DNS Administrator

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled DNS Administrator to join our team in Jeddah. In this critical role, you will be responsible for the design, administration, maintenance, and optimization of our enterprise DNS infrastructure. The ideal candidate will possess deep technical expertise in DNS management, troubleshooting, and security, with a proven ability to support complex, multi-environment DNS deployments spanning on-premises data centers, hybrid cloud, and public cloud platforms. This position requires a strong understanding of DNS protocols, record types, and advanced configurations, as well as hands-on experience with leading DNS platforms and automation tools.

Key Responsibilities

The DNS Administrator will play a pivotal role in ensuring the reliability, performance, and security of our DNS infrastructure. Your core responsibilities will include:

• DNS Infrastructure Management: Design, configure, and maintain enterprise-grade DNS infrastructure, including authoritative and recursive DNS services, ensuring high availability and optimal performance.
• Record and Zone Administration: Manage DNS zones, records (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, PTR, SRV, and others), forwarders, resolvers, and delegation. Execute zone creation, transfers, delegation, and migrations with precision.
• Troubleshooting and Resolution: Diagnose and resolve DNS resolution issues, latency, propagation delays, and connectivity challenges across diverse environments. Utilize advanced tools such as nslookup, dig, host, tcpdump, and Wireshark to identify root causes.
• Security Implementation: Deploy and manage DNS security measures, including DNSSEC, secure dynamic updates, and access controls, to safeguard against threats such as DNS spoofing, cache poisoning, and DDoS attacks.
• Performance and Health Monitoring: Continuously monitor DNS availability, performance, capacity, and health, proactively identifying and addressing potential issues before they impact operations.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with networking, security, cloud, and infrastructure teams to resolve DNS-related issues, support infrastructure projects, and align DNS strategies with organizational goals.
• Automation and Scripting: Automate repetitive DNS administration tasks using scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash, and leverage automation frameworks like Terraform or Ansible to enhance operational efficiency.
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: Participate in DNS migration, upgrades, disaster recovery planning, and business continuity initiatives to ensure resilience and minimal downtime.
• Documentation and Standards: Maintain comprehensive DNS documentation, including standards, procedures, configuration baselines, and operational runbooks to support knowledge sharing and compliance.
• Incident and Problem Management: Provide Level 2 and Level 3 support for complex DNS-related incidents, participating in incident, problem, and change management processes to drive resolution and continuous improvement.

Required Technical Skills

To excel in this role, you must demonstrate the following technical competencies:

• DNS Expertise: Extensive hands-on experience with DNS administration, troubleshooting, and advanced configurations, including recursive vs. authoritative DNS, zone transfers (AXFR/IXFR), caching, TTL management, and split-horizon DNS.
• Networking Fundamentals: Strong understanding of TCP/IP, UDP, IP addressing, subnetting, routing, and network protocols essential for DNS operations.
• DNS Platform Proficiency: Experience with enterprise DNS solutions such as Infoblox, BIND, Microsoft DNS/Windows Server DNS, BlueCat, or similar platforms.
• Cloud DNS Services: Familiarity with cloud-based DNS services, including AWS Route 53, Azure DNS, and Google Cloud DNS, to support hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Scripting and Automation: Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash, and experience with automation tools to streamline DNS operations.
• Operating Systems: Experience working with Linux/Unix and Windows Server environments to manage DNS services effectively.
• Troubleshooting Tools: Competency with DNS-specific tools such as nslookup, dig, host, tcpdump, and Wireshark for diagnostics and analysis.
• IPAM and DHCP: Knowledge of IP Address Management (IPAM) and DHCP is highly desirable, as is experience with load balancing and Content Delivery Network (CDN) technologies.

Preferred Skills

While not mandatory, the following skills will enhance your candidacy for this role:

• Hands-on experience with Infoblox NIOS or BlueCat Address Manager for centralized DNS management.
• Expertise in DNS automation, network security, and IPAM solutions to drive operational excellence.
• Familiarity with automation frameworks such as Terraform or Ansible, and REST APIs for integrating DNS services with broader IT infrastructure.
• Understanding of DNS-based security threats, including DNS tunneling, and experience implementing countermeasures.
• Proven track record of working in large enterprise or global infrastructure environments, managing high-scale DNS deployments.

Qualifications and Experience

To qualify for this position, you must have a minimum of eight years of hands-on experience in DNS administration, with a focus on enterprise environments. A strong technical background in networking, cloud services, and automation is essential, along with excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across teams. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the stability, security, and performance of a critical IT infrastructure component while working in a dynamic and innovative organization.