System Engineer I
Frederick County Public Schools · Frederick, MD
$50.35/hrfrom the description
Jun 29, 2026
Frederick, MD
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A full-time infrastructure role within a public school district's IT department, responsible for designing, deploying, and maintaining enterprise systems such as virtualized servers, Storage Area Networks, SQL databases, Active Directory, messaging platforms, and web services. The position also covers data center operations, security compliance, backup systems, disaster recovery planning, and scripting to automate administrative tasks. It suits experienced systems engineers comfortable managing complex, large-scale environments with minimal supervision.
Senior level · 4+ years · Frederick, MD · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 180 people in MD plausibly meet what this posting asks for (network and computer systems administrators). range 40–400
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $118,290 (middle half $90,900–$156,360). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The title 'Systems Engineer I' carries no seniority modifier in the conventional sense, but the 'I' suffix suggests an entry point within a leveled series; however, the actual requirements (4+ years of large-scale network management, 2+ years each of Exchange, virtualization, and SQL/SAN) support a Mid-to-Senior classification — Senior is used here given the breadth and depth of infrastructure ownership expected.
The degree requirement is effectively None: the JD accepts MCSE/MCITP, VMware VCP, or a BS degree as alternatives, and further allows 6 years of Microsoft Server/AD experience to substitute for all three — so no degree is hard-gated.
The 4-year experience figure is the stated minimum for the primary required qualification block; a 6-year substitution path also exists for candidates without the certifications or degree.
MCSE/MCITP and VMware VCP are listed as alternative credentials (not purely skills) in the required qualifications block, but are captured as a preferred skill since they are interchangeable with a BS degree and with raw experience — the JD does not gate on any single one of them.
The compensation is listed as a starting hourly rate of $50.35 on the T23 salary scale; the full range is referenced via a linked salary scale not included in the posting, so only the floor is captured.
The alternative occupation runner-up (15-1252 Software Developers) reflects the scripting/automation and application-design duties described, but the dominant day-to-day work is infrastructure operations and administration, making 15-1244 the better primary fit.
Preferred qualifications include SCCM/SCOM, SQL clustering, Microsoft Lync/SharePoint, high-availability architecture, and K-12 work experience — all marked as preferred.
Read the full posting
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