Senior Systems Administrator – Infrastructure & Automation

YOUR ROLE

At Squeeze, technology directly supports creativity. We are looking for a Senior Systems Administrator to ensure the stability, security, scalability, and automation of our production infrastructure.

This is a senior infrastructure position—not a day-to-day end-user support role. You will maintain reliable system environments, remote workstations, render services, storage, backups, internal services, and stable network connectivity for our Montreal and Quebec City teams. You will also serve as the infrastructure escalation point for the Quebec City studio whenever issues exceed the scope of local IT support.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise, sound operational judgment, strong documentation practices, a security-first mindset, and excellent communication skills.

YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Infrastructure & Virtualization

• Administer, maintain, and enhance Linux production environments, primarily Rocky Linux 9.

• Maintain core Windows infrastructure services, including Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and Windows/Linux integration.

• Administer Linux KVM/libvirt environments and support VMware ESXi/vSphere infrastructure.

• Support Linux workstations, GPU hosts, and production environments.

• Maintain internal services, including those hosted on Docker Swarm.

• Act as the remote infrastructure escalation point for the Quebec City studio, working closely with the local IT resource.

• Perform regular data center visits for hardware validation, maintenance activities, monitoring, cabling, rack installations, and post-maintenance verification.

Automation & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain and optimize automation using SaltStack, Bash, Python, and Git.

• Transform repetitive operational tasks into documented, version-controlled, and repeatable processes.

• Create and maintain runbooks, technical standards, and operational procedures.

• Contribute to the reliability of HP Anyware/PCoIP and Leostream environments.

• Reduce dependency on tribal knowledge by documenting and sharing operational expertise.

• Recommend improvements that enhance reliability, security, operational efficiency, and team autonomy.

Networking, Storage & Security

• Administer network switches at the operational level (Arista and Dell).

• Administer FortiGate firewalls, including firewall policies, VPNs, interfaces, VLANs, connectivity troubleshooting, documented changes, and vendor coordination.

• Perform day-to-day networking tasks, including VLAN configuration, switchport management, trunk/access ports, basic routing, and connectivity troubleshooting.

• Diagnose issues affecting Linux systems, Windows services, networking, storage, DNS/DHCP, performance, remote access, and internal services.

• Support enterprise storage environments and Linux-mounted storage (NFS, Qumulo, Isilon).

• Participate in backup, restore, archiving, and disaster recovery validation processes (Veeam).

• Contribute to operational security through patch management, CVE remediation, system hardening, privileged access management, and post-change validation.

• Provide remote infrastructure support for the Quebec City studio as needed, including networking, Wi-Fi, security cameras, access control systems, and centralized infrastructure dependencies.

• Collaborate with vendors and specialized resources on advanced routing, network security, firewall, VPN, compliance, and infrastructure architecture initiatives.

Technical Leadership & Mentorship

• Partner with the CTO to identify infrastructure priorities, reduce operational risk, and define medium- and long-term improvements.

• Mentor a junior team member by sharing knowledge, developing runbooks, delegating supervised tasks, and reviewing completed work.

• Gradually increase team autonomy for established procedures, host validations, documented interventions, and low-risk operational activities.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of infrastructure operations, documentation, automation, security, and support practices.

• Clearly communicate technical risks, priorities, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

YOU ARE

You are an experienced infrastructure professional who excels at making systems more reliable, secure, and automated. You take ownership of complex technical challenges, communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences, and bring structure and consistency wherever you work.

• Independent — You take ownership of complex technical work with minimal supervision and see it through to completion.

• Strong Communicator — You clearly explain technical concepts to team members, managers, vendors, and business partners.

• Technical Leader — You identify opportunities for improvement, establish best practices, and help elevate the team's technical maturity.

• Innovative — You are curious, adaptable, and continuously looking for ways to improve through automation, security, and modern technologies.

• Calm under pressure — You remain effective during production incidents, urgent changes, and other high-impact situations.

• Analytical and solution-oriented — You troubleshoot complex issues involving multiple systems and dependencies using a structured approach.

• Comfortable working with external partners — You collaborate with vendors on procurement, escalations, renewals, and technical discussions.

• Bilingual — French for internal collaboration; English for technical documentation, vendors, and external partners.

YOU HAVE

Technical Requirements:

Core Infrastructure

• Strong experience administering Linux in complex production environments (Rocky Linux, RHEL, or CentOS).

• Experience managing Windows infrastructure services, including Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and Windows/Linux integration.

• Experience with Linux KVM/libvirt and/or VMware ESXi/vSphere.

• Strong automation skills using SaltStack (or an equivalent configuration management tool), Bash, Python, and Git.

• Experience with Docker and containerized services; Docker Swarm experience is a significant asset.

Networking & Security

• Hands-on experience managing enterprise network switches (preferably Arista or Dell).

• Hands-on experience with FortiGate or equivalent enterprise firewalls, including policies, VPNs, interfaces, diagnostics, and controlled configuration changes.

• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals, including VLANs, basic routing, DNS, DHCP, switchports, trunk/access ports, and connectivity troubleshooting.

• Practical experience with operational security, including patch management, CVE remediation, system hardening, access control, privilege management, and change validation.

Storage & Data Protection

• Experience with enterprise NAS and storage platforms (Qumulo, Isilon, or NFS).

• Experience with backup, restore, archiving, and disaster recovery principles; Veeam experience is a major asset.

General

• Comfortable working in a data center environment.

• Strong documentation skills and exceptional attention to detail.

Nice to Have

• Experience in an animation, VFX, video game, GPU rendering, or other creative production environment.

• Experience with HP Anyware/PCoIP, Leostream, or similar remote workstation platforms.

• Experience with NVIDIA GPUs, production workstations, or render nodes.

• Advanced networking experience with Arista, Dell, FortiGate, VLANs, VPNs, routing, or network architecture.

• Experience with Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, CI/CD, or Infrastructure as Code (IaC).

• Experience with Google Workspace Business or Mattermost.

• Familiarity with security audits or industry frameworks such as TPN, MPAA, or ISO.

• Experience mentoring or developing junior IT team members.