Systems Administrator- Engineering & Infrastructure

Company Background and Summary

Vela is a Cerberus-backed aerospace and defense manufacturing platform building the enterprise infrastructure, capabilities, and operational foundation to support a growing network of manufacturing companies, including Votaw Precision Technologies. Through its operating companies, Vela supports demanding aerospace, defense, and industrial programs by combining advanced manufacturing expertise with scalable business and technology infrastructure.  

The Systems Administrator will own the infrastructure supporting these operations, including servers, identity, endpoints, license services, GCC High, and engineering systems. This hands-on build-and-operate role will establish secure, reliable infrastructure aligned with CMMC Level 2 requirements while partnering with Cloud and Network Engineering to support Vela’s growing platform.

What You Will Own (Essential Functions)

• License servers — provision, maintain, and keep highly available the license servers (e.g., FlexLM) behind engineering CAD/PLM and other licensed tooling, so engineers are never idled by a license outage.
• GCC High — provisioning and administration of the Microsoft GCC High environment (identity/Entra, endpoints, Intune/MDM, configuration baselines) in partnership with the platform team.
• Core infrastructure — day-to-day administration of Windows/Linux servers, accounts, patching, backups, DR, and hardening — with the audit-evidence trail CMMC requires.
• Engineering systems — support of high-performance engineering workstations and the CAD/PLM environment (CATIA, NX, Windchill/Teamcenter connectors), so the platform's highest-cost labor stays fully operational.
• Partner with the Cloud Engineer on hybrid identity, endpoint compliance, and secure data flows between on-prem sites and AWS GovCloud.
• Security hygiene — configuration baselines, endpoint compliance, and separation-of-duties appropriate to a CMMC L2 / ITAR environment.

Qualifications and Skills

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Finance, Business Analytics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of experience writing SQL queries and stored procedures in a production business environment.
• Hands-on experience developing reports and dashboards with one or more of the following: Data Rails, Tableau, Power BI, or SSRS.
• Demonstrated ability to work directly with Finance and/or Operations stakeholders, including gathering requirements and presenting results to non-technical audiences.
• Strong business acumen with the confidence to engage business leaders as a trusted partner, ask clarifying questions, and push back constructively when requirements are unclear or data doesn't support a conclusion.
• Solid understanding of relational database concepts, data modeling, and report/dashboard design best practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to executive and business audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Epicor ERP reporting, including BAQ development and Epicor's underlying database structure.
• Experience in an aerospace, defense, manufacturing, or other regulated/compliance-driven industry.
• Familiarity with financial reporting concepts (P&L, budget vs. actual, project/program cost reporting) sufficient to partner effectively with Finance.
• Exposure to data governance, CMMC, NIST 800-171, or similar compliance frameworks.

Key Performance Indicators

• Maintain 99.9%+ availability for critical infrastructure, license, identity, and engineering systems. 
• Maintain CMMC Level 2 / ITAR compliance and audit-ready documentation. 
• Achieve timely patching, vulnerability remediation, backups, and recovery. 
• Maintain GCC High, endpoint, and identity compliance. 
• Minimize CAD/PLM and engineering downtime and meet defined SLAs. 
• Standardize and automate systems administration and infrastructure processes. 
• Support secure AWS GovCloud and on-premise integration.

Personal Attributes

• Highly self-motivated and directed.
• Keen attention to detail.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
• Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Work Conditions

• Ability to work onsite, including hours outside of a normal working day, to meet critical deadlines.  
• This position operates within a precision manufacturing environment supporting the production of mission-critical aerospace and defense components. Success requires a high sense of urgency, attention to detail, proactive problem-solving, and the ability to coordinate effectively across multiple departments to ensure uninterrupted manufacturing operations and customer delivery commitments. 
• Ability to work safely in a manufacturing environment, including walking the production floor, climbing stairs or ladders, occasionally lifting up to 25 pounds, and wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE).

Additional Requirements

• This position requires the use of information or access to hardware subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All applicants must be U.S. persons as defined by ITAR. 
• Able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge, skills, education, and experience.

Votaw Precision Technologies, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability/Vets.