Architects hybrid identity solutions spanning Active Directory, Entra ID, and cloud IdPs; develops automated provisioning workflows via SCIM/API; establishes access governance policies and privileged access management (PAM) frameworks.

Defines enterprise-wide identity strategy and zero-trust architecture; negotiates vendor contracts for IAM platforms; establishes cross-functional identity governance standards; drives passwordless and phishing-resistant authentication initiatives.

IT Service Management & Strategy

Processes tickets according to priority matrices with SLA awareness; follows escalation procedures strictly; documents incident details with sufficient context for root cause analysis; assists with asset inventory maintenance and service catalog curation.

Manages medium-complexity change requests; coordinates incident response across teams; maintains vendor relationships for support contracts; generates operational reports and metrics.

Designs ITSM processes and workflows; leads major incident response; manages IT budget allocation and forecasting; implements ITIL/ITSM tool configurations; mentors junior staff on process adherence.

Defines IT operating model and service catalog strategy; negotiates strategic vendor partnerships and enterprise licensing; establishes business continuity and disaster recovery governance; drives IT innovation roadmap aligned to business value.

SaaS Platform Administration

Configures user licenses and basic settings in admin consoles; handles routine support requests with SLA awareness; manages distribution lists and shared mailboxes; follows change request procedures for all configuration modifications.

Implements complex workflow configurations and security settings; manages SaaS-to-SaaS integrations via native connectors or iPaaS; conducts data retention and archival configuration; troubleshoots API connectivity issues.

Architects SaaS integration landscapes; implements advanced DLP and compliance policies across SaaS estate; develops automation for SaaS provisioning; evaluates and deploys new SaaS solutions based on business requirements.

Strategizes enterprise SaaS portfolio rationalization; establishes SaaS governance and shadow IT detection programs; negotiates enterprise licensing; designs API-first integration strategies spanning multiple business units.