Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer

Title

Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer

Location

Rockville, MD (hybrid preferred, open to remote for exceptional candidates)

Target Start Date

ASAP

Type

Direct-hire

Salary / Pay Rate

DOE

Why Work Here

This is an established life sciences technology company that is actively investing in the modernization of its core infrastructure. You would serve as the senior technical authority for compute and identity, setting architectural direction and leading a major hypervisor migration from strategy through execution. The work spans virtualization, containers, identity, and hybrid cloud, so there is plenty of room to shape the platform and keep growing your skills. You would also mentor other infrastructure engineers and partner directly with IT leadership on strategy. It is a stable, regulated environment that values well designed, well documented systems.

About the Role

The Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer is the senior technical authority for the organization's core compute and identity infrastructure, covering virtualization, containerization, identity and access management, directory services, and cloud productivity platforms. This role sets architectural direction, resolves the most complex escalations, and makes sure infrastructure is designed, deployed, and maintained in a controlled, auditable way that aligns with GxP and 21 CFR Part 11 expectations. A major focus is leading the technical strategy and execution of a VMware to Nutanix migration. The position mentors other infrastructure engineers and reports to the Director of IT. Occasional off-hours or on-call support may be needed for planned maintenance, migrations, or incident response.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture, design, and hands-on engineering of the enterprise virtualization platform, including compute, storage, and networking, across VMware vSphere/ESXi and Nutanix AOS/AHV (Prism Central/Prism Element).
• Lead the technical strategy and execution of the VMware to Nutanix migration, covering workload assessment, dependency mapping, target architecture, migration planning, VM conversion, and post-migration validation.
• Design, build, and support enterprise containerization and orchestration platforms (such as Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS ECS), including cluster architecture, image and registry standards, and integration with the underlying virtualization and cloud infrastructure.
• Work with storage teams to design, implement, and maintain storage integration for virtualized and containerized workloads (such as Pure Storage or comparable SAN/NAS platforms).
• Deploy, configure, and support Windows and Linux server operating systems across virtualized, containerized, and physical infrastructure.
• Design and support the identity and access services behind the platform, including Active Directory, ADFS, and IDAM/SSO integrations for infrastructure and applications.
• Create and maintain architecture documentation, SOPs, capacity plans, and runbooks for the virtualization and containerization environments.
• Build automation and infrastructure as code (such as PowerCLI, Python, Ansible, and Terraform) to streamline provisioning, configuration, and operational tasks across virtual and containerized environments.
• Collaborate with network, security, storage, and application teams to design resilient, secure solutions, including backup, disaster recovery, and certificate/PKI management for applications.
• Lead technology evaluations, proofs of concept, and vendor discussions around virtualization, containerization, HCI, and cloud platforms, and make recommendations to IT leadership.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex, multi-layered issues spanning hypervisor, container, storage, network, and guest OS.
• Mentor and provide technical leadership to other systems and infrastructure engineers, raising the team's virtualization and containerization expertise.
• Work with IT leadership and other departments on infrastructure strategy and projects, along with other duties as assigned.

Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience engineering and administering enterprise virtualization and/or containerization platforms, with proven experience at a senior or principal technical level.
• Expert-level production experience with VMware vSphere/ESXi/vCenter.
• Hands-on production experience with containerization and orchestration platforms (such as Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS ECS).
• Experience architecting and supporting hybrid on-premises and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Expert-level knowledge of VMware virtualization technologies (vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, vSAN) and the compute, storage, and networking concepts behind them.
• Expert-level or strong working knowledge of Nutanix (AOS, AHV, Prism), including cluster administration, storage (AHV/ADSF), and migration tooling, or comparable HCI experience with a proven ability to build deep Nutanix expertise.
• Good working understanding of containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS ECS, and how they interact with a virtualization platform.
• Experience designing and supporting hybrid infrastructure across on-premises data centers and AWS.
• Experience with enterprise storage platforms and general SAN/NAS familiarity.
• Solid knowledge of Windows and Linux server operating systems, including deploying, configuring, and supporting them on virtualized and physical platforms.
• Working knowledge of identity and directory services, including Active Directory, ADFS, IDAM/SSO, DNS, and DHCP.
• Knowledge of certificate-based authentication and encryption, including issuing, deploying, and managing PKI/TLS certificates for applications and infrastructure.
• Knowledge of backup technologies and procedures, including backup and recovery design, testing, and retention for virtualized and containerized workloads.
• Working knowledge of networking fundamentals (VLANs, routing, load balancing, firewalls) as they apply to virtualized and hybrid environments.
• Scripting and automation experience (such as PowerCLI, Python, Bash, Ansible, and Terraform) to support provisioning and operational efficiency.
• Understanding of backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity practices for virtualized environments.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills across compute, storage, network, and hypervisor layers.
• Able to occasionally lift and move equipment up to 25 pounds in a data center environment.

Bonus / Soft Skills

• Experience with Nutanix (AOS/AHV/Prism) or comparable HCI platforms, or direct experience leading a VMware to Nutanix (or similar hyperconverged) migration, strongly preferred.
• VMware NSX experience.
• Hands-on Pure Storage experience.
• Relevant certifications such as VCP/VCAP, Nutanix NCP/NCA, CKA, or AWS/Azure/GCP certifications (a plus, not required).
• Works well independently and collaboratively, mentors other engineers, and explains technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong verbal and written communication, including documenting architecture and procedures.

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