IT Infrastructure Engineer (Hybrid Eligible)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory•Oak Ridge, TN

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking an IT Infrastructure Engineer to support the Knowledge Discovery Infrastructure (KDI), an isolated computing environment used by research projects involving sensitive unclassified datasets from federal agencies and national security organizations. The engineer will design, deploy, and sustain KDI’s computing infrastructure in a collaborative environment, supporting ORNL’s mission in national security, prosperity, and health. The position supports a multi-tenant virtualized research environment, including VMware Cloud Foundation and associated physical server, storage, and network systems. It also involves infrastructure lifecycle management, identity and remote-access services, backups, cybersecurity compliance, performance monitoring, troubleshooting, user support, and coordination with vendors and ORNL teams. The role works with scientific research users to develop solutions that balance research needs with cybersecurity requirements and provides off-hours support during system maintenance windows. This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Energy clearance and is designated for Workplace Substance Abuse Program testing. Visa sponsorship is unavailable. A hybrid/onsite arrangement may be available. ORNL employs more than 7,000 people and offers competitive pay and benefits, including medical and retirement plans, flexible work hours, and employee amenities.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, computer engineering, information technology, information systems, science, engineering, business, or a related discipline, and at least 8 years of IT infrastructure and Linux experience; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of the degree.
Ability to collaborate effectively in a team environment.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Energy clearance.
Pass a pre-placement drug test and participate in an ongoing random drug-testing program.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience managing a large virtualized environment and its supporting hardware and networking.
Experience with VMware ESXi, vCenter, VCF Operations, VCF Automation, and NSX.
Strong understanding of SR-IOV and PCI device sharing within ESXi, particularly virtualized GPUs.
Strong Microsoft PowerShell scripting skills for configuration, automation, and reporting; Bash scripting is beneficial.
In-depth understanding of networking concepts and design, particularly Layer 2 and Layer 3.
Experience managing identity and access management systems, including MFA, SSO, and zero-trust frameworks such as PingFederate, RSA SecureID, and Entra ID.
Experience with Linux systems, including RHEL 8/9 and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 LTS.
Experience with CIS hardening or STIGs.
Previous experience in a government, scientific, or other highly technical environment.
Ability to work in a dynamic environment, translate customer needs into actionable project plans, execute plans, and balance short-term high-priority tasks.
Moderate fluency in at least one scripting language such as Bash, Python, Ruby, Perl, or equivalent.
Experience implementing, maintaining, and assisting users with containerization software such as Podman and Docker.
Demonstrated ability to balance business needs and security requirements.
Familiarity with AI topics and scientific AI models such as LLMs.
Experience with one or more system management tools such as SCCM, Puppet, or Ansible.

Responsibilities

Assist in designing, integrating, and administering a multi-tenant virtualized research environment, including VMware Cloud Foundation and related physical servers, storage, and network systems.
Administer storage arrays and supporting infrastructure, including Fibre Channel, NFS, SMB, and S3.
Manage and maintain Active Directory services and identity management.
Manage and maintain the Omnissa Horizon remote-access environment.
Coordinate with manufacturers to update firmware and software on servers, Fibre Channel switches, storage arrays, and other hardware.
Manage and maintain backups of data and system configurations.
Coordinate hardware inventory and tracking with property management.
Coordinate hardware installation and maintenance in the data center with Facilities & Operations staff.
Assist with periodic reviews and audits of firewall rules.
Ensure compliance with DOE cybersecurity standards, configuration baselines, and operational policies.
Monitor system performance and troubleshoot system problems effectively.
Work with systems engineers and vendors to resolve hardware and software package issues.
Answer escalated KDI support calls in addition to primary project work.
Manage and direct networking architecture and firewall allowances.
Develop and document policies and procedures for system configurations, directions, and security hardening.
Work with scientific research users to determine their needs and balance them against cybersecurity requirements.
Provide off-hours support during system maintenance windows.
Align behaviors and interactions with ORNL’s values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service, and foster a respectful workplace and equal opportunity.