Lead Systems Administrator (NTD)

Nintendo Technology Development

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo Switch™ system and the Nintendo 3DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.7 billion video games and more than 740 million hardware units globally, including Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS™ family of systems, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™, Wii™ and Wii U™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon.  A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo Technology Development, based in Redmond, Washington, creates future hardware/software technology and researches North American-based technologies.

Nintendo is an equal opportunity employer. We offer a welcoming and inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, the diverse consumers we represent, and the communities we call home. We do all of this with kindness, empathy and respect for each other.

SUMMARY

The Lead Systems Administrator for the Nintendo Technology Development Inc. (NTD) organization is the operational leader for NTD's corporate IT infrastructure and services, responsible for ensuring the stability, security, and continual advancement of the organization's technology environment. Combining deep technical expertise with people leadership, this role directs day-to-day IT Operations, develops and executes service strategies, establishes operational standards and best practices, and develops a high-performing systems administration team. The role is responsible for service delivery, technology lifecycle planning, vendor relationships, and budget management for assigned IT services and platforms. Working in partnership with engineering and security organizations across NTD, Nintendo Co., Ltd. (NCL) and Nintendo of America Inc. (NOA), the Lead Systems Administrator ensures the delivery of dependable, secure, compliant, and auditable technology services that support the organization's business objectives.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

• Team Leadership and People Management
  • Directly manages System Administrators and related technical staff, including work assignment, prioritization, and workload management and day-to-day operational direction.
  • Coaches and develops NTD IT Operations staff through performance feedback, mentoring, training, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
  • Sets clear expectations, promotes administrative best practices, and provides guidance for technical problem solving and decision making.
  • Provides management escalation support and operational leadership when senior management is unavailable.
  • Promotes a culture of collaboration, accountability, customer service, continuous learning, and ownership across the team.
• Systems Administration and Technical Leadership
  • Provides technical leadership for the implementation, administration, maintenance, and support of enterprise systems, platforms, hardware, software, and end-user computing services.
  • Serves as the primary technical escalation point for complex infrastructure, systems, and operational issues.
  • Performs advanced troubleshooting and root-cause analysis across operating systems, virtualization, storage, networking, authentication, enterprise applications, and cloud services.
  • Provides hands-on administration and support for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS environments.
  • Develops and maintains system configurations, deployment standards, templates, and images for physical and virtual environments.
  • Reviews and approves technical designs, operational procedures and system changes to ensure reliability, maintainability, and alignment with established standards.
• Infrastructure Operations, Reliability, and Continuous Improvement
  • Owns the operational processes for assigned systems and services, including defining, documenting, standardizing, and continuously improving workflows, service standards, runbooks, and recovery procedures.
  • Ensures the availability, performance, security, and recoverability of enterprise systems and services.
  • Monitors operational health, capacity, and service trends to identify risks and recommend corrective or preventive actions.
  • Leads response to high-impact incidents, including triage, escalation, stakeholder communication, recovery, and post-incident review.
  • Oversees incident and service request queues to ensure timely assignment, resolution, and compliance with service-level objectives.
  • Participates in on-call rotation and provides after-hours support as required.
  • Develops and implements automation, scripting, and tooling solutions that increase efficiency, reliability, and service quality.
  • Identifies opportunities to improve team productivity, service quality, reliability, and technical capabilities.
• Project Delivery and Governance
  • Leads complex infrastructure and operational projects from planning through implementation, including scope definition, resource planning, milestone scheduling, risk management, and execution.
  • Coordinates project activities across IT Operations, Engineering, Security, business stakeholders, vendors, and partner Nintendo organizations.
  • Evaluates emerging technologies and recommends solutions that meet organizational and compliance requirements,
  • Ensures systems are administered in accordance with security policies, configuration standards, and access-control requirements, and reviews administrative access and permissions.
  • Supports vulnerability remediation, patching, hardening, logging, monitoring, and audits; ensures changes are tested, documented, and communicated; protects confidential information.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in systems administration, infrastructure operations, systems engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing systems administration teams, including work assignment, coaching, performance feedback, team development, and delivery accountability.
• Proven ability to build and develop high-performing technical teams through mentoring, knowledge sharing, and establishment of operational standards and expectations.
• Advanced administration and troubleshooting experience with Microsoft Windows and Linux; working knowledge of macOS in an enterprise environment.
• Strong understanding of enterprise infrastructure technologies and concepts, including networking, storage, virtualization, identity and access management, authentication, security, backup, disaster recovery, and high availability.
• Experience analyzing and resolving complex technical problems requiring evaluation of multiple variables, dependencies, and business considerations.
• Proficiency with automation and scripting technologies such as PowerShell, Bash, Python, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of IT security principles and operational practices, including patching, hardening, access control, vulnerability remediation, logging, monitoring, and incident response.
• Experience leading and coordinating technical initiatives across multiple teams, stakeholders, and vendors.
• Experience managing technology vendors, service providers, contracts, and technology budgets or budget planning activities.
• Ability to participate in an on-call rotation and provide after-hours support when required.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code, configuration management, or orchestration technologies.
• Experience administering virtualized, cloud-hosted, containerized, or hybrid infrastructure.
• Familiarity with IT Service Management practices such as incident, problem, change, request, and knowledge management, and ITSM tools like ServiceNow or Jira Service Desk.
• Relevant certification in Microsoft, Linux, cloud, virtualization, networking, security, or IT service management.
• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, Information Systems, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States to be considered. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

This position is onsite in Redmond, WA, and not open to remote status at this time.  

This position includes the base pay range listed below, potential for a semi-annual discretionary performance bonus, and a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and paid time off.

Pay Range:

$120,900—$217,650 USD