Infrastructure & Cloud Systems Engineer - Chicago, IL 

Duration: 6-Month with potential Contract-to-Hire
Work Authorization Requirement: U.S. Citizens (no 3rd party candidates)
Work Schedule: Hybrid (3 days per week onsite/ 2 days remote)
Location: Downtown Chicago, IL

Seeking an experienced Infrastructure & Cloud Systems Engineer to support and enhance a hybrid technology environment spanning Microsoft Azure and HPE-based on-premises infrastructure. This role is responsible for maintaining secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure while driving automation, operational improvements, and cloud adoption initiatives.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable managing enterprise data center technologies, VMware virtualization, and Azure cloud services while taking ownership of infrastructure performance, availability, and modernization.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience supporting enterprise infrastructure, systems engineering, or cloud platforms.
• Strong VMware administration experience, including vSphere, vCenter, ESXi, DRS, HA, vSAN, resource pools, and licensing management.
• At least 5 years of hands-on Microsoft Azure experience supporting:
• • Compute
  • Storage
  • Networking
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • Azure Monitor
  • Key Vault
  • Hybrid connectivity (VPN and ExpressRoute)
• Experience developing and executing disaster recovery strategies using technologies such as Azure Site Recovery, Veeam, Zerto, or similar replication platforms.
• Hands-on administration of HPE infrastructure, including ProLiant, Synergy, BladeSystem, OneView, and iLO.
• Experience supporting HPE storage platforms such as 3PAR, Nimble, or MSA with knowledge of replication, LUN management, and performance tuning.
• Familiarity with HPE Aruba networking technologies and HPE InfoSight or comparable AI operations platforms.
• Strong Windows Server administration skills, including Active Directory, IIS, DNS, DHCP, and file services.
• Experience implementing Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, ARM Templates, or Bicep.
• Configuration management experience using Ansible, DSC, or comparable automation tools.
• Strong scripting skills with PowerShell, Python, Azure CLI, or Bash.
• Knowledge of enterprise storage technologies (SAN/NAS).
• Solid understanding of networking fundamentals including TCP/IP, VPNs, firewalls, load balancing, switching, and routing.
• Experience working within ITIL/ITSM environments such as ServiceNow.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)
• VMware Certified Professional (VCP-DCV)
• HPE Master ASE – Hybrid IT Solutions Architect or HPE ATP – Server Solutions
• Experience with enterprise backup and disaster recovery platforms including Veeam, Zerto, Commvault, or Azure Site Recovery.
• Experience using enterprise monitoring platforms such as Azure Monitor, Datadog, SCOM, or similar solutions.
• Experience supporting regulated environments with compliance frameworks such as SOC 2, NIST, ISO 27001, or FedRAMP.

Primary Responsibilities

Enterprise Infrastructure & Data Center Administration

• Maintain and support enterprise server infrastructure across physical and virtual environments.
• Oversee VMware vSphere/vCenter environments, including ESXi hosts, virtual machine deployment, cluster administration, DRS/HA configuration, licensing, and overall resource optimization.
• Perform capacity planning, hardware lifecycle management, firmware updates, and proactive system health monitoring.
• Administer enterprise SAN and NAS storage platforms, including LUN creation, storage allocation, performance optimization, and capacity forecasting.
• Support core data center networking functions, including VLAN administration, switching, and connectivity with routing and firewall infrastructure.
• Develop, document, and execute disaster recovery and business continuity procedures, including scheduled failover testing and validation of recovery objectives.

Azure Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure