Senior Staff IT Systems Engineer

About the role
You will join Forterras IT Infrastructure team as a trusted hands-on infrastructure engineer working across our on-prem virtualization storage and backup platforms and the hybrid cloud identity layer above them.

This is not a ticket queue. The team runs real hardware it is accountable for: Proxmox clusters NetApp storage Veeam and Proxmox Backup Server and a Microsoft GCC High tenant spanning Entra ID and Azure Government alongside AWS Palo Alto and Juniper. When we stand up infrastructure at a new site you will be in the room shaping it and on the ground deploying it.

We are looking for a genuine generalist someone equally comfortable hardening a Windows Server baseline debugging a Debian kernel issue on a Proxmox node and reasoning about conditional access policy in a GCC High tenant. The breadth is the point and so is the willingness to pick up whatever the team needs that week rather than defending a narrow specialty. If you have built range across the stack and want to use all of it alongside people who will push back on your thinking this is that role.

You will do this inside a compliance-driven environment (CMMC NIST SP 800-171 ISO 27001) that shapes design decisions rather than blocking them partnering day to day with Cybersecurity Network Engineering and Development.

Note this role is also relevant if you currently work as a Systems Engineer Linux Systems Engineer Infrastructure Engineer Virtualization Engineer or Senior Systems Administrator.

What youll do

• Virtualization and storage. Run and evolve our Proxmox VE clusters and NetApp systems with the infrastructure team: capacity performance upgrades and lifecycle.

• Hybrid identity and cloud. Administer Microsoft Entra ID and Azure Government within our GCC High tenant plus Active Directory Intune and endpoint management working closely with Cybersecurity on policy and controls. AWS where it fits.

• Windows and Linux. Administer and harden Windows Server and Ubuntu/Debian systems covering patching security baselines and compliance evidence.

• Architecture. Design infrastructure solutions at enterprise scale with input from Cybersecurity Network Engineering and Development then see them through deployment across multiple Forterra sites.

• Resilience. Help shape disaster recovery and business continuity strategy for cloud and on-prem services built on Veeam and Proxmox Backup Server.

• Automation. Extend our configuration-as-code practice with Ansible turning manual work into repeatable reviewable systems the whole team can run.

• Mentorship. Raise the bar through influence rather than authority share what you know and mentor engineers as the team grows.

What Were Looking For

Mission-First Mindset - We put the needs of the mission and our customers first and understand that the US and its allies have no preordained right to victory in any future conflict.

Ownership Mentality - Were looking for owners; those who have a natural bias to assume responsibility a healthy dose of skepticism and contribute to a culture of performance.

Technical Aptitude and Intellectual Curiosity - We are first and foremost a technology company and this role requires genuine curiosity to operate across a broad evolving infrastructure stack rather than staying within a narrow specialty.

Structured Thinker and Problem Solver - Supporting critical infrastructure requires clear communication sound triage judgment and the ability to distill complex problems into their essential actionable components especially under after-hours pressure.

360 Degree Leader - We are a non-hierarchical organization with a matrix structure that is dynamic and evolving. We expect you to be self-aware enough to recognize your position of unstated leadership within the company and to lead and influence through both formal and informal channels.

What We Need

• Hands-on Windows Server administration patching hardening compliance.

• Solid hands-on Linux administration (Ubuntu Debian) ideally in a virtualization context.

• Real production experience with on-premises virtualization: Proxmox VMware or similar. We care that you have run a platform not which one.

• Strong Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Entra ID experience.

• Experience designing and deploying infrastructure at enterprise scale ideally across multiple sites or locations.

• Identity and endpoint management experience (Active Directory Entra ID Intune).

• Availability to respond when infrastructure emergencies arise outside business hours. This is a shared rotation across the team.

• A collaborative default: you document what you build hand off cleanly and would rather the team be able to run something than be the only one who can.

What We Love to See

• GCC High or Azure Government experience. A significant advantage though we will teach a strong engineer the sovereign-cloud specifics.

• Proxmox VE specifically or NetApp storage administration.

• Ansible or equivalent configuration-as-code tooling in a production environment.

• Enterprise networking exposure (Palo Alto Juniper SD-WAN concepts).

• Prior defense government contracting or other regulated-industry experience.

• Experience mentoring or training junior engineers.

US Salary Range
$150000$175000

The salary range for this role is an estimate and is based on a wide variety of compensation factors. The salary offered to candidates will vary based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to) relevant work experience education specialized training critical expertise training and more. Equity in Forterra is included in most of our full-time high-demand roles and is therefore considered part of Forterras overall compensation addition to base salary and equity Forterra offers competitive benefits for full-time employees including:

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: Three plan options including an HSA-eligible plan with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for you and your dependents.
• Basic Life/AD&D short and long-term disability insurance plans 100% covered by Forterra plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents.
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a winter break in December.
• Competitive paid time off (PTO) offering 20 days accrued per year.
• A minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth/adoption.
• A $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend.
• Fully stocked beverage refrigerators with all the Celsius your little heart desires.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan including traditional Roth 401(k) and after-tax deferral with company match up to 4%.

Your recruiter will be able to share more information about our salary and benefits offering during the hiring process.

CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY - This position may require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. For more information about U.S. Security Clearances:click here.

Forterra is an equal-opportunity employer providing and promoting equal employment opportunity in all personnel are unique talented individuals who are united through a shared passion to deliver autonomous systems that enable national resilience and a robust supply chain.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any factor including veteran and disability status and criminal history in accordance with applicable local state and federal laws.

Forterra is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.

To see Forterras candidate data privacy policy please visitForterra Legal Job Applicant Privacy Notice.