Infrastructure Disaster Recovery Lead
Job Location:
Monthly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
- Role Title:Infrastructure Disaster Recovery Lead (Service Delivery type role)
- Location:Tempe AZ - NON-NEGOTIABLE(Hybrid: Onsite Tuesday Wednesday Thursday)
- Shift:Monday-Friday 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM MST(NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- Duration:26-Month Contract
- Employment Type:W2 ONLY - NO C2C
- Pay Rate:$57.00 - $70.00/hr W2
- Hiring Manager:Dimitri (Kathy Merlo works for him)
- Oversight:Mike Martinez
- Team Size:Hiring 3 people for this role (candidate will be one of three)
2. MUST-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS (Non-Negotiable)
| Category | Requirement |
| Total Experience | 8 years preferred (15 is acceptable) |
| DR Experience | 4 years minimum - MUST be deep hands-on DR experience not just policy/paper |
| Infrastructure Background | Former engineer or infrastructure support background (VMware Linux/Windows Storage Networking) - NOT a pure Project Manager |
| Industry | Financial services is a MUST(regulatory/compliance experience critical) |
| Scale | Must have supported DR for at least 1000 applicationsand 10000 servicesat an enterprise level |
| Automation | Must have experience with automation/scripting (PowerShell Python Ansible vRO etc.) |
| Technical Authority | Must be vocal authoritative and able to speak up/answer questions under pressure during adverse events |
| Technology Focus | Must understand infrastructure pitfalls and know how to fix them - must be able to identify gaps and drive improvements |
3. NICE-TO-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS
- Over-qualified candidates are welcome - they value deep DR expertise
- Hands-on experience with VMware vRealize Orchestrator (vRO)
- Experience with Fusion Framework or ServiceNow BCM modules
- Development/scripting experience (even a little is a plus)
4. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (What the Candidate Will Do)
- Act as the service provider for all applications to ensure completion of:
- Annual failover exercises
- Time recovery objectives
- Recovery plan submissions and approvals
- Lead technical planning validation and execution of DR BCP and Point-in-Time Recovery (PiTR) plans
- Coordinate across infrastructure towers (Compute Storage Network Database Middleware) and application owners
- Partner with automation engineers to integrate automated recovery runbooks (vRO scripting)
- Act as primary technical point of contact and spokesperson during live DR tests and incident recovery exercises
- Track analyze and remediate infrastructure gaps identified during exercises audits or regulatory assessments
- Manage projects around infrastructure vulnerabilities remediation of audit findings and continuous improvement
- Weekend work is expected- many exercises happen on weekends
- Global coordination across different time zones is required
5. INTERVIEW PROCESS
| Round | Focus |
| Round 1 | Skills assessment (technical/DR depth) |
| Round 2 | Qualification & personality fit |
6. CANDIDATE SCREENING GUIDE FOR RECRUITERS
GREEN FLAGS (What to Look For)
- Resume shows clear progression: Systems Engineer Senior Infrastructure Engineer DR/Resiliency Lead
- Hands-on experience with VMware Linux/Windows SAN/NAS Networking
- Active use of automation/scripting(vRO PowerShell Python Ansible)
- Experience in financial services banking or heavily regulated environments
- Can articulate scale- DR for 1000 apps and 10000 services
- Can speak to PiTR (Point-in-Time Recovery) validationand restore integrity
- ServiceNowand/or Fusion Frameworkexperience
RED FLAGS (Disqualifiers)
- Pure Policy/Paper DR- experience limited to writing documents/compliance reports with NO hands-on technical infra background
- Desktop/Service Desk Only- no core infrastructure engineering experience
- Pure Project Manager- focuses on budgets/timelines only cannot articulate technical failover sequences
- Frequent job hopping(3-6 month stints) - this is a 26-month commitment
- C2C requirement- role is W2 ONLY
- Hesitation on location or shift- Tempe onsite 3 days/week 6:00 AM start is non-negotiable
7. KEY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR RECRUITERS TO PREPARE CANDIDATES
Candidates mustbe prepared to answer:
- Tell me about a DR exercise you led for at least 1000 applications and 10000 services. Which technology towers did you coordinate What was the sequence of tasks What did you automate and what should have been automated
- Describe a time when something went wrong during a DR test or real failover. How did you respond and what did you do to fix it
- How do you handle application owners who push back on DR requirements or who dont prioritize testing
- Explain your experience with Point-in-Time Recovery (PiTR) exercises and how you validate restore integrity.
- What automation have you implemented to reduce recovery time or improve consistency in DR testing
- How do you manage DR planning and execution across different global time zones
- Walk me through the DR planning cyclefrom annual plan submission to testing to gap remediation.
8. TARGET EMPLOYER TALENT POOLS (For Sourcing)
Phoenix/Tempe Area & National:
- Banking & Financial:Wells Fargo JPMorgan Chase American Express Charles Schwab Northern Trust Discover Financial
- Insurance & Healthcare:State Farm (Tempe Hub) USAA CVS Health/Aetna UnitedHealth Group
- Tech & Infrastructure:Insight Enterprises General Dynamics IT Cognizant DXC Technology
9. RECRUITING DIFFICULTY
Rating: 4 out of 5 (High Difficulty)
Why:
- Uncommon hybrid skillset (infrastructure engineering DR automation governance)
- Strict location (Tempe) shift (6:00 AM start) eliminates remote candidates
- W2-only removes 30-40% of seasoned C2C contractor market
- Compensation ceiling ($70/hr) competes against full-time roles at $150k-$175k total comp
Selling Points for Candidates:
- 26-month project stability
- High-visibility enterprise role at a major financial institution
- Opportunity to drive automation and modernization initiatives
Subject: Updated Must-Have Requirements for IAA Production Support & Infrastructure Specialist
