Patching Engineer

Overview

The XTIUM global team consists of diverse, skilled professionals united by a commitment to excellence and ongoing development. We foster a collaborative environment that embraces challenges, encourages open communication, accountability, and continual learning to achieve impactful results collectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform scheduled patch management tasks on Windows endpoints and servers including scanning, remediation, deployment scheduling, maintenance window coordination, and post-deployment verification.
• Assess patch applicability, prepare approved deployment stages, arrange outage windows, administer patching with rollback and risk mitigation considerations.
• Investigate and resolve patch deployment issues such as agent health problems, detection errors, prerequisite failures, content download challenges, reboot management, and timing of deployments.
• Generate patch compliance and status reports for internal teams and clients highlighting current compliance, exceptions, overdue patches, failed deployments, and remediation strategies.
• Maintain thorough documentation and knowledge base articles detailing standard patching processes, known issues, and customer-specific protocols.
• Utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and endpoint management tools to facilitate patch deployments, agent maintenance, device targeting, reporting, and remediation processes.
• Deploy and administer RMM agents and associated endpoint management tools across Windows environments.
• Support agent deployment and validation using Microsoft Intune, Active Directory, and group targeting methods; solve common endpoint tool issues including installation failures and policy conflicts.
• Engage in change management activities to plan and execute patch events minimizing service disruptions; coordinate schedules, customer notifications, validations, and post-event reporting.
• Collaborate with security, vulnerability management, and operations teams on prioritized patch remediation, exceptions, risk assessments, and issue escalation.
• Contribute to continuous improvement efforts such as standardizing patch groups, reducing deployment failures, enhancing report accuracy, and refining operation manuals.
• Document all work meticulously in tickets, change records, customer notes, and internal instructions.

Required Qualifications

• Proven hands-on experience managing endpoint and server patch processes within enterprise or managed services settings.
• Proficiency with RMM or endpoint platforms handling patch deployment, agent status checks, compliance reporting, and remediation workflows; familiarity with N-able strongly preferred.
• Solid understanding of Windows patching methodologies including patch cycles, cumulative updates, reboot management, maintenance windows, supersedence, and vulnerability-based patching.
• Skill in diagnosing patch deployment failures across various endpoints and servers.
• Capability to interpret patch compliance data and formulate remediation actions for non-compliant systems.
• Experience adhering to change management protocols and executing maintenance within authorized timeframes.
• Intermediate knowledge of Active Directory for device/user targeting, group membership, OU/GPO functionality, and deployment aid.
• Basic to intermediate familiarity with Microsoft Intune regarding application deployment, enrollment status, assignment validation, and troubleshooting.
• Strong operational discipline encompassing documentation, communication, orderly change control, and precise execution during controlled maintenance periods.

Preferred Qualifications

• Between two and four years of experience specifically with N-able patch operations.
• Experience with alternative RMM or patching tools such as NinjaOne, Kaseya, SCCM/MECM, or Automox.
• Experience with Linux patching including package management, repository configuration, kernel updates, agent patching, and reboot scheduling.
• Familiarity with ITSM platforms for managing incidents, changes, approvals, and audit documentation.
• Understanding of patch management strategies such as patch rings, pilot groups, phased rollouts, exception protocols, and compliance metrics.
• Background supporting managed services clients or multi-tenant operational environments.

Core Competencies

• Accurate and reliable execution of patch procedures, emphasizing low error rates and repeatability.
• Excellent troubleshooting aptitude and root cause analysis.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Customer-centric orientation and service mindset.
• Security-conscious approach in vulnerability fixing, least privilege enforcement, and audit preparedness.
• Ability to follow established processes and identify areas for enhancement.