Data Protection Engineer

Saic; Newington (VA); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking a Data Protection Engineer to support enterprise IT infrastructure in a mission-critical, on-premises environment. The role focuses on administration, maintenance, and optimization of backup and recovery solutions, with hands-on Commvault and related technologies in a government data center.

This hybrid position requires at least 3 days onsite and involves coordination with cross-functional teams to ensure data availability, integrity, and compliance with Federal standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher with 14+ years of relevant experience; Master’s degree with 12+ years; can consider additional experience in lieu of degree
• Hands-on experience with Commvault, Dell EMC Avamar or equivalent on-premises data protection system
• Experience with enterprise backup architecture and replication technologies
• Familiarity with storage platforms and backup-related networks
• Experience supporting VMware vSphere and vCenter environments
• Knowledge of Windows Server
• Understanding of networking fundamentals related to backup and storage traffic
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical and problem-solving skills

Responsibilities

• Administer and support on-premises Commvault data protection platforms
• Monitor and manage daily backup operations and issue resolution
• Perform backup, restoration, and disaster recovery for physical and virtual environments
• Maintain and optimize backup infrastructure (servers, media agents, storage)
• Troubleshoot backup failures, performance issues, and storage utilization
• Develop and enforce backup policies, retention, and disaster recovery procedures
• Conduct regular backup validation and recovery testing
• Collaborate with systems, storage, network, and cybersecurity teams
• Support audit readiness and documentation/reporting
• Maintain detailed technical SOPs and diagrams
• Participate in on-call rotation and after-hours support

Skills

Commvault

Dell EMC Avamar

VMware vSphere

Windows Server

Networking basics

Troubleshooting

Security/compliance

On-premises backup

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Commvault

Avamar

VMware vCenter

Job description

Description

SAIC is seeking a Data Protection Engineer to support enterprise IT infrastructure in a mission-critical, on-premises environment. The selected candidate will be responsible for the administration, maintenance, and optimization of backup and recovery solutions, ensuring data availability, integrity, and compliance with Federal standards. This position requires a hands-on engineer with experience in Commvault, supporting secure, highly available systems within a government data center.

This role is hybrid and requires at least 3 days onsite.

This role is temporarily located in Springfield, VA and is expected to transfer in the near future. The candidate will have the option to select their preference when the work location changes to either Washington, DC or Beltsville, MD.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administer and support enterprise on-premises Commvault data protection platforms
• Monitor and manage daily backup operations, ensuring successful job completion and timely issue resolution
• Perform data backup, restoration, and disaster recovery operations for physical and virtual environments
• Maintain and optimize backup infrastructure, including backup servers, media agents, and storage systems
• Troubleshoot system issues related to backup failures, performance degradation, and storage utilization
• Develop and enforce backup policies, retention schedules, and disaster recovery procedures in alignment with customer requirements
• Conduct regular backup validation and recovery testing to ensure system resilience
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (systems, storage, network, cybersecurity) to maintain secure and compliant operations
• Support audit readiness and compliance efforts by providing documentation and reporting
• Maintain detailed technical documentation, including SOPs, system diagrams, and operational procedures
• Participate in on-call rotation and provide after-hours support as required

Qualifications

Required Experience & Education:

• Bachelors degree and 14+ years of relevant experience; masters and 12+ years; may accept additional experience in lieu of degree
• Hands-on experience with Commvault, Dell EMC Avamar or equivalent enterprise-class data protection system in an on-premises/data center environment
• Experience with enterprise backup architecture, including replication technologies
• Familiarity with storage platforms
• Experience supporting VMware vSphere and vCenter environments
• Knowledge of Windows Server
• Understanding of networking fundamentals related to backup and storage traffic
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills

Required Clearance:

• US Citizenship
• Active secret clearance with the ability to obtain a top secret clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Relevant certifications (e.g., Dell EMC Proven Professional, Commvault Certified Professional, VMware VCP)
• Experience supporting Federal or DOS IT environments
• Familiarity with air-gapped backup solutions and ransomware protection strategies
• Experience with database backup and recovery (Oracle, SQL Server)

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.