Infrastructure Engineer (Compute / Storage)

Position Summary

As part of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) team, the Infrastructure Engineer is responsible for the administration, development, and support of compute, storage, and private cloud infrastructure platforms and services. This position will engage and collaborate across OIT and Enterprise Infrastructure (EI) peers to develop and implement scalable and secure infrastructure and computing solutions, architecture plans, technology roadmaps, and project plans. Operates as a thought leader, using expertise to drive strategy. May manage multiple projects simultaneously. A flexible work schedule is available.

Experience and Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Management Information Systems, or related field
  • In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted
• 5 years of related experience in an Infrastructure Engineer and/or Systems Administrator role including the following:
  • Progressive experience in the configuration and administration of enterprise-class servers, storage systems, operating systems (Linux/Windows), and virtualization platforms (VMware)
  • Deep technical experience in infrastructure design, build, deployment, and management of public cloud solutions (Azure, AWS)
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted
• Skills
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Advanced knowledge of virtualization platforms, cloud compute platforms, cloud-native applications and services, networks, firewalls, and load balancers
  • Ability to troubleshoot issues and identify solutions in complex and disparate systems environments
  • Proven ability to lead and execute large deployment and implementation projects in a team environment
  • Strong customer service skills
  • Self-motivated and actively shares knowledge and experience with colleagues

Essential Functions

• Manages, administers, and supports private-cloud, hybrid-cloud, and cloud compute and storage environments
• Designs, develops, installs, and maintains operating systems, utilities, and applications software on computing systems
• Compares, evaluates, and recommends new technologies and enhancements to improve and enhance the infrastructure environment, including proposed implementation plans, dependencies, and resource requirements
• Proactively identifies opportunities to better leverage tools, improve processes, or enhance services to be more efficient and effective
• Documents systems infrastructure for users, support and consulting personnel, and developers
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions / Information

• Collaborates with other EI and extended IT support teams on specific projects and support issues
• Assists with the maintenance of distributed storage and enterprise backup infrastructure, including fiber channel fabric, NAS, tape libraries, cloud storage, file, and SAN devices
• Implement security policies for software-defined networking, firewalling, and related infrastructure
• Provides technical support for escalated tickets and peer customer support personnel

Preferences

• Experience
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Azure, Azure Active Directory, AWS, and GCP cloud platforms
  • Experience with the administration and deployment of next-generation data center firewalls and micro-segmentation (e.g. VMware NSX, Checkpoint, Juniper, or Cisco)
  • Experience managing enterprise backup systems and related data recovery technologies (e.g. Commvault, Avamar, Veeam, AWS Glacier, Tape Libraries)
  • Experience with Windows Active Directory and associated RBAC/Group Policy infrastructure
  • Familiarity with cloud collaboration platforms administration and support (e.g., Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, Box, SharePoint, Confluence)
  • Familiarity with container technologies such as Docker, Singularity, and Kubernetes
  • General coding and infrastructure as code experience (e.g., CloudFormation, Ansible, Terraform, Shell, Python, Ruby, PowerShell)
  • Implementation of security controls and zero-trust practices
  • Familiarity with Project Management methodologies, and experience as a project technical lead
  • Prior experience working in a Higher Education environment
• Skills
  • Private cloud compute (e.g. VMware vSphere, vCenter, vRealize, NSX, MS HyperV, KMS)
  • Cloud networking and security (e.g. VPN, ExpressRoute, VNETs, VNET Peering).
• License / Certification
  • Virtualization Training or certifications (e.g., VCP, VCAP)
  • Azure or AWS Cloud Computer certifications (associate or professional)
  • Microsoft systems administration/system engineer certifications (e.g., MCSE, MCTS, MCITP, MCDST)
  • Storage administration training and/or certifications (e.g., HPE, Dell/EMC, NetApp, etc.)
  • Formal information technology infrastructure library (ITIL) training

The Rice University Office of Information Technology
https://oit.rice.edu/

Rice University HR / Benefits website
https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice Mission and Values
https://www.rice.edu/mission-values

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to diversity at all levels, and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.

Faculty and staff are expected (but not required) to have completed a full vaccination series for COVID-19 (currently defined as full course COVID-19 Vaccine (typically two shots of a WHO-approved COVID-19 Vaccine or one J&J) and a COVID-19 booster. Rice does not require documentation for COVID 19 vaccination at this time for faculty and staff. More information can be found here: https://coronavirus.rice.edu/policies