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Exchange System Administrator SME

Leidos

Alexandria, VAJob$116–210K/yrSeen 6 days agoSeen in employer's feed 6 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$116–210K/yr
Location
Alexandria, VA
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

DoDM 8140.03 Intermediate Certification Or HigherTS/SCI clearance

Job overview

Leidos seeks an Exchange Subject Matter Expert to support a large Department of Defense enterprise IT contract. The role focuses on administering on-premises and Exchange Online environments, planning upgrades and migrations, troubleshooting service issues, and supporting system testing and security compliance. The SME also develops automation, documentation, and operational improvements while supporting a 24/7/365 mission environment and providing on-call coverage during after-hours outages.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Service Inquiry HandlingTier 2/3 System AdministrationOffice 365Microsoft ExchangeEmail JournalingScripting and AutomationComplex Problem SolvingExchange UpgradesExchange MigrationsTime ManagementServiceNowOral CommunicationWritten CommunicationBriefing OfficialsLeadershipMentoringTeamworkIncident TriageIncident PrioritizationPatch and Configuration ManagementDisaster RecoveryHigh AvailabilityLog ReviewIncident AnalysisTrend AnalysisServer Patch ManagementMicrosoft CertificationTrellixWindows DefenderBackup and RestoreNetBackupVMware Snapshots

Qualifications

Bachelor's+12, Master's+10, Associate's+14 or High School+16 YearsDoDM 8140.03 Intermediate Certification or HigherUS CitizenshipTS/SCI With Polygraph or Willingness to Obtain and Maintain Polygraph

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Paid Time Off
401(k) Match

Full job description

Description

Looking for an opportunity to make an impact?

At Leidos , we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers’ success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainable. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. Our Mission, Vision, and Values guide the way we do business.

If this sounds like a mission you want to be a part of, keep reading!

Leidos is seeking an Exchange Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support a large enterprise IT contract for the DOD. This role requires an individual with subject matter expertise developing and implementing on-prem Microsoft Exchange solutions in small, medium, and large enterprise environments including physical and virtual server technologies. Duties include conducting technical planning for hardware and software upgrades, review of implementation and upgrade guides, generation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other documentation to assist with team’s O&M efforts. Perform requirements analysis, functional analysis, and requirements allocation with operations staff to meet customer’s intended timeline for upgrades. Conduct technical assessment, integration support, system testing for functionality and security compliance, and quality assurance of production implementation. Solutions include Microsoft Exchange 2019 and 2025 SE on-prem, M365 Exchange Online, and hybrid solutions spanning various classifications, size/scope, redundancy/resiliency, and mission requirements. The individual will provide systems and software administration support in a large, multi-enclave enterprise environment. This person will work in a team environment to ensure mission needs are met and ensure functionality of capabilities to customers. Individuals in this role may be required to perform technical software configuration, rebooting, and other remedial actions on servers in support of O&M.

Primary Tasks

  • Individuals in this role may be required to remotely log into servers in order to perform technical software configuration, rebooting, and other remedial actions.

  • Provide Tier 2/Tier 3 administration support for implementation, troubleshooting, maintenance, and monitoring for physical and virtual servers.

  • Rapidly distinguish isolated user problems from enterprise-wide application and system problems. Advise Operations staff of root cause, recommended fix actions, and document resolution for future use.

  • Collaborate with peers and other service lanes to perform network latency analysis to address slow connections and user experience issues.

  • Direct effort to collect data, conduct analysis, develop, and implement solutions associated Problem Management guidelines.

  • Establish and maintain comprehensive availability and capacity management solution using lessons learned and best business practices

  • Provide follow-up reports (technical findings, feedback, resolution steps taken) for root cause analysis, operational assessment and process improvement initiatives.

  • Support customer requirements in a 24/7/365 mission environment and be able to provide on-call support during outages occurring after hours.

  • Update operations and monitoring documentation for 24/7/365 IT Operations Center (ITOC) personnel.

  • Troubleshoot email routing and service disruptions impacted by ever evolving cyber security tools and policies – Ensure implementation/integration does not impact customers.

  • Perform day-to-day oversight for Exchange Online system within an Office 365 hybrid/cloud environment.

  • Manage roles, services, and permissions in accordance with Government Service Owner and Cyber Security mandates.

  • Create, test, and implement PowerShell scripts to automate and standardize routine tasks and monitoring.

Basic Qualifications

  • Experience with interacting with service lanes to handle service inquiries and problems.

  • Extensive experience working as a Tier 2/3 System Administrator.

  • Extensive experience with Office 365 and Microsoft Exchange 2016, 2019, and 2025 SE.

  • Extensive knowledge of Email Journaling solutions.

  • Extensive experience with Scripting/Automation through Exchange PowerShell or other scripting languages.

  • Experience resolving highly complex problems using application of technical knowledge, factual reasoning, and proper interpretation of problem indicators.

  • Experience developing and implementing solutions for upgrades to newer Exchange versions.

  • Experience directing migrations between on-prem Exchange and M365 Exchange Online.

  • Time management skills with the ability to work within an IT Service Management/ticketing system (ServiceNow) independently

  • Strong oral and written communications skills with experience briefing senior government and military officials.

  • Strong leadership and mentoring skills to guide and improve team skill composition.

  • Track record of working effectively within a team, and support to peers toward improved processes and results.

  • Ability to triage and properly classify incidents and prioritize work efforts accordingly

  • Extensive experience with planning, deploying, and documenting patch and configuration updates

  • Extensive knowledge of Disaster Recovery (DR) for High Availability (HA) for large, dispersed enterprise environments.

  • Extensive experience with log reviews, incident analysis, and identification of issue trends and problem analysis.

  • Experience with server/system patch management methodologies.

Clearance

  • Due to the nature of the government contracts we support, US Citizenship is required.

  • TS/SCI with specific Polygraph required for position or TS/SCI and willingness to obtain and maintain a poly.

Education

  • Candidate must have a Bachelor's degree with 12 years of relevant experience, Master’s degree with 10 years, Associate's with 14 years, or High School Diploma with 16 years.

Required Certifications

  • Candidate must, at a minimum, meet DoDM 8140.03 (previously DoD 8570) – IT System Admin Intermediate certification requirements (Cloud+, GICSP, SSCP, Security+ CE, GSEC, or higher)

Desired Certifications:

  • Certification relating to Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) Certification or MCSA (Microsoft Certified System Administrator)

  • Experience with troubleshooting within a Trellix/Windows Defender security environment

  • Experience with backup and restore procedures utilizing NetBackup, VMware snapshots or other backup solutions prior to conducting major changes/upgrades

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

October 28, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:

Pay Range $116,350.00 - $210,325.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com .

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits .

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos’ name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system – never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at [email protected] .

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/) .

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.

REQNUMBER: R-00195609

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Leidos will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in accordance with relevant Laws. Leidos is an equal opportunity employer/disability/vet.

How this job compares

Set against the 2,238 open Systems Administrator jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$116–210K/yr
  • Virginia median$96–160K/yr190 salary ranges
  • US median$92–146K/yr1,389 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $163K, is 27% above the Virginia median midpoint ($129K) — in the top quarter of Systems Administrator salary ranges in Virginia.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 257 open Systems Administrator jobs in Virginia and 2,238 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Virginia
Experience
This posting asks for at least 16 years of experience — more than three in four Systems Administrator postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 1,882 postings).
Education
376 of the 2,238 open Systems Administrator jobs (17%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 4, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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