Lead Azure Cloud Engineer

iCallidus, Inc. is a small business federal IT contractor. We are hiring a Lead Azure Cloud Engineer for the IT support team at a federal agency in downtown Chicago. You will lead server operations across a hybrid environment, which is Microsoft Azure plus an on-premises Windows Server and VMware data center, carry the remaining migration to Azure, and mentor the systems engineers.

What you will do

• Lead Azure and server operations: advise on, design and oversee administration of the server environment, and represent the team in Government meetings.
• Architect and configure Azure services for cost, performance, reliability and security, including serverless APIs, web back ends, task automation, containers, event and stream processing, and load balancing.
• Install, operate, monitor, provision and maintain the virtual environment (VMware, Azure, Active Directory Federation Services) and SAN and NAS storage, and lead the remaining migration from the on-premises data center to Azure.
• Administer the Windows domain infrastructure and VMware virtualization, including disaster recovery testing and server OS and application security patching, across headquarters, Azure and the continuity of operations sites in Chicago and Dallas.
• Advise on, develop and mentor the management of two-way trust Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, distributed file shares, Exchange Online and Office 365, SQL Servers and SAN.
• Design and control virtual machine templates for rapid deployment on Azure VMware.
• Build and maintain SOPs, disaster recovery documentation, equipment and connectivity diagrams, inventories, license renewals and server certificates, and run change requests through the change control process.
• Mentor systems engineers and cross-train the team so there are no single points of failure., Remote. This position is fully remote within the United States. You will work over a secure Government VPN on Government-furnished equipment. Your 8-hour workday falls within the agency’s core hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. You are expected to be on call for after-hours emergencies unless you are on approved leave.

• Expert, hands-on experience supporting the Microsoft Azure virtual environment, including installation, configuration, troubleshooting, break-fix and upgrades.
• Expert understanding of the Microsoft Windows Server environment, including Azure, Active Directory Group Policy, Active Directory Domain Services, Active Directory Federation Services, SFTP, server certificates, DHCP and DNS.
• Expert understanding of Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016 and 2019, with expert experience installing, configuring and maintaining Windows Server 2016 and 2019.
• Expert understanding of networking: subnetting, VLAN segmentation, and routing and switching principles.
• Expert experience keeping enterprise IT services running, including troubleshooting Microsoft operating systems, Active Directory, Group Policy, servers and appliances.
• Expert experience installing, configuring and maintaining VMware vSphere (vCenter, ESX and ESXi).
• One of the following certifications: Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) or Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE); a current Microsoft equivalent (Windows Server Administrator Associate or Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate, Azure Administrator Associate, or Azure Solutions Architect Expert); or a current VMware certification together with MCSA or one of those Microsoft certifications.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience serving as a technical lead or mentoring engineers.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.
• Associate degree or higher., We provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, for pregnancy-related limitations, and for sincerely held religious beliefs, as required by law. Qualified applicants must be able to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation. To request an accommodation during the application or interview process, contact csfaustin@icallidus.com.

Pay range: $180,000 to $215,000. The salary offered within this range will depend on factors such as experience, skills and qualifications for the role.

Benefits: 10 days of paid time off and 11 paid holidays per year.

Conditions of employment

• This position supports an existing Government contract. The current period of performance runs through July 16, 2027, and the Government may extend it by option through July 16, 2029. Continued employment depends on the Government continuing to fund the work.
• This is a Key Personnel position. The Government reviews and approves the person selected before they start, so your resume and certifications will be shared with the Government for that purpose.
• After a conditional offer of employment, you will need to complete a federal background investigation for a public trust position and receive a favorable or interim determination before your start date, and obtain an HSPD-12 Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card.
• Before you access Government systems, you will need to complete security and privacy awareness training and any role-based security training, and sign a nondisclosure agreement covering Government data. You will be expected to keep required certifications current.
• Security clearance: you do not need a clearance to apply. A public trust determination is required, and we will start that process after a conditional offer.
• After-hours support may be required, including nights, weekends and holidays., Know your rights under federal equal employment opportunity law: www.eeoc.gov/poster

Pay: $180,000.00 - $215,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Paid time off