Chief Technician (Virtual Infrastructure)

McBride International; Henegouwen; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

McBride International seeks an experienced Chief Technician to support and manage IaaS and related systems across on-prem and cloud environments. You will handle lifecycle provisioning, administration, and troubleshooting for Linux and Windows platforms, ensuring security controls and patch management are in place.

Responsibilities include change management, documentation, and collaboration with SAO/SDMs to align activities across the capability lifecycle.

Qualifications

• 4+ years post-related experience or 6+ years with secondary education.
• Hands-on Linux/Windows server administration and security hardening.
• Experience with IaaS in on-prem, private, and public clouds.

Responsibilities

• Support, develop, and manage IaaS services end-to-end.
• Maintain system availability during maintenance and incidents.
• Update CMDB, diagrams, and SOPs during changes.
• Collaborate with SAO/SDMs across capability lifecycle.
• Prepare reports and briefings for senior management.

Skills

VMware ESXi

Linux administration

Windows AD

Ansible automation

Public/Private cloud

Security policies

Load balancers

Education

Higher vocational training

Secondary education +6 years

Tools

Red Hat Satellite

Ansible

Bash

VMware ESXi

Job description

McBride International is a European-based management consulting, IT, and Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) firm. We provide professional services focusing on strategy development and execution, IT transformation, business process improvement, program management, research and development, risk management, financial management, and training. Our dedicated team of project managers, consultants, and trainers play a critical role in supporting client engagements from inception to completion. We partner with clients by providing qualified and experienced resources that possess the relevant skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to develop and execute solutions in support of their mission and business goals.

Job Description

As the Chief Technician, IWC play a pivotal role in supporting, contributing to, developing, and managing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and related systems (Microsoft and Linux OS). Your responsibilities span the entire lifecycle, including service operation, and project support and execution. Here are the key aspects of the role:

Daily Operations and Maintenance

• Guarantee seamless operation and upkeep of NISC IaaS Services, regardless of whether they are hosted on-premises, in private clouds, or public clouds.
• Perform system administration tasks for other IaaS-related assigned systems.

Troubleshooting and Issue Resolution

• Identify and troubleshoot issues promptly, assisting in their timely resolution.

Change Management and Documentation

• Follow change management processes diligently.
• Update network topology diagrams and the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) after installing new components or decommissioning old ones.

Strategic Support and Coordination

• Provide advice and support to the IaaS Service Area Owner (SAO) and Service Delivery Managers (SDMs) throughout the entire capability lifecycle.
• Foster close and coordinated ties with IaaS management to ensure harmonized efforts and synchronized outcomes across all activities.

SLA Compliance and Process Development

• Monitor compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Contribute to the development of processes, procedures (SOPs), and Standard Operating Instructions (SOIs) for IaaS services.

Reporting and Communication

• Prepare reports, briefings, position papers, and presentations for senior management during project development and implementation phases.

Ad Hoc Responsibilities

• Undertake ad hoc tasks related to the NISC Business Area's responsibilities.

Availability and Flexibility

• Be prepared to work during scheduled maintenances, service-affecting activities, and contingency situations beyond regular business hours.
• Be on-call after working hours on weekends if necessary.

Travel and Deployment

• Be ready to travel and work at various locations, including SHAPE/Mons, HQ Brussels, The Hague/Netherlands, or other Data Centers in NCIA's responsibility as required.

Requirements

Educational Background

• Higher vocational training in a relevant discipline with 4 years post-related experience. Or a secondary educational qualification with 6 years post-related experience;

Technical Expertise

• Practical proficiency in both on-premises and cloud technologies (both public and private).
• Familiarity with the operations and standards of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), including physical and virtual servers, VMware hypervisor, and storage devices.
• Hands-on experience with virtualization using VMWare ESXi, blade and rack-mount servers, and Hyperconverged Infrastructure (vSAN).
• Competence in working with Linux and Windows operating systems, including Active Directory (A.D.), hardening, and patching.
• Deliver global Linux infrastructure support within the IaaS Platforms environment.
• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle—provisioning, administration, and troubleshooting—of enterprise Linux environments (RHEL and Oracle Linux 8–10).
• Resolve complex interoperability issues between Linux host systems and enterprise network storage solutions.
• Design and maintain infrastructure-as-code and automation pipelines using Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Bash.
• Manage global Linux fleets via Red Hat Satellite, streamlining server provisioning, configuration drift management, and software updates.
• Execute global OS upgrades and end-to-end patch management, ensuring rigorous assessment, staging, and post-deployment validation.
• Enforce security policies across the IaaS estate, ensuring strict adherence to defense-grade security controls and best practices.
• Administer Linux security postures, including firewall rules, mandatory access controls, and security contexts to maintain zero-trust operational stability.
• Manage the configuration and performance optimization of enterprise load-balancing solutions to guarantee high availability and optimal traffic distribution.
• Practical experience in public and private cloud environments, covering IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and cloud monitoring and optimization.

Collaboration and Communication

• Exceptional ability to function effectively within a team, provide IT support, and resolve technical issues.
• Willingness to stay updated on advancements in IaaS technologies.

Documentation and Process Development

• Proficiency in documenting current designs and configurations.
• Ability to create and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training materials.

Communication Skills

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.

Availability and Incident Response

• Willingness to respond to IaaS incidents even outside regular working hours.

Desirable Qualifications

Certifications and Training

• Industry certifications related to virtualization, Linux operating systems, cloud, and containerization technologies.
• Previous work experience in a service provisioning organization.

Understanding of NATO Responsibilities

• Familiarity with the responsibilities and structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).