James Roth

Sr. Systems Administrator | IT Operations & Infrastructure Leader

Cissna Park, IL

📧 [email protected]

Professional Summary

Senior IT professional and hands‑on infrastructure leader with over a decade of experience owning, modernizing, and securing enterprise technology environments. Proven ability to lead day‑to‑day IT operations for organizations supporting 350+ users, balancing strategic planning, capital and operational budget ownership, and deep technical execution. Experienced in partnering with executive leadership, managing seven‑figure annual IT budgets, mentoring staff, and delivering reliable, secure systems that align technology investments with organizational goals.

Core Technical & Leadership Skills

IT Leadership, Strategy & Budgeting

IT operations ownership, team supervision & mentoring, capital and operational IT budget creation and management, multi‑year financial planning, vendor evaluation & negotiation, infrastructure lifecycle management, policy enforcement, documentation & standards, risk reduction

Infrastructure & Platforms

Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, RDS, DFS

Virtualization & Compute

VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper‑V, mixed physical/virtual environments

Networking & Security

Cisco routing & switching, HP/Dell switches, VLANs, VPNs, Sophos firewalls, web content filtering

Storage & Backup

Dell enterprise storage (MD3000i / MD3200i), EMC Avamar backup solutions, Veeam

Endpoint & Systems Management

Windows 7/10 imaging and deployment (MDT), GPO‑based configuration, Dell KACE, Windows AutoPilot, Intune

Professional Experience

Nexus Family Healing | Plymouth, MN

Promoted to Sr. Systems Administrator in May 2018 following demonstrated leadership, technical ownership, and budget responsibility.

Sr. Systems Administrator – Plymouth, MN | May 2018 – Present

• Serve as the senior technical and operational IT lead for an organization supporting 1500**+ users** across academic, mental health, and administrative functions.
• Create and co‑manage a seven‑figure IT budget encompassing both capital and operational spend, ensuring fiscal accountability and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Own day‑to‑day IT operations, infrastructure planning, and system reliability across a 25‑server mixed physical and virtual environment.
• Lead administration of enterprise Windows Server services including Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, RDS, DFS, and Group Policy.
• Oversee VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper‑V environments, ensuring high availability, performance, and scalability.
• Manage enterprise Dell hardware platforms including blade servers and shared storage systems.
• Act as escalation point for complex infrastructure, networking, and security issues.
• Supervise, mentor, and develop an IT Technician, providing technical guidance, prioritization, and professional growth support.
• Partner with executive and departmental leadership to develop technology roadmaps, manage operational risk, and optimize IT spend.
• Maintain business continuity through reliable backup and recovery processes using EMC Avamar and Veeam.
• Administer firewall VPN and web content filtering solutions to support secure remote access.

Sr. IT Coordinator – Manteno, IL | May 2017 – May 2018

• Led day‑to‑day administration of core infrastructure services while transitioning the role toward senior ownership.
• Supported Active Directory, Windows Server services, virtualization platforms, and campus networking.
• Contributed to early budget planning, vendor coordination, and standards documentation that later scaled with the environment.

Nexus – Onarga Academy | Onarga, IL

IT Technician | December 2012 – May 2017

• Supported campus‑wide IT operations, providing technical support to staff and residents.
• Installed and maintained network infrastructure including structured cabling, conduit, and terminations.
• Assisted with enforcement of IT policies and technology standards.
• Deployed and supported video conferencing, remote access, and security camera systems.
• Performed network troubleshooting using tools such as ping, traceroute, telnet, and SSH.
• Supported Dell, HP, and Cisco switching environments.

Pavlov Media Inc. | Champaign, IL

Tier 2 Technical Support / National Field Operations Dispatcher | July 2012 – December 2012

• Provided advanced Tier 2 troubleshooting for network, data, and video services.
• Coordinated national field technicians to resolve complex customer issues efficiently.
• Served as an escalation and de‑escalation point for high‑impact service incidents.
• Managed equipment staging and logistics to support successful field deployments.

Education

Western Governors University (WGU) – Online

Master of Science, Information Technology Management

Walden University – Minneapolis, MN

Information Technologies – Networking and Operations

Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, IL

Information Systems Technologies

Parkland College – Champaign, IL

Network System Administrator

• Hands‑on projects deploying Cisco routers and switches.
• Microsoft Server deployment and client configuration projects.
• Teacher’s aide for introductory Microsoft Office coursework.

Certifications

• CompTIA A+
• CompTIA Network+
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)