Systems Engineer ? Research Infrastructure & Lab Platforms – Government Customer

Dell; Manassas (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Dell is seeking a Systems Engineer to build and operate research infrastructure and lab platforms for a government customer in Chantilly, VA. The role focuses on high-density virtualization, secure compute environments, and rapid provisioning for researchers.

You will bridge bare-metal systems, hypervisors, and container orchestration to enable secure, scalable access. You will design, automate, and maintain hybrid Linux and Windows labs, manage enterprise hypervisors, and implement scripting to

Qualifications

• 8 years of hands-on experience in Systems Engineering, Systems Administration, or DevOps roles supporting enterprise or engineering lab environments.
• Dual-OS proficiency: demonstrated expertise administering, securing, and troubleshooting Windows and Linux environments.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance required.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain hybrid Linux and Windows lab compute environments across bare metal, hypervisors, and containers.
• Orchestrate virtualization and compute platforms using Proxmox, VMware ESXi, KVM, or Hyper-V; build lightweight micro-environments with Docker, Podman, and LXC.
• Develop automation scripts in Bash, Python, and PowerShell to reduce manual configuration and accelerate deployments.
• Collaborate with researchers and engineering teams to translate requirements into scalable lab compute environments.

Skills

Linux administration

Windows administration

Scripting

Container orchestration

Tools

Proxmox

VMware ESXi

KVM

Hyper-V

Docker

Podman

LXC

Active Directory

Job description

Systems Engineer ? Research Infrastructure & Lab Platforms – Government CustomerLocal candidates only – On-site Chantilly VA – 5 days per week – Required active TS/SCI Security Clearance.

Candidates without Active clearances will be declinedBuild the Engine Powering Next-Gen Engineering ResearchBehind every breakthrough in engineering research is a bulletproof infrastructure platform. In this role, you won’t just keep lights green; you will design, automate, and evolve high-density virtualization platforms, isolated test environments, and containerized research pipelines on modern enterprise hardware. You will act as the technical backbone for our research engineers, bridging bare-metal systems, hypervisors, and container orchestration to give researchers rapid, secure access to the compute environments they need. If you thrive on tearing down system bottlenecks, automating repetitive administration, and working hands-on across both Linux and Windows environments, we want to talk to you.

What You?ll Do

• Design & Maintain Lab Infrastructure: Architect, deploy, and support hybrid Linux (RHEL/Ubuntu/Debian) and Windows compute environments across bare metal, hypervisors, and containers.


• Orchestrate Virtualization & Compute Platforms: Manage enterprise hypervisors (Proxmox, VMware ESXi, KVM, or Hyper-V) and build lightweight micro-environments using Docker, Podman, and LXC.


• Automate & Modernize: Develop maintainable Bash, Python, and PowerShell scripts to eliminate manual configurations, patch systems, and accelerate deployment workflows.


• Maintain Identity & Core Services: Administer and troubleshoot directory services (Active Directory,


• Collaborate Directly with Researchers: Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to disambiguate requirements, troubleshoot complex system interactions, and rapidly deliver tailored lab compute environments.

Required Qualifications

8 years of hands-on experience in Systems Engineering, Systems Administration, or DevOps role supporting enterprise or engineering lab environments. Dual-OS Proficiency: Demonstrated expertise administering, securing, and troubles