Storage Architect

Delta System & Software, Inc.; Troy (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading IT services company is seeking a Backup & Storage Architect to lead the design and migration of enterprise storage solutions. The role will focus on ensuring data availability and security using platforms like HPE Alletra and Commvault. Ideal candidates will have expertise in various protocols and extensive experience in automation and operational documentation. This contract position is based in Troy, Michigan.

Qualifications

• Lead the design, migration, and administration of enterprise storage and backup platforms.
• Define high-level and low-level designs for storage/backup.
• Implement resiliency baselines and security hardening.

Responsibilities

• Ensure availability, integrity, and cyber-resilience of storage systems.
• Author migration runbooks and operational documentation.
• Act as primary technical point for customers during incidents.

Skills

HPE Alletra MP/B10000

NetApp ONTAP

Infinidat InfiniBox

Dell Unity

Commvault

iSCSI

FC

NFS

SMB

PowerShell

Python

Ansible

Education

Bachelor’s in Computer Science/IT

Tools

Commvault Command Center

Dell EMC Proven Professional

VMCE (Veeam)

Job description

Role: Backup & Storage Architect — Design, Migration & Administration

Location: Troy, MI

Experience Level: Senior / Architect

Role Overview

The Backup & Storage Architect will lead the design, migration, administration, rapid recovery, and documentation of enterprise storage and backup platforms. Scope includes HPE Alletra, NetApp ONTAP, Infinidat InfiniBox, Dell Unity and backup stacks such as Commvault, Dell EMC Data Domain, Veeam, and Avamar. The architect ensures availability, integrity, cyber‑resilience, compliance—and publishes clear, consumable design and operations artifacts (HLD/LLD/SOPs/runbooks).

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise storage & backup reference architectures across multi‑vendor platforms.
• Produce and own High‑Level Designs (HLD):
  • End‑to‑end logical architecture, integration touchpoints (AD/DNS/PKI), security & resiliency patterns, RTO/RPO tiers, data flows, and guardrails.
• Produce and own Low‑Level Designs (LLD):
  • Detailed configurations (arrays, pools/volumes/filesystems, snapshots/replication), protocol settings (FC/iSCSI/NFS/SMB), Commvault plans/policies, Data Domain DD Boost/retention lock, Veeam/Avamar job design, firewall/ports, naming/IP schema, version/firmware matrices.
• Implement resiliency baselines (snapshots, replication, immutable copies) and security hardening (RBAC, MFA/SSO, encryption).

Migration & Cutover

• Lead end‑to‑end storage & backup migrations: assessment, dependency mapping, wave planning, pilot, parallel run, cutover & validation.
• Author migration runbooks and cutover checklists (pre‑checks, execution steps, rollback criteria, post‑cutover validation).

Administration & Operations

• Day‑to‑day operations: provisioning, performance tuning, capacity planning, patching/firmware, dedupe/index hygiene, catalog maintenance.
• Publish Operational Documentation (SOPs):
  • Provisioning procedures, backup policy management, retention changes, monitoring & alerting, incident handling, service request catalog items.
• Generate operational dashboards & reports (success %, failures, capacity, RPO/RTO).

Rapid Recovery & DR

• Design rapid recovery patterns (Instant VM Restore, DB PITR, share restore) to meet aggressive RTO/RPO.
• Create and maintain DR runbooks (failover/failback), including DNS/GTM steps, application smoke tests, and evidence capture.
• Implement immutable backup/vaulting; coordinate cyber‑recovery exercises.

Customer Handling, Escalations & Troubleshooting

• Act as primary technical point for customers during migrations and incidents; run governance calls and provide executive‑ready updates.
• Manage multi‑vendor escalations (HPE/NetApp/Infinidat/Dell/Commvault/Veeam/Avamar); drive RCA with corrective/preventive actions.
• Troubleshoot complex storage/backup issues (protocols, authentication/ACLs, replication lag, pathing, firewall/ports).
• Partner with PMO, application, DB, network, and security teams; enforce standards and change control.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Storage Expertise

• HPE Alletra MP/B10000, NetApp ONTAP, Infinidat InfiniBox, Dell Unity (block/file)—provisioning, replication, snapshots, performance engineering.

Backup Expertise

• Commvault (CommServe, MediaAgent, Disk/Cloud Libraries, dedupe, Command Center).

Protocols & Integration

• iSCSI, FC, NFS, SMB; AD/LDAP integration; TLS/certificates; DNS/GTM considerations.

Automation & Observability

• PowerShell, Python, Ansible; health/alerts and SLA dashboards.
• Demonstrated ability to produce HLDs, LLDs, SOPs, runbooks, and executive summaries—clear diagrams, versioned artifacts, and auditable change logs.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science/IT or equivalent experience.
• Preferred: HPE ASE/ATP, NetApp NCDA, Dell EMC Proven Professional, Commvault Certified Professional, VMCE (Veeam), Avamar/Dell EMC certs, ITIL Foundation; INFINIDAT credentials a plus.

First 90 Days (Illustrative)

• Publish HLD for current‑state and target‑state storage/backup; complete LLD for priority platforms (Commvault/DD/Veeam/Avamar + arrays).
• Deliver migration runbooks for initial waves and DR runbooks for tier‑0/1 apps with test evidence.
• Stand up operational SOPs and weekly SLA/RAG dashboards; align vendor escalation matrices and license inventories.
• Reports to: Infrastructure/Platform Lead.

Partners with: PMO, App Owners, DBAs, Network/Security, OEM Vendors.

Senior Level

Executive

Employment Type

Contract

Job Function

Consulting

Industries

IT Services and IT Consulting