Core Infrastructure Engineer

Horizontal Talent; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 170,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Retirement plan

Job summary

Horizontal Talent is seeking an experienced Infrastructure Engineer to administer and optimize VMware environments, Windows/Linux servers, and enterprise storage. The role partners with cloud platforms to support hybrid infrastructure and requires strong Datadog monitoring and incident-response skills.

You will lead infrastructure projects, document processes, and collaborate across security, networking, and application teams.

Qualifications

• 6–10 years of experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, cloud engineering, or a similar role.
• Hands-on experience with VMware technologies such as vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter.
• Strong working knowledge of Windows Server and/or Linux administration.
• Experience with enterprise storage concepts (SAN, NAS, RAID, snapshots, replication, capacity planning).
• Working knowledge of at least one major cloud platform (AWS or Azure).
• Experience using Datadog or similar monitoring platforms to build monitors, dashboards, alerts, and reports.
• Ability to interpret infrastructure metrics, logs, events, and performance data.
• Experience with patching, upgrades, vulnerability remediation, backup, recovery, and incident response.
• Solid networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, routing, firewalls, load balancing).
• Proven ability to lead projects and coordinate work across technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support VMware environments, including vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter.
• Maintain and troubleshoot physical and virtual servers across Windows and/or Linux.
• Support enterprise storage, backup, recovery, and lifecycle activities.
• Collaborate with cloud platforms to support hybrid infrastructure needs.
• Create and manage monitoring, dashboards, alerts, and reports using Datadog.
• Review logs and performance trends to improve reliability and reduce noise.
• Perform patching, upgrades, and vulnerability remediation on schedule.
• Respond to incidents and participate in on-call rotation.
• Investigate infrastructure issues and implement long-term fixes.
• Lead infrastructure projects from planning through implementation and handoff.
• Document procedures, assets, and disaster recovery plans.
• Partner with security, networking, application, cloud, and business teams.
• Automate tasks using scripting, configuration management, or IaC tools.

Skills

VMware vSphere

VMware ESXi

VMware vCenter

Windows Server

Linux administration

Storage concepts (SAN/NAS/RAID)

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure)

Datadog monitoring

Networking fundamentals

Incident response

Scripting/IAAC (Terraform/PowerShell)

On-call coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Datadog

Terraform

Ansible

PowerShell

Job description

Responsibilities

• Administer and support VMware environments, including vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter.
• Maintain and troubleshoot physical and virtual servers across Windows and/or Linux environments.
• Support enterprise storage, backup, recovery, and infrastructure lifecycle activities.
• Work with cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud to support hybrid infrastructure needs.
• Create and manage monitoring, dashboards, alerts, and reports using Datadog or a similar observability tool.
• Review logs, metrics, events, and performance trends to improve reliability and reduce noise.
• Perform patching, upgrades, vulnerability remediation, and other maintenance tasks on schedule.
• Respond to incidents and participate in an on-call rotation when needed.
• Investigate infrastructure issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement long-term fixes.
• Lead infrastructure projects from planning through implementation, testing, documentation, and handoff.
• Track capacity, availability, performance, and security across the infrastructure environment.
• Document technical procedures, operational processes, asset details, and disaster recovery plans.
• Partner with security, networking, application, cloud, and business teams on shared initiatives.
• Automate repetitive tasks using scripting, configuration management, or infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Support infrastructure planning, roadmap discussions, risk awareness, and continuous improvement efforts.

Skills

• 6–10 years of experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, cloud engineering, or a similar role.
• Hands-on experience with VMware technologies such as vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter.
• Strong working knowledge of Windows Server and/or Linux administration.
• Experience with enterprise storage concepts such as SAN, NAS, RAID, snapshots, replication, and capacity planning.
• Working knowledge of at least one major cloud platform, preferably AWS or Microsoft Azure.
• Experience using Datadog or another monitoring platform to build monitors, dashboards, alerts, and reports.
• Ability to interpret infrastructure metrics, logs, events, and performance data.
• Experience with patching, upgrades, vulnerability remediation, backup, recovery, and incident response.
• Solid understanding of networking fundamentals, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, routing, firewalls, and load balancing.
• Proven ability to lead projects and coordinate work across technical teams.
• Strong troubleshooting, communication, documentation, and organizational skills.
• Willingness to participate in a scheduled on-call rotation.

Preferred Skills

• Experience managing Datadog through APIs, Terraform, or other infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Hands-on experience with Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell, or similar automation technologies.
• Familiarity with Active Directory, identity and access management, and Microsoft 365.
• Experience supporting hybrid cloud environments and cloud migration initiatives.
• Knowledge of high availability, disaster recovery, business continuity, and security best practices.
• Relevant certifications such as VMware VCP, Microsoft Azure Administrator, or AWS Solutions Architect.

Horizontal is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds are valued and respected. We welcome candidates who share a collaborative mindset and a commitment to creating equitable opportunities for everyone.

Applications will be accepted for 4 weeks.

• We offer competitive compensation and benefits including medical, dental, vision, and retirement.
• The pay range for this role is $170,000 - $195,000 per year based on qualifications and experience.