Datacenter Administrator

Description

The NASA IT portfolio within the Federal Civilian IT sector at Leidos currently has an opening for a Windows 365 Virtual Desktop Engineer. This is primarily a telework position, but the ideal candidate will reside within reasonable commute distance from a NASA operating center and have flexibility to go on-site when needed for specific activities. This is an exciting opportunity to use your experience to support the NASA End-User Services and Technologies (NEST) mission. In this mission, we serve as an agile, trusted partner to transform, integrate, simplify, modernize, and safeguard NASA IT systems and data. And, above all else, continuously enhance the end-user experience.

This is a telework / work-from-home position, however qualified applicants must reside within reasonable commute distance from Johnson Space Center and have a means of transportation and availability to travel to Johnson Space Center for hands-on work, as needed (approximately 25% of time) with little or no advanced notice.

Primary Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of this role are managing, monitoring and supporting the datacenter physical and virtual systems used to host NEST tools (collectively referred to as NEST infrastructure).

• Build, deploy and monitor performance of physical and virtual servers, storage devices, and virtual appliances.
• Provide physical (touch) support to install, repair, reconfigure and decommission NEST servers and storage devices.
• Create and maintain system inventory and configuration documentation.
• Monitor NEST infrastructure performance and capacity, and adjust as needed to ensure performance, availability and capacity targets are met.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (networking, security, identity, print, email, and endpoint support) to ensure seamless integration and alignment of NEST infrastructure with enterprise IT standards.
• Establish and execute testing protocols to validate performance, security, and user experience prior to production rollout of new infrastructure systems.
• Implement automation and scripting to streamline deployment, updates, and maintenance of NEST infrastructure.
• Provide Tier 3 support for escalated issues related to the servers, storage and applications that make up NEST infrastructure.
• Ensure all NEST infrastructure systems are configured in compliance with organizational security policies, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Develop and deliver training and onboarding materials for IT support teams and end users.
• Create, maintain, and deploy server operating system images.
• Create, maintain, and deploy software packages for use on servers.
• Package, test, and deploy operating system, firmware and software updates to NEST infrastructure.
• Maintain 99.9% up-time for NEST servers and storage.
• Develop and execute test plans for software, hardware and operating system deployments
• Resolve incidents and fulfill requests in alignment with established program processes and in a timeframe that meets or exceeds SLA requirements for incident handling, request fulfillment and service availability (uptime).
• Work with vendors to resolve technical issues, monitor product roadmaps, and implement product changes.
• Provide support for other technologies and functions within the NEST Enterprise Operations team, such as endpoint and server backup utilities, remote support tools, and other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related technical field and 2+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with less than 2 years of relevant experience. Additional experience may be able to be substituted for a degree.
• Proven experience implementing and managing both physical and virtual servers
• Experience implementing and managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux server operating system
• Strong understanding VMWare vSphere, VMWare vCenter, Windows Server operating systems, and SolarWinds monitoring platform.
• Experience developing technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, configuration standards, and operational procedures.
• Advanced troubleshooting skills across Windows Server OS, networking, identity, and virtualization layers.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to support development of integrated solutions that meet business and technical requirements.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Deep technical knowledge in enterprise IT infrastructure, with a broad understanding of related domains such as security, networking, and identity management.
• Ability to obtain and maintain Public Trust.
• US Citizenship

• Microsoft certifications such as:
  • Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
  • VMWare Certified Professional: VMWare vSphere Foundation Support / Administrator
  • VMWare Certified Professional: VMWare Cloud Foundation Support / Operations / Automation / Architect / Administrator
• Experience with automation tools such as PowerShell, Azure Automation, or Microsoft Graph API for managing server environments.
• Familiarity with Zero Trust security principles and their application in server infrastructure.
• Knowledge of enterprise networking concepts, including virtual machines, SAN, DNS, SNMP, Active Directory, firewalls, and bandwidth optimization
• Understanding of licensing models and cost optimization strategies for server operating systems
• Background in ITIL-based service management, including incident, change, and configuration management processes.
• Experience working in regulated environments (e.g., government, healthcare, finance) with a focus on compliance and audit readiness.