Senior IT Administrator / Senior System Engineer (M/F/D) | Cologne

SENIOR IT ADMINISTRATOR / SENIOR SYSTEM ENGINEER (M/F/D)
Focus on Linux, Proxmox, Network & Hybrid Infrastructure

Flexible working hours, modern infrastructure, hybrid working and a team that truly lives responsibility – we are looking for a personality to take on technical responsibility for our IT administration, actively develop our infrastructure, and help shape the technological future of IRIS. You will not only work in day-to-day operations but also significantly drive central future projects such as building a decentralized infrastructure and a highly available system landscape.

Cologne
⏰ Full-time
Hybrid Working
Permanent Employment Contract

Your Tech Stack

Linux I Proxmox I pfSense I Bash I Python I Ansible I Hybrid Infrastructure I Monitoring

Is IT Infrastructure Exactly Your Playing Field?

Do you want to not only administer systems but also actively shape the technical future of a company?

Then IRIS is exactly the right place for you.

We are one of the internationally leading companies for media, market, and sponsoring research in sports. Our analyses support international sports federations, clubs, leagues, sponsors, and companies in making the success of their media and sponsoring activities measurable.

To ensure our systems continue to operate stably, securely, and with high availability in the future, we are looking for an experienced Senior IT Administrator / System Engineer who will take on technical responsibility for our IT administration and actively develop our infrastructure.

With us, you can expect short decision-making processes, a lot of creative freedom, and the opportunity to quickly put technical ideas into practice.

Your Tasks

As part of our IT team, you will play a central role in the operation and further development of our infrastructure. You don't think in tickets, but in solutions, take responsibility, and drive topics forward independently.

Approximately 60% of your time will be spent on projects and modernization, and 40% on the operation and optimization of our existing systems.

Your tasks include in particular:

• Technical responsibility for our IT administration
• Support, optimization, and further development of our Linux infrastructure
• Operation and expansion of our virtualization platform based on Proxmox
• Administration of our network and firewall infrastructure (pfSense)
• Planning and further development of hybrid infrastructures (On-Premise & Cloud)
• Setup and maintenance of secure site-to-site and cloud VPNs
• Monitoring of our infrastructure and proactive error analysis
• Analysis and resolution of technical malfunctions
• Further development of automation and standardization processes
• Technical evaluation of new requirements and derivation of sustainable infrastructure decisions
• Documentation and continuous improvement of our system landscape

What You Can Look Forward To

In the coming months, you will actively shape projects such as:

• Building a decentralized IT infrastructure
• Implementing a highly available infrastructure (HA cluster)
• Further developing our Linux and Proxmox platform
• Expanding the network and security architecture
• Further automating our infrastructure

In doing so, you will not only work on individual components but also shape the technical direction of our company in the long term.

Your Qualifications

What You Should Bring

• Several years of professional experience as an IT administrator, system engineer, or in a comparable role
• Several years of professional experience in Linux administration
• Experience with virtualization, ideally Proxmox
• In-depth understanding of networks (routing, VLANs, DNS, DHCP, VPN, firewalling)
• Basic knowledge of Bash, Python, or Ansible
• Experience with monitoring solutions (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, Checkmk, or Zabbix)
• Very good German and English skills, at least C1 level; ideally native German speaker
• Confident demeanor and the ability to clearly articulate technical decisions

We Appreciate Additionally

• Experience with pfSense or comparable firewall solutions
• Experience with hybrid infrastructures
• Docker or LXC
• Backup, storage, or high-availability solutions
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Hetzner)
• Knowledge in IT security and hardening
• Experience with documentation and structured change management

What We Offer You

• Technical responsibility for our IT administration
• High degree of creative freedom in technical decisions
• Direct influence on our infrastructure strategy
• Around 60% project work instead of solely operations
• Short decision-making paths without corporate structures
• Flexible working hours
• Hybrid working
• Modern Linux-based infrastructure
• Individual training and development opportunities
• Flat hierarchies and a collegial team
• Permanent employment contract

Your Onboarding
Of course, we won't leave you alone.
You will receive a structured introduction to our systems and processes. Together with the team, you will get to know our infrastructure and gradually take on responsibility for your area.

Why IRIS?

We believe that good IT emerges where people take responsibility and develop solutions together.
With us, you have the opportunity not just to operate, but to actively shape. Your work is visible, your decisions have influence, and your ideas are explicitly welcome.

Our Locations: Cologne Ehrenfeld and Karlsruhe Durlach: Both offices have good connections to the motorway and public transport. The theme of sport can be found everywhere in our offices – in the decoration or in our interactions. All workstations are shared and available individually for the workday via a booking system. For this position, we are exclusively looking for applicants in the Cologne area.

Authentic is More Important to Us Than Perfect

We know: Artificial intelligence is a natural part of many things today – including applications. That's perfectly fine with us.

Feel free to use AI as support. What truly interests us is you: your way of thinking, your experience, and your standard for good IT. Your application doesn't need to be perfectly formulated – it's more important that it's authentic.

After all, we're not looking for a perfect CV, but a personality who takes responsibility and wants to make things better.

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and life paths. For us, personality, motivation, and competence count – regardless of gender, age, origin, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation, or identity.

Does This Sound Like Your Next Job?
Then we look forward to getting to know you!
Even if you don't meet every requirement 100%, we look forward to your application. Motivation, attitude, and willingness to learn are often more important to us than a flawless tech stack.

We look forward to receiving your application in our job portal:

https://intelligent-research-in-sponsoring-gmbh.factorialhr.de/#jobs

Your contact person: Isabella Gimber

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