Active Directory SME - SC cleared
Posted 1 week ago by 1768115115
Negotiable
Inside
Remote
London
Summary: The Active Directory SME role involves taking ownership of the design, architecture, and operational excellence of Microsoft Active Directory services. This position requires both hands-on engineering and strategic project leadership, ensuring the environment is secure, scalable, and compliant. The role is fully remote and requires SC clearance. The contractor should have over 5 years of experience in a similar AD-focused role.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and maintain AD architecture for scalability, security, and high performance.
- Plan and implement domain and forest designs, trust relationships, and OU structures.
- Manage domain controllers, replication, DNS, and DHCP integration.
- Create, maintain, and troubleshoot Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
- Monitor AD health, diagnose replication issues, and resolve authentication failures.
- Implement enterprise AD security best practices (eg, tiered admin model, secure LDAP).
- Perform audits of accounts, groups, and permissions.
- Support SOX, GDPR, and other compliance requirements through logging and access control.
- Manage full user life cycle: provisioning, deprovisioning, and RBAC.
- Integrate AD with IAM and cloud platforms (Azure AD, Okta, etc.).
- Support SSO and federation (ADFS, SAML, OAuth).
- Lead AD migrations, domain/forest consolidations, and Windows Server upgrades.
- Plan schema extensions and ensure application compatibility.
- Develop, document, and test AD backup and recovery processes.
- Maintain high availability and failover strategies for critical AD components.
- Use PowerShell to automate tasks, generate reports, and streamline operations.
- Build scripts for bulk user management, GPO deployment, and auditing.
- Partner with infrastructure, security, and application teams to deliver integrated services.
- Provide SME-level support for escalated incidents and complex service requests.
Key Skills:
- 5+ years of hands-on experience in a similar AD-focused role.
- Active Directory Architecture & Replication.
- GPO Design, Deployment & Troubleshooting.
- DNS/DHCP integration with AD.
- PowerShell Scripting for automation and reporting.
- ADFS configuration and federation support.
- Azure AD - hybrid identity & sync (AAD Connect).
- Kerberos and NTLM authentication.
- LDAP/LDAPS.
- Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS).
- Active SC clearance.
Salary (Rate): £625 Daily
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: remote
IR35 Status: inside IR35
Seniority Level: Mid-Level
Industry: IT
Active Directory SME
+6 months +
+Fully remote working
+SC cleared role
+ 575 - 625 a day Inside IR35
Skills:
+AD design
+GPO
+AZure AD
As the Active Directory SME, you will take ownership of the design, architecture, and operational excellence of Microsoft Active Directory services. You will act as the technical authority for AD-related activities, ensuring the environment remains secure, scalable, compliant, and aligned to organisational strategy. This role includes both hands-on engineering and strategic project leadership.
Key ResponsibilitiesCore Technical Activities
Design & Architecture
Develop and maintain AD architecture for scalability, security, and high performance.
Plan and implement domain and forest designs, trust relationships, and OU structures.
Administration & Operations
Manage domain controllers, replication, DNS, and DHCP integration.
Create, maintain, and troubleshoot Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
Monitor AD health, diagnose replication issues, and resolve authentication failures.
Security & Compliance
Implement enterprise AD security best practices (eg, tiered admin model, secure LDAP).
Perform audits of accounts, groups, and permissions.
Support SOX, GDPR, and other compliance requirements through logging and access control.
Identity & Access Management
Manage full user life cycle: provisioning, deprovisioning, and RBAC.
Integrate AD with IAM and cloud platforms (Azure AD, Okta, etc.).
Support SSO and federation (ADFS, SAML, OAuth).
Migrations & Upgrades
Lead AD migrations, domain/forest consolidations, and Windows Server upgrades.
Plan schema extensions and ensure application compatibility.
Disaster Recovery & Continuity
Develop, document, and test AD backup and recovery processes.
Maintain high availability and failover strategies for critical AD components.
Automation & Scripting
Use PowerShell to automate tasks, generate reports, and streamline operations.
Build scripts for bulk user management, GPO deployment, and auditing.
Collaboration & Support
Partner with infrastructure, security, and application teams to deliver integrated services.
Provide SME-level support for escalated incidents and complex service requests.
Experience & Skills Required
The ideal contractor will bring 5+ years of hands-on experience in a similar AD-focused role, with expertise in:
Active Directory Architecture & Replication
GPO Design, Deployment & Troubleshooting
DNS/DHCP integration with AD
PowerShell Scripting for automation and reporting
ADFS configuration and federation support
Azure AD - hybrid identity & sync (AAD Connect)
Kerberos and NTLM authentication
LDAP/LDAPS
Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)
It is essential for this role that you hold active SC clearance.
If you'd like to discuss this Active Directory SME role in more detail, please send your updated CV to (URL removed) and I will get in touch.