Senior Virtualization Engineer

KaylaTek®; Westphalia (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k) with company matching

Life Insurance

Paid Time Off

11 Paid Holidays

EAP

Professional Development

Military Leave

Job summary

KaylaTek is seeking a Senior Virtualization Engineer to support VMware/Nutanix clusters for the Air Force District of Washington at Joint Base Andrews, MD. You will architect, deploy, and optimize secure virtualization environments in a highly regulated setting.

The role emphasizes DoD compliance (DISA STIGs, NIST SP 800-171), leadership in migration projects, and collaboration with cybersecurity, network, and application teams to deliver resilient, scalable infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of related experience or master's with 10+ years; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Active DoD security clearance (Secret or Top Secret) is required.
• 10+ years of infrastructure engineering with focus on VMware and/or Nutanix environments.
• Current DoD 8140 IAT Level II certification (e.g., CompTIA Security+).
• Active VMware Certified Professional (VCP) 6.0+ certification.
• Active Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP) or NCSE certification.
• Experience in a DoD or defense contractor environment with strong operational and security requirements.
• Deep virtualization knowledge of VMware and Nutanix.
• Proficiency with Nutanix AOS, AHV, Prism, and Flow.
• Experience securing systems with DISA STIGs and NIST SP 800-171.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills for diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational support for VMware and Nutanix clusters supporting DoD operations.
• Design, deploy, configure, and maintain virtualization environments with performance and security in mind.
• Mentor and train engineers on virtualization platforms and cluster analysis.
• Maintain patches and upgrades for hyper-converged infrastructure.
• Lead migrations from legacy VMware to Nutanix platforms and document configurations and security plans.
• Participate in IDR and CCB meetings and coordinate with cross-functional teams.
• Monitor physical hosts, storage, network, and security infrastructures for incidents.
• Use vROps to monitor VMs and capacity planning.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, networking, and app owners to ensure secure solutions.

Skills

VMware expertise

Nutanix expertise

Cybersecurity awareness

Scripting (Python/PowerShell)

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

vROps (VMware Aria Operations)

Nutanix Prism/Flow

Windows Server

Linux

Job description

Come join our growing team with a 21st Century Vision! At KaylaTek, we understand that the key to our success is the quality of the people we employ. Our focus is not just on jobs, but on building and enhancing your career through ongoing professional development, training, and high quality of life. Our team members choose KaylaTek for a number of reasons including our competitive compensation and benefit packages, dedication to education, as well as our outstanding service. Our Grow Strong Vision encompasses a place for employees to grow, learn and feel a sense of belonging, not just a place to work.

Employee Benefit Offerings

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Health Savings Account
• FSA
• 401(k) with company matching
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Life and AD&D Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• 11 Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Professional Development Program
• Military Leave Support
• Referral bonuses and more!

Location

Joint Base Andrews, MD

Shift

Day Shift Core hours: 07:30 am - 2:00 pm;support on-call rotation if needed

Position Summary

KaylaTek is seeking a Senior Virtualization Engineer to provide operational support for VMware/Nutanix clusters supporting the Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) at Joint Base Andrews, MD. This candidate will serve as a key technical leader supporting mission-critical VMware and Nutanix infrastructure environments within a highly secure setting. The ideal candidate will be responsible for architecting, deploying, optimizing, and maintaining virtualization platforms while ensuring maximum performance, scalability, and compliance with federal cybersecurity standards. This role offers the opportunity to work with cutting-edge hyper-converged technologies, lead major migration initiatives, collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams, and directly support critical Air Force operations. The ideal professional will bring deep VMware and Nutanix expertise, a strong background in secure enterprise infrastructure, and a passion for delivering resilient, high-performing solutions in a complex defense environment.

Certifications Required

• Requires a current 8140 IAT Level II (Intermediate or Advanced) certificate (CompTIA Security+).
• Active VMware Certified Professional certification, version 6.0 or higher.
• Active Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP) or Nutanix Certified Systems Engineer (NCSE) certification.

Security Clearance

• Active DOD Secret clearance (final) at a minimum

Essential Job Functions

• Provide operational support for VMware and Nutanix clusters supporting the Air Force District of Washington (AFDW).
• Responsibilities include designing, deploying, configuring, and maintaining VMware/Nutanix clusters; monitoring system metrics to ensure availability, scalability, and performance; and performing troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for complex technical issues.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for VMware and Nutanix infrastructure, including mentoring and training other engineers on platform use, maintenance, and cluster analysis.
• Maintain patches and upgrades for all hyper-converged software, applications, and underlying Nutanix and VMware hardware.
• Lead and support projects involving the migration of virtual machines and applications from legacy platforms, including VMware, to the Nutanix platform. Develop and maintain comprehensive virtualization documentation for system configurations, security plans, and operational procedures to support compliance audits and ensure system integrity.
• Participate in weekly Internal Design Review (IDR) and Change Control Board (CCB) meetings.
• Collaborate with engineers to monitor and maintain physical hosts, storage, network, and security infrastructure, and report issues or outages to management as needed.
• Use VMware Aria Operations, formerly vRealize Operations Manager (vROPS), to monitor the vCenter environment and assess future virtualization capacity.
• Work closely with cybersecurity personnel, network engineers, and application owners to deliver secure, robust, and efficient solutions that comply with DoD mandates, including DISA STIGs and NIST SP 800-171.
• Support the on-call rotation.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of related experience, or a master's degree with 10+ years of experience. Additional relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.
• Active DoD security clearance, Secret or Top Secret.
• 10+ years of infrastructure engineering experience with a strong focus on VMware and/or Nutanix environments.
• Current DoD 8140 IAT Level II certification, such as CompTIA Security+.
• Active VMware Certified Professional certification, version 6.0 or higher.
• Active Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP) or Nutanix Certified Systems Engineer (NCSE) certification.
• Verifiable experience in a DoD or defense contractor environment, with a strong understanding of operational and security requirements.
• Deep knowledge of virtualization technologies, including VMware and Nutanix.
• Strong expertise in Nutanix AOS, AHV, Prism, and Flow.
• Proficiency managing Windows Server and Linux environments.
• Hands-on experience implementing and managing systems compliant with DISA STIGs and NIST SP 800-171.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with infrastructure automation tools such as Ansible or Terraform, and scripting languages such as Python or PowerShell.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals, including switching, VLANs, firewalls, and micro-segmentation.
• Experience working in air-gapped or classified network environments, such as SIPRNet.
• Experience with virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), including Omnissa.
• Knowledge of Air Force, Pentagon, and/or AFNCR environments.
• Experience working at the Pentagon, Joint Base Andrews (JBA), and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB).
• The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

MUST BE A US CITIZEN

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

KaylaTek is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

E-VERIFY AND BACKGROUND CHECKS

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. KaylaTek participates in the DHS e-Verify program. KaylaTek also conducts a background check on all candidates post offer though PROScreening LLC.