5 Backup Administrator Job Description Templates and Examples

Company Overview

[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]

Role Overview

As a Backup Administrator at [$COMPANY_NAME], you will design, operate, and evolve enterprise backup and recovery systems to ensure data integrity, availability, and rapid recovery across cloud and on-premises environments. You will own backup architecture decisions, implement automation to reduce RTO/RPO, and drive continuity and compliance for production, DR, and long-term retention systems. This role requires deep hands-on experience with backup platforms (e.g., Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik), object and cold storage (AWS S3, S3 Glacier, Azure Blob), tape libraries and LTFS, and scripting/automation (PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ansible).

Responsibilities

• Architect, deploy, and maintain backup and restore solutions across virtualized, cloud-native, and physical infrastructure (Veeam, NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik, AWS Backup).
• Design and validate disaster recovery (DR) processes, runbooks, and recovery point/time objectives (RPO/RTO) for critical applications and databases (Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
• Manage retention policies, lifecycle management, and archive strategies including integration with object stores (S3/Glacier) and tape automation (LTFS, IBM/Quantum libraries).
• Implement and maintain backup automation and orchestration using PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ansible, or Terraform to reduce manual intervention and accelerate recovery.
• Develop and execute regular backup and restore tests, tabletop exercises, and full DR failover/failback rehearsals; document lessons learned and remediation plans.
• Monitor backup performance, capacity, and health using enterprise monitoring and observability tools (DataDog, Prometheus, Nagios) and optimize throughput, deduplication, and bandwidth usage.
• Respond to production incidents related to backup/restore operations, perform root cause analysis, and implement long-term fixes; participate in on-call rotation.
• Integrate backup solutions with virtualization and container platforms (VMware, Hyper-V, Kubernetes CSI snapshots) and cloud provider snapshots and replication.
• Collaborate with platform, security, compliance, and application teams to ensure backups meet regulatory, encryption, and retention requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2).
• Create and maintain runbooks, ADRs (Architecture Decision Records), capacity plans, and documented recovery SLAs; mentor junior team members and run knowledge-transfer sessions.

Required and Preferred Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent experience; or relevant industry certifications.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience administering enterprise backup systems (Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik).
• Proven experience with backup/restore testing, DR planning, and incident response for production environments.
• Strong scripting skills in PowerShell and/or Bash and working knowledge of Python for automation and tooling.
• Experience with storage platforms (SAN/NAS, NetApp, Dell EMC), tape libraries, and object storage (AWS S3, Azure Blob) and knowledge of lifecycle policies.
• Familiarity with virtualization and containerized workloads: VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Kubernetes snapshot/CSI mechanics.
• Experience with encryption-at-rest/in-transit, key management, and securing backup data stores.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills for networking/storage/performance issues impacting backups.

Preferred:

• 5+ years administering large-scale backup estates; prior experience in highly regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government).
• Certifications: Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE), Veritas Certified Specialist, Commvault Certified Engineer, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, or similar.
• Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform) and configuration management (Ansible, Salt).
• Knowledge of modern immutable backup strategies, ransomware-resistant architectures, and air-gapped/offline vaulting.
• Experience integrating backup telemetry with observability platforms (DataDog, Splunk) and implementing alerting/playbooks.

Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies

• Backup platforms: Veeam Backup & Replication, Veritas NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik.
• Cloud backup and archive: AWS Backup, S3, S3 Glacier/Glacier Deep Archive, Azure Recovery Services.
• Storage and tape: SAN, NAS, NetApp, Dell EMC, LTFS, Tape robotics (IBM, Quantum).
• Databases and apps: Oracle RMAN, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Exchange, SharePoint.
• Virtualization/containers: VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Kubernetes (CSI snapshots), VMware snapshot technologies.
• Scripting & automation: PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ansible, Terraform.
• Monitoring & observability: DataDog, Prometheus, Nagios, Splunk.
• Networking & security: iSCSI, NFS, SMB, encryption (KMS), IAM, VPN, firewall rules.

Soft Skills and Cultural Fit

• Proven track record of writing clear runbooks, postmortems, and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).
• Strong stakeholder communication: translate technical constraints and trade-offs to engineering and business leaders.
• Ability to lead incident response and coordinate cross-functional recovery efforts under pressure.
• Mentorship mindset: experience upskilling junior operators and improving team runbooks and playbooks.
• Detail-oriented with a bias for measurable outcomes (recovery time, recovery point, test pass rates).
• Collaborative problem-solver who values security-first design and continuous improvement.

Benefits and Perks

Salary: [$SALARY_RANGE]

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) or local retirement plan with employer contribution or match.
• Generous paid time off, paid parental leave, and flexible holiday policy.
• Annual professional development stipend and certification reimbursement.
• Home office stipend or company workstation for remote employees.
• Wellness benefits, employee assistance program (EAP), and commuter benefits where applicable.
• Opportunity to work on large-scale resilience projects and influence company-wide DR strategy.

Equal Opportunity Statement

[$COMPANY_NAME] is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other status protected by law. Reasonable accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Location

This is a remote position within [$COMPANY_LOCATION]. Candidates must be legally authorized to work and located within [$COMPANY_LOCATION] to be considered. Occasional travel to regional offices or datacenters may be required.

How to Apply

We strongly encourage applicants who meet many, but not necessarily all, of the qualifications to apply. Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter outlining relevant backup/DR projects and the scale of systems you administered. Include any certifications and links to technical write-ups or runbooks you authored if available. Applicants who are excited about resilience engineering and continuous improvement are encouraged to apply even if you don’t match every bullet above.

Company Overview

[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]

Role Overview

[$COMPANY_NAME] is hiring a Junior Backup Administrator to join our Infrastructure & Availability team. In this entry-level technical role you will operate, monitor, and validate backup and recovery systems across on-premises and cloud environments. You will work under the guidance of senior systems engineers to ensure data resiliency, implement backup policies, automate routine tasks, and execute restores for business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) exercises. This role is ideal for candidates with foundational systems administration experience, exposure to backup technologies, and a strong desire to build expertise in enterprise backup, storage, and recovery operations.

Responsibilities

• Operate and monitor backup solutions (e.g., Veeam Backup & Replication, Veritas NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik) to ensure scheduled jobs complete successfully and meet RPO/RTO targets
• Perform routine restore operations for files, databases (SQL Server, Oracle RMAN), virtual machines (VMware, Hyper-V), and cloud object storage (AWS S3, Azure Blob)
• Investigate and remediate backup failures; triage alerts from monitoring tools (e.g., Nagios, Zabbix, SolarWinds, Prometheus) and collaborate with storage, DBA, and network teams to resolve root causes
• Maintain and update backup policies, retention schedules, lifecycle rules, and backup inventories; document runbooks and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Assist in DR planning and testing: participate in disaster recovery drills, validate recovery procedures, and produce post-mortem reports
• Automate repetitive tasks using scripting (PowerShell, Bash) and integrate backups into CI/CD pipelines where applicable
• Manage backup storage capacity: monitor deduplication, replication jobs, tape libraries, and cloud egress/ingress costs
• Apply security best practices for backups: encryption at-rest/in-transit, key management, access controls, and secure credential handling
• Contribute to patching and upgrade activities for backup appliances/software under the direction of senior engineers
• Participate in on-call rotation for backup and recovery incidents and provide timely incident documentation and RCA inputs

Required and Preferred Qualifications

Required:

• 0–2 years of hands-on experience in systems administration, storage, or IT operations supporting backup/restore activities
• Familiarity with at least one enterprise backup product (Veeam, NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik) and virtualization platforms (VMware, Hyper-V)
• Basic experience with databases and backups: Microsoft SQL Server backups/restores, familiarity with Oracle RMAN concepts
• Comfort with scripting for automation (PowerShell or Bash) and basic Linux/Windows administration
• Understanding of backup concepts: RPO, RTO, incremental/differential/full backups, deduplication, replication, retention policies
• Strong troubleshooting skills and ability to follow runbooks and escalate appropriately
• Effective written and verbal communication skills for documenting procedures and interacting with cross-functional teams

Preferred:

• Certifications such as Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE), Veritas Certified Specialist, CompTIA Server+, Microsoft MCSA, or AWS/Azure fundamentals
• Experience with cloud backup integrations (AWS Backup, Azure Backup, S3 lifecycle rules) and object storage
• Exposure to tape libraries and NDMP backups
• Familiarity with monitoring systems and log aggregation (ELK stack, Splunk, DataDog)
• Experience with configuration management tools (Ansible, Puppet) or infrastructure-as-code (Terraform)

Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies

• Backup and recovery tools: Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, Commvault, Rubrik
• Virtualization: VMware vSphere, Hyper-V
• Operating systems: Windows Server, Linux (RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu)
• Databases: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle RMAN basics, PostgreSQL backups
• Cloud: AWS (S3, Glacier, AWS Backup), Azure Blob/Recovery Services
• Scripting and automation: PowerShell, Bash, basic Python
• Monitoring and alerting: Nagios, Zabbix, SolarWinds, DataDog, Splunk
• Storage: SAN/NAS fundamentals, deduplication, tape management
• Networking basics: TCP/IP, VLANs, firewall rules as they relate to backup replication and agents

Soft Skills and Cultural Fit

• Curiosity and eagerness to learn enterprise backup architectures and DR methodologies
• Detail-oriented with a methodical approach to verification and documentation
• Ability to follow and improve runbooks, SOPs, and playbooks under direction
• Collaborative communicator who works well across storage, networking, and DBA teams
• Dependable under incident pressure; committed to timely escalations and clear incident communication
• Growth mindset with openness to mentorship and structured technical training

Benefits and Perks

Salary: [$SALARY_RANGE]

We offer a competitive benefits package designed for career growth and wellbeing, which may include:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with company match or equivalent retirement benefits
• Paid time off, paid parental leave, and company-observed holidays
• Professional development stipend, certification support, and internal training programs
• Commuter benefits and flexible work arrangements consistent with role
• Wellness resources, EAP, and mental health support

Equal Opportunity Statement

[$COMPANY_NAME] is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are an equal opportunity employer and consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We actively encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.

Location

This role is hybrid: a successful candidate will be expected to work from the office in [$COMPANY_LOCATION] at least 3 days per week and may work remotely for the remainder of the schedule. Candidates should be able to commute to our [$COMPANY_LOCATION] office for onboarding, team collaborations, and DR exercises.

Application Instructions

We encourage applicants at all levels who are interested in this Junior Backup Administrator role to apply—even if you do not meet every listed qualification. Please submit your resume and a brief cover note highlighting relevant experience (projects, labs, internships, coursework, or certifications). Candidates who demonstrate strong troubleshooting ability, foundational backup knowledge, and a growth mindset will be strongly considered.

Company Overview

[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]

Role Overview

[$COMPANY_NAME] is hiring a Lead Backup Administrator to own backup, restore, and disaster recovery (DR) architecture across on-premises, virtualized, and cloud environments. You will define backup strategy, implement scalable backup platforms, drive recovery objectives (RPO/RTO), and lead incident response for data protection events. This hands-on leadership role combines technical architecture, operational excellence, vendor management, and mentoring of engineers to ensure recoverability and compliance for critical business systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement enterprise backup and recovery architectures for mixed environments (physical, VMware/Hyper‑V, containers, public cloud).
• Own policy definition for RPO/RTO, retention, tiering, encryption at rest/in transit, and legal/compliance holds; translate business requirements into technical SLAs.
• Lead selection, deployment, and lifecycle management of backup technologies (e.g., Veritas NetBackup, Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik) and object storage targets (AWS S3/Glacier, Azure Blob, on‑prem object stores).
• Develop and maintain DR playbooks, runbooks, and automated recovery runbooks integrated with orchestration tools and run regular DR exercises to validate recoverability.
• Implement and maintain backup automation, monitoring, and alerting: integrate backup jobs into CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code where applicable; build reporting for backups, restores, and capacity forecasting.
• Lead incident response for backup/restore failures and large‑scale recovery events, performing root cause analysis and documenting Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) to prevent recurrence.
• Drive backup data lifecycle management and storage optimization: deduplication, compression, tiering, archive strategies, and cost management across on‑prem and cloud storage.
• Manage vendor relationships, negotiate SLAs, evaluate new solutions, and own procurement and licensing for backup products.
• Mentor and lead a small team of backup/operations engineers: run effective code and configuration reviews, establish runbooks, and champion post‑mortem culture.
• Ensure backup systems meet regulatory and security requirements (encryption, key management, access controls, audit trails) and collaborate with InfoSec and compliance teams for audits.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of systems operations or data protection experience with at least 3 years in a lead or senior technical role owning backup/DR.
• Proven experience designing and operating enterprise backup solutions such as Veritas NetBackup, Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, or similar.
• Deep knowledge of virtualization platforms (VMware vSphere, Hyper‑V) and experience backing up/restoring large virtual estates and databases.
• Hands‑on experience with cloud backup and archive patterns (AWS S3/Glacier, Azure Blob Storage, lifecycle policies, cross‑region replication).
• Strong scripting and automation skills (PowerShell, Python, Bash); familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform, Ansible) to automate backup configuration and recovery workflows.
• Experience defining and measuring RPO/RTO, conducting DR exercises, and producing technical recovery documentation.
• Solid understanding of storage systems (NAS, SAN, NetApp, EMC), snapshot technologies, replication, and integration with backup platforms.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools (DataDog, Prometheus, Grafana, syslog/ELK) for backup job metrics and alerts.
• Excellent incident management, RCA, and stakeholder communication skills; proven ability to lead cross-functional recovery efforts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE), Veritas Certified Specialist, Commvault Certified Professional, or relevant cloud certifications (AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, Azure Administrator).
• Experience with containerized workloads and application-consistent backups for Kubernetes (Velero, CSI snapshots).
• Familiarity with encryption key management (KMIP, cloud KMS) and secure key rotation policies.
• Background in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government) with experience supporting eDiscovery, legal holds, and audit evidence collection.
• Experience optimizing backup performance and capacity at scale (petabyte-range datasets).

Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies

• Backup platforms: Veritas NetBackup, Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, IBM Spectrum Protect
• Cloud: AWS (S3, Glacier, Lifecycle, KMS), Azure Blob, S3 API-compatible object stores
• Virtualization: VMware vSphere, Hyper‑V; Container backup: Velero, Restic, CSI snapshots
• Storage: NetApp, EMC/Isilon, SAN/NAS concepts, ZFS
• Databases: Oracle RMAN, Microsoft SQL Server backup/restore strategies, PostgreSQL, MySQL
• Scripting/Automation: PowerShell, Python, Bash, Ansible, Terraform
• Monitoring/Observability: DataDog, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack
• Security/Compliance: Encryption (KMS/KMS integrations), IAM, audit logging, SOC/PCI/HIPAA controls

Soft Skills and Cultural Fit

• Demonstrated leadership in operational environments: running DR drills, writing ADRs, leading post‑mortems, and coaching engineers.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication: translate technical recovery plans into business‑facing SLAs and executive summaries.
• Proactive mindset: prioritize risk reduction, automate repetitive tasks, and continuously improve runbooks and tooling.
• Collaborative influencer: work effectively with application owners, network/storage teams, InfoSec, and vendors to deliver end‑to‑end recoverability.
• Detail oriented and decisive under pressure during recovery scenarios, with a track record of calm, structured incident leadership.

Benefits and Perks

Salary range: [$SALARY_RANGE]

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer‑sponsored life and disability insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Generous paid time off, paid parental leave, and paid holidays
• Professional development stipend, certification reimbursement, and conference budgets
• Flexible work arrangements and equipment stipend for home office
• Wellness benefits including mental health support and EAP

Equal Opportunity Statement

[$COMPANY_NAME] is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Location

This role follows a hybrid work model. A successful candidate will be expected to work from the office at least 3 days per week in [$COMPANY_LOCATION] to lead on‑premises recovery exercises, vendor engagements, and cross‑functional collaboration.

Company Overview

[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]

Role Overview

[$COMPANY_NAME] is hiring an experienced Backup and Recovery Manager to own enterprise backup, snapshot, and disaster recovery strategy across cloud and on-premise environments. You will define RPO/RTO objectives, architect resilient backup topologies, lead runbook and DR test programs, and operationalize recovery procedures for critical applications and data stores. This is a leadership role requiring strong hands-on technical depth in backup platforms (e.g., Veeam, Rubrik, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup), object and tape storage, public cloud backup services (AWS Backup, Azure Backup), virtualization (VMware/Hyper-V), and automation (PowerShell, Python, Ansible, Terraform). The role demands proven experience converting recovery requirements into measurable SLAs and repeatable recovery playbooks.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise backup and disaster recovery strategy, aligning RTO/RPO targets with business stakeholders and compliance teams.
• Design and operate multi-tier backup topologies across on-premises (SAN/NAS, NetApp, Dell EMC, Data Domain) and cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), including object storage lifecycle policies (S3/Glacier) and tape archiving.
• Lead selection, deployment, and lifecycle management of backup/DR technologies (Veeam, Rubrik, Commvault, NetBackup, Zerto, DRaaS).
• Create, document, and maintain recovery runbooks, playbooks, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); keep runbooks versioned and automation-ready.
• Plan and execute regular disaster recovery exercises, validate failover/failback processes, capture metrics, and drive continuous improvement.
• Implement and manage backup automation and orchestration using scripting and IaC (PowerShell, Python, Ansible, Terraform); integrate with CI/CD and incident response workflows.
• Establish monitoring, alerting, and KPIs for backup health, job success rates, backup windows, storage utilization, and recovery time objectives using tools such as DataDog, Splunk, or Nagios.
• Lead a team of backup engineers and administrators: hire, mentor, run 1:1s, own career development, and perform technical performance reviews.
• Manage vendor relationships, evaluate new products, negotiate support contracts, and oversee capacity and cost optimization for backup storage.
• Ensure secure backups through encryption, key management, immutability, and adherence to regulatory and data protection requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC).
• Drive incident response and post-incident analysis for data loss or recovery failures; produce RCA and remediation plans.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years experience in enterprise backup, recovery, and disaster recovery planning with at least 2 years in a managerial or lead role.
• Proven technical hands-on experience with one or more enterprise backup platforms: Veeam, Rubrik, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience designing and executing DR exercises and meeting defined RTO/RPO targets for mission-critical applications and databases (Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
• Experience integrating backups across virtualization (VMware, Hyper-V), container platforms (Kubernetes), and public cloud services (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Strong scripting/automation skills (PowerShell, Python, Ansible, Terraform) and experience integrating backup workflows into CI/CD or ITSM tools.
• Solid knowledge of storage systems (SAN/NAS), object storage lifecycle management, tape libraries, and backup storage optimization techniques.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; ability to translate technical recovery metrics into business risk and cost trade-offs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as Veeam Certified Engineer, Rubrik Certified Engineer, Commvault Certified Professional, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, Microsoft Azure Administrator, CISSP, or ITIL.
• Experience with immutable storage, ransomware protection strategies for backups, and air-gapped recovery architectures.
• Familiarity with backup of SaaS platforms (Office365, Google Workspace, Salesforce) and database replication/point-in-time recovery strategies.
• Experience managing capital and operational budgets for backup infrastructure and negotiating vendor SLAs.
• Background in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government) with audit-ready backup and retention policies.

Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies

• Backup & DR platforms: Veeam, Rubrik, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup, Zerto, DRaaS.
• Cloud backups: AWS Backup, AWS S3/Glacier, Azure Backup, GCP storage.
• Virtualization & containers: VMware, Hyper-V, Kubernetes backup/CSI snapshot tools.
• Storage: NetApp, Dell EMC, Data Domain, SAN/NAS, tape libraries.
• Automation & scripting: PowerShell, Python, Ansible, Terraform, REST APIs.
• Monitoring & observability: DataDog, Splunk, Prometheus, Nagios.
• Security & compliance: encryption at-rest/in-transit, KMS, immutability, GDPR, HIPAA controls.

Soft Skills and Cultural Fit

• Strategic leader with a track record of setting technical direction and driving cross-functional alignment.
• Strong communicator capable of presenting recovery posture and risk to executive leadership and auditors.
• Data-driven decision maker: uses metrics and post-incident analyses to reduce risk and improve recovery SLAs.
• Mentor and developer of technical teams: invests in coaching, career ladders, and knowledge transfer.
• Calm under pressure with demonstrated incident command experience during large-scale outages.
• Inclusive collaborator who values diverse perspectives and builds psychological safety on the team.

Benefits and Perks

Salary: [$SALARY_RANGE]

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance; employer-funded health savings options.
• Generous paid time off, parental leave, and flexible holiday policies.
• 401(k) with employer match or equivalent retirement plan.
• Equity or long-term incentive program for eligible employees.
• Learning & development stipends, professional certification reimbursement, and conference budgets.
• Wellness stipends, employee assistance programs, and home office/commute support for hybrid work.

Equal Opportunity Statement

[$COMPANY_NAME] is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please let us know.

Location

This is a hybrid role based in [$COMPANY_LOCATION]. A successful candidate will be expected to work from the office at least 3 days per week to lead on-site disaster recovery drills, vendor engagements, and cross-functional incident response exercises.

How to Apply

We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and those who may not meet every listed requirement to apply. Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter outlining your most relevant backup and recovery achievements and why you want to join [$COMPANY_NAME]. Candidates who demonstrate strong fundamentals, leadership potential, and a drive to learn will be strongly considered.

Company Overview

[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]

Role Overview

[$COMPANY_NAME] is seeking a Senior Backup Administrator to lead the design, implementation, and operational excellence of enterprise backup, recovery, and disaster recovery (DR) capabilities across on-premises, virtualized, and cloud environments. You will own backup architecture and runbooks, drive recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO) improvements, and implement ransomware-resistant backup strategies using industry-standard tools and cloud provider services. This senior role requires hands-on technical mastery, cross-functional leadership, and the ability to translate business continuity requirements into measurable technical outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Define and own enterprise backup and recovery architecture across physical, VMware, Hyper-V, and cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP) environments, including selection and governance of backup technologies (e.g., Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, Rubrik, Commvault, Cohesity).
• Design, implement and maintain backup policies, retention schedules, encryption-at-rest/in-transit, deduplication strategies, and lifecycle management to meet regulatory and business SLAs.
• Lead cross-functional disaster recovery planning and execution: author DR runbooks, coordinate tabletop exercises, run full failover/failback tests, and validate recoverability for critical business systems.
• Establish and continuously improve recovery metrics (RTO, RPO, restore success rate, time-to-verify) and provide executive reporting on backup posture and risk.
• Implement anti-ransomware and immutable backup strategies (WORM, air-gapped copies, object lock) and integrate backup verification with anomaly detection and alerting systems.
• Automate backup operations, reporting, and verification using scripting (PowerShell, Python, Bash) and orchestration tools (Ansible, Terraform where applicable).
• Manage backup storage capacity planning, performance tuning, and cost optimization for on-prem appliances and cloud snapshot/object storage.
• Integrate backup solutions with CI/CD and infrastructure pipelines where applicable, and ensure backups are included in change control and release processes.
• Lead incident response for backup/recovery-related production issues; perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to eliminate single points of failure.
• Mentor and upskill platform/operations engineers; define backup runbooks, SOPs, and on-call rotations.
• Collaborate with security, compliance, and architecture teams to ensure backups meet encryption, retention, data residency, and audit requirements (HIPAA, SOC2, PCI-DSS, GDPR as applicable).

Required and Preferred Qualifications

Required:

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise backup, recovery, and disaster recovery engineering or systems administration focused on availability and data protection.
• Proven expertise with at least two commercial or enterprise backup platforms (e.g., Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, Rubrik, Commvault, Cohesity) in production at scale.
• Strong experience with virtualization platforms (VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V) and application-consistent backup strategies for databases and enterprise apps (SQL Server, Oracle, Exchange, SharePoint, Active Directory).
• Hands-on experience with cloud-native backup/snapshot strategies and tools for AWS (EBS snapshots, S3/object lock, Backup service), Azure (Recovery Services Vault, Blob immutability), or GCP (Cloud Storage, Snapshots).
• Proficient scripting skills (PowerShell and/or Python) to automate backup workflows, verification, and reporting.
• Experience designing and executing disaster recovery exercises and producing DR documentation and runbooks.
• Deep understanding of storage fundamentals: SAN/NAS, deduplication, compression, replication, and storage performance tuning.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills for complex production recoveries and post-mortem analysis.

Preferred:

• Certifications such as Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE), NetBackup Certified Professional, Rubrik Certified Engineer, Commvault Certified Professional, or relevant cloud certifications (AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, Azure Administrator Associate).
• Experience with backup immutability, ransomware mitigation frameworks, and secure backup architectures including air-gapped and offline copies.
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), monitoring/observability (Datadog, Splunk, Prometheus), and configuration management (Ansible, SaltStack).
• Experience operating in regulated environments (healthcare, finance, government) with strong compliance and audit support track record.

Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies

• Backup platforms: Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, Rubrik, Commvault, Cohesity
• Virtualization: VMware vSphere, Hyper-V
• Cloud: AWS (EBS/S3/Backup), Azure (Recovery Services), GCP snapshots/storage
• Databases and enterprise apps: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Exchange, SharePoint, Active Directory
• Scripting & automation: PowerShell, Python, Bash, Ansible, Terraform
• Storage and protocols: SAN, NAS, NFS, SMB, iSCSI, object storage
• Security & compliance: encryption, key management, immutability, WORM, GDPR/SOC2/HIPAA concepts
• Monitoring/observability: Datadog, Splunk, ELK, Nagios

Soft Skills and Cultural Fit

• Leadership: demonstrated track record of owning technical programs end-to-end, influencing cross-functional stakeholders, and leading post-incident remediation.
• Communication: ability to produce clear DR runbooks, executive-level reports, and to present technical restoration plans to non-technical stakeholders.
• Mentorship: experience coaching engineers on backup best practices, runbook hygiene, and production incident response.
• Decision-making: comfort making trade-offs between cost, recovery speed, and data retention while documenting architecture decision records (ADRs).
• Detail-oriented: rigorous about validation, automated verification, and reproducible recovery steps.
• Adaptability: experience operating in fast-moving environments with evolving infrastructure and compliance requirements.

Benefits and Perks

Salary: [$SALARY_RANGE]

Comprehensive benefits typically include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match or local retirement plan equivalents
• Paid time off, parental leave, and holiday pay
• Annual training and certification reimbursement
• Equipment stipend and home office support for eligible remote employees
• Wellness programs and employee assistance resources
• Flexible work schedules and professional development pathways

Equal Opportunity Statement

[$COMPANY_NAME] is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. Reasonable accommodations will be provided as required by law.

Location

This is a remote position within [$COMPANY_LOCATION]. Candidates must be based in [$COMPANY_LOCATION] and able to travel to local offices or data centers for on-site work, DR exercises, or emergency recovery as required.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume and a concise cover letter describing relevant enterprise backup architecture experience and a recent DR exercise you led. Only applications submitted via the official careers site will be considered.