Senior Infrastructure Engineer

Herotel Telecoms (Pty) Ltd; Stellenbosch; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in telecommunications seeks a Senior Infrastructure Engineer to manage a hybrid infrastructure that integrates cloud and on-premises systems. The role requires an expert in Azure and Linux, facilitating business growth through high availability and resilience. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in designing and maintaining robust infrastructure while thriving in dynamic environments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in infrastructure engineering or systems administration.
• Strong Linux system administration skills (Ubuntu, CentOS).
• Experience managing hybrid (cloud + on-prem) environments.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement hybrid infrastructure solutions.
• Manage Kubernetes clusters in Azure.
• Ensure high availability and incident response.

Skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Relevant certifications (e.g., Azure, Kubernetes)

Tools

Azure

Docker

Kubernetes

Proxmox

cPanel

Bash

Python

Job description

Herotel is looking for a Senior Infrastructure Engineer to join our team and take ownership of a hybrid infrastructure estate spanning cloud (primarily Azure) and on-premises systems. The ideal candidate will play a critical role in designing, maintaining, and evolving our infrastructure platforms to support business growth, high availability, and scalability.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, has a strong background in both cloud and on-prem technologies, and can work autonomously on complex problems.

Location: Stellenbosch
Reporting to: Head of Infrastructure

Key Performance Areas would include, but are not limited to:

• Design, implement, and maintain robust hybrid infrastructure solutions across cloud (Azure) and on-prem environments.
  
• Manage and optimize Kubernetes clusters in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
  
• Maintain and administer Linux-based systems, ensuring performance, stability, and security.
  
• Build, manage, and deploy containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes.
  
• Manage and support on-premises virtualization infrastructure, particularly Proxmox.
  
• Ensure high availability, disaster recovery, and scalability across services.
  
• Monitor infrastructure health and respond to incidents, performing root cause analysis and continuous improvement.
  
• Contribute to security hardening and compliance efforts.
  
• Administer and troubleshoot cPanel-based hosting environments, including site migrations, SSL, and performance tuning.
  
• Manage Domain Hosting and DNS configurations across various registrars and platforms.

Key Outputs:

• Highly Available Infrastructure: Ensure uptime, resilience, and redundancy across all cloud and on-prem systems, while maintaining service-level objectives (SLOs).
• Optimized Kubernetes Environments: Reliable and secure operation of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters with efficient scaling, monitoring, and deployment processes in place.
• Stable and Secure Linux Systems: Consistently well-maintained and hardened Linux environments, supporting internal systems and hosted services.
• Efficient Proxmox Operations: On-prem virtualization infrastructure is fully operational, secure, and meets performance expectations.
• Containerization: Delivery of containerized applications using Docker.
• Robust Hosting Platform: Fully managed and monitored cPanel/domain hosting infrastructure with timely resolution of hosting issues and domain management.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Clear and up-to-date documentation for infrastructure, deployments, and procedures.
• Incident Response & Root Cause Analysis: Prompt response to infrastructure issues with detailed post-mortems and actionable improvements.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Effective collaboration with development, DevOps, and security teams to ensure infrastructure supports business and product goals.

The successful candidate must have the following experience/skills:

Work Experience and Competencies:

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in infrastructure engineering or systems administration, with at least 2 years in a senior role.
• Strong track record of managing complex hybrid (cloud + on-prem) infrastructure environments.
• Proven experience in a senior infrastructure role with hybrid (cloud + on-prem) environments.
• Strong Linux system administration skills (Ubuntu, CentOS, etc.).
• Expertise with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and container orchestration.
• Strong hands-on experience with Docker – building, managing, and troubleshooting containers in production.
• Hands-on experience with Proxmox in production environments.
• Solid experience with cPanel, WHM, and related web hosting tools.
• Understanding of domain hosting, DNS management, and common registrar platforms.
• Solid understanding of networking, firewalls, DNS, load balancers, and VPNs.
• Experience with scripting (Bash, Python, or PowerShell.
• Familiarity with monitoring and alerting tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Graylog, Zabbix, etc.).

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to lead or mentor team members and drive infrastructure initiatives independently.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience.
• Relevant certifications are a strong advantage, such as:
  - Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate / Azure Solutions Architect
  - Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
  - Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC) or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
  - Docker Certified Associate
  - CompTIA Linux+

If you meet the above requirements, please submit your CV with contactable references.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Preference will be given to Previously Disadvantaged Individual candidates, in line with Herotel’s Employment Equity Plan.
• Submission of your CV provides Herotel with your express consent for us to process your personal information contained therein, for purposes of processing your application.
• Please refer to our Privacy Policy on our website for further information on how we process personal information.
• If you do not hear from us within 3 weeks of your application, please deem your application as unsuccessful.