Systems Engineer (VMWare) with Security Clearance

Job title: Systems Engineer – VMware
Client: National Defense University (NDU)
Security Clearance: Active DoD Secret Clearance Required
Certification Requirement: DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II (IAT II) Certification Work Location: National Defense University, Washington, D.C. (or designated worksite) Position Overview National Defense University (NDU) is seeking a skilled Systems Engineer with expertise in VMware virtualization to support the design, implementation, administration, maintenance, and optimization of enterprise IT infrastructure.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing virtualized server environments, maintaining system availability and performance, supporting secure infrastructure operations, and ensuring compliance with Department of Defense (DoD) cybersecurity policies and standards. The Systems Engineer will collaborate with infrastructure, network, cybersecurity, and application teams to maintain a reliable, secure, and resilient IT environment supporting NDU's mission-critical operations.

Key Responsibilities

• VMware Virtualization Administration: Design, deploy, configure, administer, and maintain VMware vSphere environments, including ESXi hosts and vCenter Server.
• Performance Optimization: Monitor and optimize CPU, memory, storage, and network utilization across virtualized environments to ensure optimal performance and resource efficiency.
• Infrastructure Maintenance: Perform system upgrades, patching, firmware updates, configuration changes, and lifecycle management for virtual and physical server infrastructure.
• High Availability and Disaster Recovery: Configure and maintain VMware High Availability (HA), Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), vMotion, Storage vMotion, and backup/recovery solutions as applicable to the environment.
• System Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve complex hardware, operating system, virtualization, storage, and infrastructure issues; conduct root-cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
• Storage and Networking: Support integration of VMware environments with SAN/NAS storage, virtual switches, VLANs, and enterprise network infrastructure.
• Security and Compliance: Implement and maintain system security controls in accordance with applicable DoD policies, security technical implementation guides (STIGs), configuration baselines, and organizational security requirements.
• System Documentation: Develop and maintain system architecture diagrams, standard operating procedures, configuration records, technical documentation, and change-management records.
• Backup and Recovery: Support backup, restoration, disaster recovery, and business continuity processes to protect critical systems and minimize downtime.
• Automation and Scripting: Use PowerCLI, PowerShell, or other scripting tools to automate routine administration, monitoring, provisioning, and reporting tasks.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Coordinate with cybersecurity, network engineering, storage, service desk, and application support teams to resolve infrastructure issues and support mission requirements.
• Operational Support: Participate in incident response, problem management, planned maintenance, and after-hours support activities as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Demonstrated professional experience administering and supporting VMware virtualization technologies in an enterprise environment.
• Strong hands-on experience with VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter Server.
• Experience provisioning and managing virtual machines, resource pools, templates, snapshots, virtual networking, and virtual storage.
• Knowledge of Windows Server and/or Linux server administration.
• Understanding of enterprise networking, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, routing, and storage technologies.
• Experience with system monitoring, performance tuning, troubleshooting, patch management, and infrastructure maintenance.
• Familiarity with enterprise backup, recovery, high-availability, and disaster recovery solutions.
• Knowledge of DoD cybersecurity requirements, security hardening, vulnerability remediation, and secure configuration management.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a mission-focused environment.

Mandatory Security and Certification Requirements

• Active DoD Secret security clearance at the time of employment, with the ability to maintain the required clearance.
• Current DoD-approved IAT Level II certification meeting the applicable DoD 8570/8140 qualification requirements for the assigned position.
• Ability to comply with applicable DoD security policies, access-control requirements, and organizational security procedures.