Authentication & Authorization Engineering | Identity & Access Management
Basic Purpose
The Junior IT Administrator is an entry-level technical resource responsible for the day-to-day operational administration of the enterprise identity estate, including Microsoft Entra, Active Directory, Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD-LDS), and Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS). This role executes recurring identity and access management (IAM) service requests, supports incident resolution for workforce authentication technologies, and serves as a first point of contact for IAM consultation requests from across the organization.
In addition to operational execution, this role reviews new application requests against IAM best practices, providing governance boards with the analysis needed to make informed decisions before a purchase or integration commitment is made. Success in this role is measured by accuracy, responsiveness, adherence to least-privilege principles, and the ability to escalate appropriately when an issue exceeds defined operational boundaries.
Responsibilities
Entra Service Principal and Enterprise Application Administration
- Provision and de-provision service principal names (SPNs) in Microsoft Entra in accordance with established standards and approval workflows.
- Create and administer Enterprise Applications, including configuration of sign-on settings, ownership assignment, and user/group assignment.
- Evaluate and assign API permissions, ensuring requested permissions are scoped to the minimum required and routed for appropriate approval when privileged.
- Coordinate with the Secrets Management team to track and complete client secret and certificate renewals in advance of expiration, preventing service outages.
Application Request Review and Governance Support
- Review new application requests against IAM best practices and provide findings to governance boards prior to purchase or integration decisions.
- Evaluate the IAM components and integration requirements of proposed applications, documenting dependencies and gaps.
- Identify the level of support each application provides for modern authentication protocols, including OIDC, SAML, and Integrated Windows Authentication.
- Determine how users are provisioned and de-provisioned within the application (SCIM, Just-In-Time, or manual) and note the governance implications of each model.
- Review the permissions and privileges required by the application and flag excessive or unsupported access requirements.
IAM Consultation and Analytical Support
- Field IAM consultation requests and provide analytical information regarding Entra, Active Directory, and AD-LDS components.
- Research and report security group information, including owners, membership, naming, and descriptions.
- Perform object management activities for service principals, service accounts, and groups where automation is not currently in place.
- Troubleshoot identity synchronization issues between identity providers, including Entra and Active Directory.
- Provide clear direction to consumers of IAM services on how to submit requests through approved intake channels.
Incident Resolution Support
- Troubleshoot and remediate Active Directory account repeat lockout events, identifying and reporting the source of the lockouts.
- Troubleshoot authentication failures for both human and non-human identities across Active Directory, AD-LDS, and Entra.
- Troubleshoot and resolve end user incidents involving YubiKey, HYPR, and LastPass.
- Troubleshoot and resolve authentication issues attributable to Conditional Access policy evaluation.
- Assist with object recovery in Active Directory for user, group, and computer objects.
General
- Ensure the security and integrity of identity solutions, including compliance with organizational and Information Security principles and practices.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
- Associate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field, or the equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
- One to three years of experience in IT operations, service desk, systems administration, or a directly related technical support function.
- Working knowledge of Active Directory fundamentals, including users, groups, computers, organizational units, and authentication basics.
- Foundational understanding of authentication and authorization concepts, including single sign-on, multifactor authentication, and least privilege.
- Familiarity with the Microsoft Entra admin center and basic administration of users, groups, and applications.
- Demonstrated troubleshooting and problem isolation skills, with the ability to document findings clearly.
- Effective verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work directly with end users and application teams.
- Ability to follow documented procedures, change management processes, and approval workflows with a high degree of accuracy.
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
- Hands-on experience administering service principals, app registrations, and Enterprise Applications in Microsoft Entra, including API permission and consent models.
- Experience with ADFS relying party trusts, claim rules, and SAML signing and encryption certificate management.
- Practical knowledge of modern authentication protocols, including SAML 2.0, OIDC/OAuth 2.0, Kerberos, and Integrated Windows Authentication.
- Experience with SCIM-based or Just-In-Time user provisioning.
- Experience supporting passwordless and phishing-resistant authentication technologies such as YubiKey (FIDO2/PIV) and HYPR.
- Familiarity with AD-LDS and directory synchronization technologies such as Entra Connect.
- PowerShell scripting ability, including use of the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK for reporting and bulk object management.
- Experience working within an ITSM platform such as ServiceNow for request, incident, and change management.
- Exposure to identity governance concepts such as access certifications, entitlement management, and Conditional Access policy design.
- Relevant certifications such as Microsoft SC-300, SC-900, AZ-104, or CompTIA Security+.