Staff Engineer Systems – Virtualization Architect (26-462)

Description

The company's Missile Defense Integration group within Space Systems is hiring a Staff Virtualization Architect for its Colorado Springs, CO site. The work supports the U.S. President, the Secretary of Defense, and combatant commanders at strategic, regional, and operational levels.

C2BMC is a core part of the Missile Defense System. Operators use it to plan ballistic missile defense operations, follow engagements as they unfold, and direct networked sensors and weapon systems toward global and regional goals. It also brings together layered defense capabilities across all ranges and flight phases, and it is essential to ground and flight tests that prove missile defense capabilities.

The role focuses on virtualized and software-defined networking for C2BMC, built around VMware vSphere and VMware NSX. The goal is secure, scalable, highly available compute and network services. You will work with infrastructure, storage, and security teams, and you will join an agile Scrum team that plans work around customer needs and program contracts.

Responsibilities

• Build, configure, and maintain NSX environments, including transport zones, segments, edge nodes, and logical networking such as Tier-0 and Tier-1 gateways, NAT, and BGP routing.
• Design and enforce security rules with the NSX distributed firewall, gateway firewall, and micro-segmentation.
• Design, deploy, and run vSphere infrastructure covering ESXi hosts, clusters, and vCenter, including HA, DRS, and storage integration.
• Diagnose connectivity, performance, capacity, and security problems using Traceflow, packet capture, the NSX CLI, and other VMware monitoring tools.
• Connect NSX and vSphere to the physical network and storage, such as NetApp NAS and SAN, and work with other teams on upgrades, deployments, and infrastructure projects.
• Travel to remote sites to lead and carry out network and virtualization installations, troubleshoot on your own, and give program and customer staff clear, timely status updates.
• Work outside normal hours, including evenings and weekends, when mission needs require it.
• Plan, estimate, and deliver work in agile Scrum sprints in line with customer priorities and program commitments.
• Write and maintain technical documents such as design artifacts, implementation procedures, and as-built configurations in PowerPoint and Visio.
• Take on any other tasks the program needs to keep C2BMC operating reliably and securely.

Requirements

• Hold an active, current Secret security clearance issued by the government, in scope for the role, when you apply. You must be able to obtain a Top Secret clearance.
• Hold a current, active Government-Issued 8140 certification at IAT Level II or higher, such as Security+, GSEC, SCNP, SSCP, CISSP, CISA, GSE, SCNA, or similar, when you apply.
• Hold an active VCP-VCF Administrator and/or Architect certification, or an active legacy VCP certification in Data Center Virtualization or Network Virtualization.
• Hold either a bachelor's degree in a STEM field such as computer science, systems engineering, engineering, information technology, mathematics, or physics, or a related field from an accredited university, plus 12 years of experience; a master's degree in a STEM field (preferred) plus 10 years of relevant work experience; or a PhD in a related discipline plus 8 years of relevant work experience.
• Have hands-on experience deploying, managing, and troubleshooting VMware NSX and vSphere, including ESXi, vCenter, NetApp NAS and SAN, Windows Server, and SQL Server.
• Understand virtualization concepts such as vMotion, HA, DRS, storage integration, and containerization.
• Have a thorough grasp of networking, including the OSI model, TCP/IP, routing protocols, traffic analysis, and troubleshooting.
• Communicate clearly in writing and verbally, and present well, including using PowerPoint and Visio.
• Work well in a team and also run large field projects on your own.
• Have experience with agile frameworks and applying agile basics to engineering work.
• Preferred: master's degree in systems engineering.
• Preferred: graduate certificate in model-based systems engineering from a program such as Stevens, Caltech, UCSD, USC, GWU, or an INCOSE cohort.
• Preferred: INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) certification.
• Preferred: OMG Certified Systems Modeling Professional, Model Builder Intermediate (OCSMP-MBI) certification.
• Preferred: active Top Secret clearance, in scope, at the time of application, which is highly desired.
• Preferred: experience with VMware storage such as vSAN, Site Recovery Manager (SRM), and storage area networks.
• Preferred: scripting or automation for VMware administration, using PowerCLI, Python, or Ansible.
• Preferred: familiarity with hybrid cloud platforms such as VMware Cloud on AWS or Azure VMware Solution.
• Preferred: exposure to monitoring and reporting tools such as vRealize Operations (vROps) or similar.
• Preferred: experience mentoring junior staff or leading virtualization projects or deployments.
• Preferred: experience building VM templates and automated deployments.
• Preferred: experience with Microsoft Windows Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux running multi-user applications.
• Preferred: understanding of standard DoD security practices, including STIG compliance and system accreditation.
• Preferred: knowledge of authentication and encryption methods, such as ACS, Active Directory, and GEM-X.
• Preferred: experience with Photon OS.
• Preferred: prior work with C2BMC or similar command-and-control systems.

Conditions

This role is on site in Colorado Springs, CO, with no remote option.

The company does not provide relocation assistance.

A Secret clearance is required to start.

Expect about 10% travel.

Work may include evenings and weekends when mission needs call for it.

Base salary range is $161,000.00 to $241,400.00. The company sets pay based on the scope of the role and on your experience, education, skills, and the market.

The application window is estimated at 20 days from the posting date, but it may close earlier or run longer depending on business needs and the number of qualified candidates.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits with flexible options you can tailor to your own and your family's needs, including health coverage, life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays, and paid time off for vacation or personal business.
• Education assistance, training and development, and flexible work arrangements.
• Depending on the role, you may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary annual bonus, which rewards individual work and shares company results.
• Employees in Vice President or Director roles may be eligible for long-term incentives.