[thrownaway561]

a "systems engineer" is synonymous with "system administrator" and is someone who manages "the machines" (servers, workstations, laptops). this involves using some sort of asset management and rmm (remote monitoring and management) like NCentral, SCSM, Ninja RMM, Connectwise (you get the picture, as there are dozens in this space) to make sure that machines are setup, patched, accounted for and protected.

i don't understand why this term is so foreign as i literally all the time.

[auspex]

Systems Engineer can also mean a presales role as well. The technical counter part to a sales rep.

[iancmceachern]

Systems Engineer can also mean someone who designs jet fighters, robots, or medical devices

[coupdejarnac]

At my last corporate job, it meant I was in charge of maintaining and writing software for test stations in a r&d facility. That mainly meant Labview.