Systems Engineer – Infrastructure & Cloud Platforms - (Information Technology)

Central Piedmont Community College; Charlotte (NC); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Central Piedmont Community College seeks a Systems Engineer for Infrastructure & Cloud Platforms to design and manage its hybrid datacenter and cloud environments. You will lead virtualization, storage, backup, AD health, and MS 365/Azure integration, ensuring security, performance, and resilience.

The role drives automation, standardization, and DR/BCP planning while coordinating with cybersecurity, IAM, and network teams. A strong technical lead with mentoring responsibilities is essential.

Qualifications

• Degree and/or equivalent experience with IT infrastructure.
• ITIL 4 Foundations cert within six months of hire.
• Advanced certs in Azure or hybrid Windows Server environments.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and manage hybrid on‑prem/cloud infrastructure.
• Lead troubleshooting and cross‑team incident resolution.
• Oversee Active Directory health, GPOs, and domain controllers.
• Implement IaaS and platform services in Azure with identity integration.
• Develop config baselines and patch/compliance pipelines.
• Support DR/BCP planning and service continuity.
• Monitor platforms for availability and performance, address outages.
• Collaborate with security, IAM, and network teams on standards.
• Document architectures, configurations, and runbooks.
• Mentor staff and participate in ITSM incident lifecycle.

Skills

Hybrid infrastructure

Server virtualization

Automation scripting

PowerShell

Azure IaaS

Monitoring and observability

Incident response

Leadership

Education

Associate degree in Information Technology or Computer Science

ITIL 4 Foundations Certification

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate

Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)

Tools

SCCM

Intune

Azure Automation

Microsoft Azure

Job description

The Systems Engineer for Infrastructure & Cloud Platforms is a senior-level technical position responsible for the design, deployment, and continuous improvement of the college’s hybrid infrastructure, encompassing both on-premises datacenter systems and cloud-hosted platforms. This role serves as a technical lead for server virtualization, storage, enterprise backup, core directory services, and Microsoft 365 and Azure infrastructure, ensuring performance, scalability, and security across critical services.

The Systems Engineer drives the modernization of server and infrastructure platforms, implements high-availability and disaster recovery strategies, and serves as an escalation point for complex infrastructure incidents. This position plays a key role in standardizing platform architectures, automating system operations, and aligning technical capabilities with institutional priorities.

Critical areas of responsibility include managing virtual and physical server environments, hybrid cloud services, enterprise backup and recovery, directory and GPO infrastructure, configuration baselines, and automation frameworks. The Systems Engineer also contributes to architectural planning and collaborates closely with the cybersecurity, IAM, and network teams to ensure secure, resilient, and supportable infrastructure platforms.

1. 1. Leads the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of hybrid infrastructure platforms, including virtualized servers, storage systems, backup and recovery solutions, and cloud-hosted workloads.
2. 2. Serves as the primary escalation point for complex infrastructure issues, performing advanced troubleshooting across on-premises and cloud environments and coordinating cross-team resolutions.
3. 3. Oversees domain controller operations, Active Directory health, replication integrity, and machine-level Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to ensure secure and reliable machine authentication infrastructure.
4. 4. Implements and manages infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform services in cloud environments such as Microsoft Azure, including compute resources, storage, monitoring, and identity integration.
5. 5. Develops and enforces configuration baselines, patch compliance strategies, and automation pipelines using tools such as SCCM, Intune, and Azure Automation.
6. 6. Leads enterprise backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning efforts for cloud and datacenter systems, ensuring alignment with institutional RTO/RPO targets.
7. 7. Manages systems monitoring platforms to ensure availability, performance, and early detection of infrastructure anomalies, taking proactive steps to address potential service disruptions.
8. 8. Responds to infrastructure-related outages and high-impact incidents, coordinating recovery efforts and post-incident reviews with cybersecurity, application teams, and leadership.
9. 9. Collaborates with the Enterprise Architect and fusion teams to align infrastructure modernization with enterprise architectural standards and institutional priorities.
10. 10. Implements and maintains infrastructure security controls in partnership with the Information Security Office, including endpoint hardening, privileged access enforcement, and system logging.
11. 11. Maintains detailed documentation of infrastructure architectures, system configurations, and standard operating procedures to ensure transparency and operational continuity.
12. 12. Participates in change management and release planning processes, including conducting technical impact assessments and implementation plans for infrastructure-related changes.
13. 13. Provides technical mentorship to system administrators and other IT staff, promoting best practices in infrastructure management, automation, and system resilience.
14. 14. Participates in ITSM practices by documenting incidents, identifying root causes, and contributing to continuous service improvement initiatives related to infrastructure performance and uptime.

• Associate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field from an accredited institution, and 8 years of progressively responsible experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, or hybrid datacenter/cloud operations.
• Equivalent combination of work experience and advanced professional certifications may substitute for the degree requirement.
• ITIL 4 Foundations certification obtained within six months of hire.
• At least one advanced professional certification in infrastructure or cloud platforms such as:
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
  • Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
  • Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) or equivalent

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ten or more years of advanced experience in hybrid infrastructure operations, systems engineering, or enterprise IT platform management.
• Advanced certifications such as:
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
  • Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert
  • Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
• Proven experience designing and managing enterprise infrastructure across hybrid environments, including on-premises data centers and Microsoft Azure.
• Demonstrated expertise with server and endpoint patch compliance, vulnerability remediation, and automation of secure configuration baselines.
• Strong background in infrastructure scripting and automation using PowerShell, Azure CLI, or similar tools.
• Experience implementing and supporting resilient Azure infrastructure, including availability sets, VM scale sets, load balancers, and storage replication.
• Significant experience in monitoring and observability platforms, including tuning alerts, maintaining telemetry pipelines, and ensuring system uptime.
• Leadership in incident response and recovery efforts related to datacenter or cloud infrastructure outages, including root cause analysis and long-term stability planning.
• Proven ability to collaborate on cross-functional fusion teams, aligning infrastructure strategy with security, application development, and enterprise architecture initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Worker Characteristics:

• Expert-level proficiency in hybrid infrastructure systems, including virtualization, storage, backup, and Windows/Linux server management across on-prem and cloud environments.
• Advanced troubleshooting and diagnostic skills, with the ability to independently resolve complex infrastructure issues impacting service availability, performance, or system integrity.
• Strong leadership in incident response, effectively coordinating cross-team efforts during outages and contributing to post-incident reviews and resilience improvements.
• Deep understanding of cloud infrastructure services, particularly Microsoft Azure, including compute, storage, automation, monitoring, and governance frameworks.
• Proficiency in systems automation and scripting, using tools such as PowerShell, Azure CLI, or Ansible to enhance efficiency, enforce configurations, and support compliance.
• Strong grasp of enterprise patch management and compliance, including experience with SCCM, Intune, or similar tools to enforce secure, up-to-date systems at scale.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, capable of translating technical concepts for diverse stakeholders, including IT leadership, security teams, and application owners.
• Proven ability to document and standardize technical environments, maintaining infrastructure diagrams, configuration records, and recovery procedures that support continuity and transparency.
• Solid understanding of endpoint security and system hardening, including implementation of secure baselines, vulnerability remediation, and integration with cybersecurity monitoring tools.
• Experience designing and enforcing infrastructure standards for system configurations, backups, monitoring, high availability, and change management processes.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities, with the capacity to lead critical projects, prioritize infrastructure workstreams, and meet deadlines in a dynamic operational environment.
• Commitment to continuous learning and modernization, actively researching emerging technologies, infrastructure trends, and platform best practices to ensure long-term viability.

Working Conditions:

• This is a full-time, on-site position.
• May be required to work outside of normal business hours to assist with incident response, planned maintenance, or critical service restorations