Jobs › DRW

Systems Engineer - Microsoft

DRW · Chicago, IL · $120,000–$160,000 a year · IO - Enterprise Systems

Posted Sep 16, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

Apply at DRW

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

We provide exceptional customer service to trading desks. Tell me about a time you helped a frustrated user.

What they are checking: Whether they stay calm and service-minded with demanding users while still fixing the real issue.

How do you document your work so someone else could pick it up?

What they are checking: Whether they leave systems understandable for the team instead of keeping knowledge in their head.

Tell me about a time you dug deep to find a creative solution to a problem others had given up on.

What they are checking: Curiosity and persistence, which the team names in its philosophy.

How do you keep up with changes in Microsoft 365 and Windows?

What they are checking: Whether they keep learning in a platform that changes constantly.

What would you do

You notice a change you made yesterday may have caused a problem for a desk this morning. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they own the mistake quickly and communicate, which matters more than hiding it.

About the work

Tell me about your hands-on work with Active Directory. What tasks have you handled on your own?

What they are checking: Their real level of experience with users, groups, Group Policy and DNS, which underpin the role.

The team believes in relentless automation. Show me how you would use PowerShell to find accounts that have not logged in for ninety days.

What they are checking: Practical scripting ability and whether automation is something they actually do.

A user says Outlook will not connect but email works on their phone. How do you troubleshoot it?

What they are checking: A logical narrowing from client to profile to network to service instead of jumping to a reinstall.

How do Group Policy objects get applied, and how would you figure out why one is not taking effect?

What they are checking: Understanding of GPO order, scope and tools like gpresult that show what actually applied.

How would you manage Windows devices with Intune or a similar tool?

What they are checking: Familiarity with modern device management, compliance policies and app deployment.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at DRW from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by DRW.

DRW is a diversified trading firm with over 3 decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. We value autonomy and the ability to quickly pivot to capture opportunities, so we operate using our own capital and trading at our own risk. Headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, we trade a variety of asset classes including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy across all major global markets. We have also leveraged our expertise and technology to expand into three non-traditional strategies: real estate, venture capital and cryptoassets. We operate with respect, curiosity and open minds. The people who thrive here share our belief that it’s not just what we do that matters–it's how we do it. DRW is a place of high expectations, integrity, innovation and a willingness to challenge consensus. Our philosophy: • We believe in relentless automation of repetitive tasks. • We have the curiosity and drive to dig deep and find creative solutions. • We believe our goal is to find the right solution rather than always being right. • We provide exceptional customer service to our teams and trading desks. • We care more that the right thing is done than about rigid job descriptions or boundaries. What you’ll do: • Administer core Microsoft services: Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, Exchange (on-premise, Online, hybrid). • Deploy, maintain and support Windows Server environments (2016–2025). • Support Microsoft cloud services (Entra ID, OneDrive, Copilot, Microsoft 365 services). • Configure single sign on and federation (SAML, OAuth/OIDC, SCIM). • Triage and resolve tickets from the operations queue; respond to critical production incidents. • Implement planned and ad hoc changes in accordance with firmwide change management processes. • Maintain clear system documentation and capture specialized configurations as repeatable runbooks. • Participate in a global support team with on call rotation and occasional weekend maintenance. Your background: • Experience managing Windows Server infrastructure in high visibility, mission critical environments. • Experience administering Windows Server services: Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, Failover Clustering. • Experience with Entra ID, Exchange (Server/Online/Hybrid) and MECM (SCCM) is preferred. • You can use scripts (e.g. PowerShell, Python) to automate routine administrative tasks. • Knowledge of networking fundamentals, server hardware and VM deployments. • Strong written and verbal communication skills. You can work across teams and have evidence-based discussions on technical and operational topics. • You are eager to learn, collaborate, and find solutions under interesting constraints. Bonus points if you have: • Experience with Splunk, Grafana, Alertmanager, Prometheus. • Familiarity with DevOps/CI CD and IaC practices, containerization and Kubernetes. • Prior experience in the trading or financial services industry. The annual base salary range for this position is $120,000 to $160,000 depending on the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and relevant skill set. The position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. In addition, DRW offers a comprehensive suite of employee benefits including group medical, pharmacy, dental and vision insurance, 401k (with discretionary employer match), short and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance, health savings accounts, and flexible spending accounts. For more information about DRW's processing activities and our use of job applicants' data, please view our Privacy Notice at https://drw.com/privacy-notice . California residents, please review the California Privacy Notice for information about certain legal rights at https://drw.com/california-privacy-notice . [#LI-SK1]  

Apply at DRW