System Administrator

About Emesent

Emesent is a Brisbane-based world leader in autonomous LiDAR mapping and drone autonomy. Our flagship product, Hovermap, delivers autonomous LiDAR mapping in GPS-denied environments for the Mining and Defence sectors. Our newly launched GX1 brings high-performance handheld LiDAR to surveying and the built environment. Behind both sits a pipeline of future hardware products and a team that takes hard engineering problems from concept to the field.

Role Description

The System Administrator reports to the Director of IT & AI and sits within a small IT team. The role is responsible for the design, operation, security, and continuous improvement of the organisation's corporate IT environment. This spans on-premises and cloud infrastructure, Microsoft and Linux platforms, identity and access management, SaaS integrations, endpoint fleet management, and internal engineering compute clusters.

The role is both hands-on and enabling, keeping day-to-day operations running reliably while helping engineering and business teams adopt new technologies, tools, and workflows safely. The successful candidate will act as a technical escalation point (L2/L3) for the service desk and will contribute to governance, disaster recovery, and cybersecurity initiatives across the business.

Key Responsibilities:

Infrastructure & Operations

• Administer Windows Server environments, including Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, file and certificate services.

• Provide L2/L3 operational support, resolving escalations from the Service Desk and complex infrastructure incidents.
• Mentor and support L1/L2 Service Desk staff, building their technical capability.

• Prioritise tickets in the infrastructure queue, ensuring incidents and requests are resolved within agreed SLAs.
• Administer Microsoft 365, including Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and Intune.
• Manage endpoint provisioning and lifecycle for a globally distributed workforce across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Administer VMware and Linux compute clusters and AWS environments, including capacity planning and performance management.
• Maintain VPN infrastructure for remote and on-site personnel.
• Administer network configuration for Brisbane HQ and remote sites (switching, routing, firewalls, wireless).
• Own DR and business continuity initiatives, including backups, restore testing, and infrastructure resilience.
• Enable teams to safely adopt new technologies and workflows, including internally developed tools.
• Support the secure adoption and governance of AI tools and services across the business, including access controls, data protection, and integration with existing platforms.

Identity & Access Management

• Maintain Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID, SSO, MFA, Conditional Access, and hybrid identity sync.
• Improve access management through Entra ID integrations with SaaS platforms and AWS (SAML/OIDC/SCIM), including automated provisioning and deprovisioning.
• Implement least-privilege RBAC and manage the joiner/mover/leaver process; conduct periodic access reviews.

Cybersecurity

• Enforce endpoint security policies across Windows, macOS, and Linux using Intune, Defender, and equivalent tooling.
• Own patch management and vulnerability management across servers, endpoints, and network devices.
• Maintain firewalls, email security (DMARC/DKIM/SPF), web filtering, and endpoint detection and response.
• Monitor security alerts, investigate and contain incidents, and support penetration test remediation.
• Harden systems against recognised baselines (CIS, Microsoft baselines, ASD Essential Eight).
• Support cybersecurity governance, risk, and compliance initiatives.

Governance

• Maintain documentation, network topology, and the asset register.
• Operate and improve change management, including risk assessment, approvals, and rollback planning.
• Contribute to IT policies and standards and support audits and compliance.
• Track licensing compliance, maintain the IT risk register, and contribute to DR/BC planning (RTO/RPO, DR exercises).
• Contribute to and uphold the organisation’s AI policy.

Skills & Experience

• 5+ years in systems administration within a mixed Windows/Linux enterprise environment.
• Windows Server, Active Directory, and Microsoft Entra ID, including Group Policy, DNS/DHCP, certificate services, Conditional Access, MFA, and hybrid identity.
• Microsoft 365: Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, Intune.
• Linux administration (Ubuntu and/or RHEL-based).
• VMware vSphere/ESXi and AWS, including cluster and capacity management.
• Networking and network security: TCP/IP, VLANs, routing, switching, firewalls, enterprise Wi-Fi, VPN.
• Scripting and automation in PowerShell, Bash, or Python.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including explaining technical issues and risks to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong documentation discipline: runbooks, network diagrams, change records.
• Strong understanding of AI tools and their security, privacy, and data governance implications.

Desirable

• Relevant certifications, such as Microsoft (AZ-104, SC-300), AWS Solutions Architect, CCNA, or RHCSA.
• Experience applying security baselines (CIS, Microsoft, ASD Essential Eight) in a compliance or audit context.
• Experience supporting engineering or HPC compute environments.

The Perks 

• 9-day fortnight — every second Friday off. 

• Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP) — share in Emesent's success. 

• Genuine learning and development opportunities, including LinkedIn Learning. 

• Flexible working arrangements and a casual dress code. 

• Employee Assistance Program and Qoctor online telehealth. 

• A full day of leave each year for your work anniversary. 

Who we are 

Emesent builds LiDAR mapping and autonomy technology for the world's most challenging environments. Founded in 2018 from Australia's CSIRO, our products — Hovermap, GX1, and the Aura software platform — capture spatial data in hazardous, GPS-denied, and hard-to-reach places for mining, survey, and infrastructure customers worldwide. With multiple product lines spanning hardware, desktop, and cloud, we're at an inflection point — and this role sits at the technical heart of it.