Senior Systems Engineer - Data Center

Delinea; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Bonus program

Healthcare insurance

Pension/retirement matching

Comprehensive life insurance

Employee assistance program

Paid time off

Paid company holidays

Job summary

A technology company in Washington, D.C. is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer specializing in Data Center Infrastructure. This role will oversee the design, implementation, and operation of core technologies such as networking, storage, and security. Ideal candidates should have over 10 years of experience in systems engineering and experience with firewall management and data center operations. The position offers a hybrid work schedule, competitive salary, and excellent benefits including healthcare and retirement matching.

Qualifications

• Strong background in designing and implementing enterprise data center environments.
• Hands-on experience with firewall platforms including policy management.
• Experience with data center networking, switching, and routing.

Responsibilities

• Monitor data center infrastructure for integrity and performance.
• Take ownership of network engineering operations and ensure system stability.
• Participate in infrastructure projects and ensure solutions are implemented effectively.

Skills

Systems engineering

Data center networking

Firewall management

Troubleshooting

Scripting and automation

Virtualization

Education

10+ years of experience in systems engineering

Tools

FortiGate

Palo Alto Networks NGFW

Cisco ASA / Cisco Firepower

VMware ESXi

Microsoft Hyper-V

Job description

Summary

Our growing technology organization is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer – Data Center Infrastructure to join our team. This role is responsible for the end-to-end design, implementation, and ownership of core data center technologies, including compute, storage, networking, and security platforms, and will serve as a key contributor in driving scalable and reliable infrastructure solutions. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on infrastructure engineer who can operate at both a strategic and execution level, driving architecture decisions while also delivering builds and implementations, while partnering across engineering and business teams to support high‑impact initiatives.

This position is based in the Reston, VA / Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and operates in a hybrid model out of the DC office, combining remote work with regular presence in local data centers and colocation facilities, with periodic travel required for infrastructure projects and participation in after‑hours maintenance windows and critical incident response as needed.

What You’ll Do

• Conduct ongoing monitoring of data center infrastructure to ensure the integrity, performance, and availability of hardware, server resources, network systems, and critical services; proactively review system and network activity to identify and address potential issues.
• Take ownership of data center infrastructure operations, including network engineering (switching, routing, firewalls), storage systems (SAN/NAS), and server platforms, ensuring stability, scalability, and performance across environments.
• Support the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of core infrastructure systems, with a focus on firewall platforms, storage environments, and compute resources.
• Participate in infrastructure‑related projects, including hardware refreshes, upgrades, and new deployments, ensuring solutions are implemented effectively and aligned with organizational standards.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting and resolution of infrastructure‑related issues within the data center, including break/fix activities, root cause analysis, and service restoration.
• Assist with vendor coordination, hardware procurement, and asset lifecycle activities to support infrastructure growth and modernization efforts.
• Develop and maintain system and infrastructure documentation, contributing to the continuous improvement of operational processes and standards.
• Collaborate with internal teams to support infrastructure requirements for business and technology initiatives, ensuring reliable and secure system performance.
• Participate in after‑hours maintenance activities and respond to critical incidents as needed to support ongoing infrastructure operations.

What You’ll Need

• 10+ years of experience in systems engineering or infrastructure‑focused roles, with a strong background in designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise data center environments.
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise firewall platforms, such as FortiGate, Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Cisco ASA / Cisco Firepower, or Juniper SRX, including policy management, segmentation, and troubleshooting.
• Experience planning and executing firewall migrations and upgrades, including rule translation, cutover planning, and post‑migration validation.
• Strong experience with data center networking, including switching and routing on enterprise platforms such as Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Nexus, and Dell PowerSwitch.
• Experience with storage and hyper‑converged infrastructure (HCI) platforms, such as Storage Spaces Direct, Nutanix, or Cisco HyperFlex, including deployment, expansion, and performance management.
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise server and compute platforms, including hardware lifecycle management across vendors such as Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Supermicro, and Cisco UCS.
• Proficiency with virtualization platforms such as VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper‑V, including cluster management and infrastructure design.
• Strong troubleshooting and operational experience within data center environments, including root cause analysis across network, storage, and compute layers.
• Experience with scripting and automation using PowerShell or similar tools to support infrastructure management and operational efficiency.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and respond to after‑hours incidents and scheduled maintenance activities as required.
• Industry certifications (e.g., Cisco, VMware, Microsoft, or firewall vendor certifications) are a plus but not required.

We’d Love To See

• A passion for improving system performance and reliability through proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization across data center infrastructure.
• Deep familiarity with data center operations, including enterprise networking, firewall platforms, storage systems (SAN/NAS or HCI), and server environments.
• Experience with infrastructure upgrades or migrations, such as firewall replacements, storage expansions, or data center refresh initiatives.
• Strong experience automating workflows using tools like PowerShell, Ansible, or Terraform to streamline operations and enhance system reliability.
• A collaborative mindset with a history of contributing to infrastructure design, documentation, and process improvements to elevate team performance.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries, a meaningful bonus program, and excellent benefits, including healthcare insurance, pension/retirement matching, comprehensive life insurance, an employee assistance program, time off plans, and paid company holidays.

Delinea is an Equal Opportunity and Affiantive Action employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type with regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Upon conditional offer of employment, candidates are required to complete a comprehensive criminal background check, verification of education, and verification of employment, per employment policy. In addition, all publicly posted social media sites may be reviewed.