Infrastructure architect Irving, TX

Infrastructure architect job at Next Step Recruiting LLC. Irving, TX.

Overview:

Next Step Recruiting is seeking a skilled Infrastructure Architect for a remote position with their client based in the Irving, TX area. Candidates must be flexible to attend occasional in-office meetings and travel out of state frequently during the initial months, transitioning to quarterly thereafter.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and support IT infrastructure, including data centers, network, servers, storage, and telecom.
• Lead infrastructure projects, manage budgets, and ensure 24x7 system availability.
• Partner with vendors, IT teams, and leadership to optimize infrastructure strategy and service delivery.
• Document designs, configurations, and run books; maintain system security, scalability, and redundancy.
• Oversee the configuration, monitoring, and support of network hardware, virtual environments, and infrastructure tools.
• Manage infrastructure staff, vendors, and compliance with change management policies.

Qualifications:

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent with 6+ years in infrastructure architecture.
• Experience with enterprise networks, virtualization, and cloud technologies.
• Certifications such as CCNA/CCNP, MCSA, or MCSE preferred.
• Expertise in network protocols, Windows environments, and security best practices.

Key

Skills:

• Advanced knowledge of LAN/WAN, VPN, firewalls, and wireless technologies.
• Proficiency in network hardware (Fortinet, Cisco) and routing protocols (BGP, OSPF).
• Strong vendor and stakeholder management capabilities.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience supporting 100+ locations and corporate environments is highly preferred.

Infrastructure Architect

SUMMARY:

Responsible for the design, implementation, administration and support of Network & Telecom, Servers & Storage, Corporate IT. Accountable for 24x7 operation of data centers; telephony and network connectivity for corporate offices, data centers and restaurants. Indirectly manages the IT Network/Infrastructure team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership & Management

• Responsible for the overall effectiveness of technology infrastructure residing in all areas of the organization (data centers, restaurants, corporate offices) to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction and 24x7 availability.
• Executes infrastructure projects on time and on budget; manages expenses and recurring costs to the departmental budget; provides updated forecasts on spend.
• Partners with vendors for best quality and cost efficiency in a cloud environment or outsourcing arrangement; oversees Managed Service Provider (MSP) execution of IT operations and security monitoring
• Partners closely with other IT leaders and business leaders to optimize IT service design, delivery, and support.
• Participates in IT strategy planning, bringing a current knowledge and future vision of infrastructure technology, systems and best practices.
• Focuses on continual development of team members through staff development, succession planning and coaching/mentoring.

Systems Architecture & Planning

• Consult with engineers, analysts and business partners to capture requirements for enterprise projects and identify the infrastructure services required
• Document requirements, architectural designs, engineering drawings and diagrams, as well as operational installation (run books) to deliver infrastructure services
• Design infrastructure environments to ensure the system is secure, highly available, and scalable
• Design and implements physical and virtual data center and IaaS environments
• Lead efforts to migrate infrastructure components between physical data centers and IaaS providers

Infrastructure Management

• Establish and enforce configuration standards and policies for infrastructure hardware deployed in all locations to meet both business and security standards
• Oversee the deployment, management, monitoring and support of infrastructure hardware throughout the enterprise, including telecommunications, routers, switches, firewalls and ISP-provided devices, through internal or third-party resources.
• Optimize infrastructure configuration to ensure efficient, reliable and consistent performance.
• Establish redundancy to eliminate single points of failure. Minimize impact of outages on business access to e-mail, intranet and other critical applications.
• Identify and resolve issues with routers, switches, firewalls and circuits in a timely manner. Provide timely updates on outstanding issues. Own all issues and requests until successfully completed.
• Assist remote technicians with troubleshooting infrastructure issues in branch offices and restaurants.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of all required infrastructure documentation including Microsoft Visio diagrams, equipment inventories, and network addressing schemes.
• Ensure that vendors and staff comply with formal change management policy for all changes to network configuration.
• Manage the infrastructure tools and test environments, including Data Protection Manager, System…