Senior Systems Engineer - Data Center

Summary

Our growing technology organization is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer – Data Center Infrastructure to join our team. This role is responsible for the end-to-end design, implementation, and ownership of core data center technologies, including compute, storage, networking, and security platforms, and will serve as a key contributor in driving scalable and reliable infrastructure solutions. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on infrastructure engineer who can operate at both a strategic and execution level, driving architecture decisions while also delivering builds and implementations, while partnering across engineering and business teams to support high‑impact initiatives.

This position is based in the Reston, VA / Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and operates in a hybrid model out of the DC office, combining remote work with regular presence in local data centers and colocation facilities, with periodic travel required for infrastructure projects and participation in after‑hours maintenance windows and critical incident response as needed.

• Conduct ongoing monitoring of data center infrastructure to ensure the integrity, performance, and availability of hardware, server resources, network systems, and critical services; proactively review system and network activity to identify and address potential issues.
• Take ownership of data center infrastructure operations, including network engineering (switching, routing, firewalls), storage systems (SAN/NAS), and server platforms, ensuring stability, scalability, and performance across environments.
• Support the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of core infrastructure systems, with a focus on firewall platforms, storage environments, and compute resources.
• Participate in infrastructure‑related projects, including hardware refreshes, upgrades, and new deployments, ensuring solutions are implemented effectively and aligned with organizational standards.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting and resolution of infrastructure‑related issues within the data center, including break/fix activities, root cause analysis, and service restoration.
• Assist with vendor coordination, hardware procurement, and asset lifecycle activities to support infrastructure growth and modernization efforts.
• Develop and maintain system and infrastructure documentation, contributing to the continuous improvement of operational processes and standards.
• Collaborate with internal teams to support infrastructure requirements for business and technology initiatives, ensuring reliable and secure system performance.
• Participate in after‑hours maintenance activities and respond to critical incidents as needed to support ongoing infrastructure operations.

• 10+ years of experience in systems engineering or infrastructure‑focused roles, with a strong background in designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise data center environments.
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise firewall platforms, such as Forti Gate, Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Cisco ASA / Cisco Firepower, or Juniper SRX, including policy management, segmentation, and troubleshooting.
• Experience planning and executing firewall migrations and upgrades, including rule translation, cutover planning, and post‑migration validation.
• Strong experience with data center networking, including switching and routing on enterprise platforms such as Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Nexus, and Dell Power Switch.
• Experience with storage and hyper‑converged infrastructure (HCI) platforms, such as Storage Spaces Direct, Nutanix, or Cisco Hyper Flex, including deployment, expansion, and performance management.
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise server and compute platforms, including hardware lifecycle management across vendors such as Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Supermicro, and Cisco UCS.
• Proficiency with virtualization platforms such as VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper‑V, including cluster management and infrastructure design.
• Strong troubleshooting and operational experience within data center environments, including root cause analysis across network, storage, and compute layers.
• Experience with…