Join our growing team and discover why Summit Utilities, Inc. continues to earn national and regional recognition as an employer of choice. Our recognitions include Best Places to Work in Maine (2019–2025); Best Places to Work in Arkansas (2020, 2023, 2025); Best Places to Work in Oklahoma (2022–2025); Best Places to Work in Missouri (2023 and 2026); Best Places to Work in Colorado (2025); Forbes America’s Best Small Employers (2023); and, most recently, Proud and Purposeful Employer (2026).
Summit is a growing natural gas utility providing safe, reliable, and clean burning natural gas service to homes and businesses in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Being part of the Summit team means embracing excellence and innovation, committing to safety each and every day, and doing all that we can to serve each other, our customers, and the communities where we live. We aim to bring warmth and energy to everything we do.
We have an exciting hybrid opportunity for a Senior Systems Engineer (SGL18) based in Fort Smith, AR.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Senior Systems Engineer is responsible for the design, installation, management, and maintenance of Summit's core IT systems. These systems include on-premise hyperconverged data centers and virtualization, expansive cloud data center footprint, storage, networking infrastructure, servers, and operational technology required to run, monitor, and manage these services. The Senior Systems Engineer will serve as a subject matter expert and thought leader on critical infrastructure and software required to operate a secure, highly available, resilient, and elastic ecosystem. Additionally, the Senior Systems Engineer serves as a mentor to other Systems Engineers and System Administrators, leads projects and initiatives, and partners with IT Engineering leadership to assess technology needs.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
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Core Systems and Network Management: Architect, implement, and manage core systems both in physical and cloud locations to include installing and maintaining servers, storage solutions, desktop virtualization design and provisioning, configuring data access and single sign-on solutions, mail flow and unified messaging configuration, assessing and reporting operational status, and performing backups and restorations. Assist Network Engineers with firewalls, routers, switches, and access points.
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System Implementation: Develop new system and application implementation plans, documentation, custom scripts, and testing procedures to ensure operational reliability. Train technical team members in new software and hardware developed and/or acquired.
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Operational Maintenance: Ensure operating systems and software applications are operational. Proactively deciphering alerts and ensuring server hardware and software are patched and updated.
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Cybersecurity and Privacy: Develop procedures, implement tools, and follow practices to maintain a high cybersecurity and privacy protection posture for the company. Participate in all cybersecurity audits and lead remediation activities.
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Disaster Recovery: Document requirements, build, and test effective IT business continuity and disaster recovery plans. Participate in all table-top exercises and real-world scenarios.
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Technical Improvements: Recommend and implement improvements to enhance the technical capabilities and capacity of server, storage, and network systems.
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Incident and Service Request Management: Log and update support incidents and requests using an ITSM ticketing system. Create and participate in post incident reviews of critical system incidents.
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Problem Management: Assist with IT problem management processes to identify, analyze, and resolve recurring issues. Work with other IT teams to prevent future incidents and improve overall service quality.
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Change Management: Adhere to and ensure compliance with all change control practices.
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Vendor Management: Interface with vendors and maintenance providers to service and maintain systems to limit downtime and optimize performance.
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Data Center Support: Engineer and manage data center support systems equipment such as HVAC, UPS (uninterrupted power system), generator, and fire protection systems.
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Continuous Learning: Stay current with developments in systems administration and other technologies. Recommend ways to take advantage of new opportunities.
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Performance and Capacity Reporting: Ensure high availability and acceptable levels of performance of mission-critical resources. Develop, maintain, and provide performance and capacity reports for resources such as servers, storage, cyber events, and network utilization.
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Customer Service: Ensure a high level of customer service is provided to all team members. Address and resolve escalated issues and complaints.
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After-hours Support: Support critical systems after hours by participating in an on-call rotation and responding to emergencies on a 24x7x365 basis.
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Other Duties as Assigned: Perform other duties as assigned to support the IT department and organizational goals.
EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE
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Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Networking, Engineering is preferred or combination of education and equivalent experience.
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6+ years’ experience in data center/systems/network administration and engineering.
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6+ years’ experience supporting large multi-regional technology footprints.
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6+ years’ experience in IaaS platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Oracle OCI.
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6+ years’ experience in SaaS platforms such as Microsoft 365, IAM, MFA, IVR, VoIP, CRM, and ERP.
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6+ years programming experience in one or more scripting languages: JavaScript, Python, PowerShell.
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System Administration, Networking, or Engineering certifications preferred.
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Information Security certifications such as CISSP, CASP, Sec+, and CISM desired.
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SCADA systems engineering is highly desirable.
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Energy industry experience is highly desirable.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES
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Expert knowledge of Directory Services, SAML and other access management systems in both on-prem and cloud environments including group policy configuration, implementing least privilege, and access control lists.
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Expert technical knowledge of systems and software packages in virtualization, enterprise messaging, server operating systems both Windows and Linux, and hardware configuration / maintenance of enterprise servers and storage solutions.
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Expert technical knowledge of server configuration strategies both on-prem and cloud, including data sharing and access strategies, deployment technologies, and remote desktop services and orchestration.
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Advanced technical knowledge of current network hardware, protocols and standards, including routers, network switches, LAN/WAN protocols, SD-WAN, site-to-site VPN, and hardware configuration / maintenance of enterprise firewalls, routers, switches, and wireless access points.
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Excel in problem management, incident management, and change control processes utilizing ITIL practices.
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Demonstrated experience with governance frameworks such as C2M2, NIST, ISO, or COBIT.
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Extensive experience with enterprise cloud services such as Azure, AWS, or Oracle OCI desirable.
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Detail oriented with proven analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving abilities.
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Demonstrated project development and management skills.
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Service focused yet can make quick and concise decisions.
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Friendly and effective communication skills are a must.
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Influencer resulting in a trusted advisor relationship between IT and the business.
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Robust presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
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Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, handling multiple projects and priorities.
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Not afraid to fail but always has a plan to remediate a failure.
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Attention to detail, especially with contracts, statement of work creation, and pricing negotiation.
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Capable of developing short and long-term plans for areas of responsibility. Owns both successes and failures with humility and integrity.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required of all personnel so classified.
Summit offers competitive pay and medical/dental/vision and other benefits that provide flexibility, choice, and support to our employees when they need it most. We understand that home and family are essential pieces of your life, and our benefits are designed to support you both at work and at home.
Summit Utilities, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability or veteran status.
