Manager, Datacenter and Systems Engineering

NinjaOne • Austin, TX

23h • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a hands-on Manager, Datacenter and Systems Engineering to join Platform Engineering organization and own the transformation of our physical infrastructure. Reporting directly to the VP of Platform Engineering, you will manage our North Central Austin colocation environment, transforming our datacenter into a stable, enterprise-grade operation. This is a technical leadership role first. You will be in the work every day: building Terraform modules, defining golden image pipelines, cleaning up DNS and AD, standing up SNMP monitoring, and setting the standards that make the environment reproducible and maintainable. You will also formally manage a team of three engineers — setting direction, running 1:1s, handling prioritization, and growing the people around you. The expectation is that you lead by example: the team follows your technical standard because you set it, not just because of your title. You must be in the greater Austin Area and able to be onsite in our datacenter 2-3 days a week.

Requirements

• 8+ years of infrastructure or systems engineering experience with demonstrated hands-on depth in VMware (vSphere/ESXi/vCenter), Linux systems administration, and infrastructure automation.
• You have a proven track record of walking into complex, unstructured environments and implementing standards, organization, and stability.
• Strong Linux fundamentals: you can build, debug, and automate on Linux without supervision.
• You have managed or led a small technical team — you are comfortable with the formal responsibilities of management (1:1s, prioritization, accountability) while remaining deeply hands-on in the technical work. You lead by example, not just by title.
• You have a willingness to learn and implement new hypervisors and are comfortable managing non-standard hardware (Mac minis, ARM devices) alongside enterprise servers.
• Solid working knowledge of core systems services — Active Directory, DNS, DHCP — and experience cleaning up environments where these have been managed informally.
• Hybrid Availability: You reside within a commutable distance (approx. 30-45 mins) of North Central Austin and are willing to be onsite at the colo 2–3 days a week.
• Associate's or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent work experience.

Nice To Haves

• Networking fluency is a plus — you don't need to be the network architect (we have one), but you need to understand what the network team is building and integrate with it effectively.
• Enterprise networking experience in the datacenter or the cloud is not necessary but it is a bonus.

Responsibilities

• Drive the Modernization: Lead the transition from a manual, undocumented environment to infrastructure-as-code — Terraform, Ansible, image-based server provisioning, and automated deployment pipelines.
• Own the Systems Layer: Take ownership of the systems foundation: Active Directory cleanup and governance, DNS and DHCP standards, golden image builds, PXE provisioning, and SNMP monitoring from scratch.
• VMware Ownership: Manage our VMware environment (~50 ESXi hosts, vCenter) through the current storage migration and into the next phase of the virtualization strategy, including evaluation of hypervisor alternatives.
• Physical DC Operations: Maintain standards in a 9-rack colocation cage — cabling discipline, rack layout, power management, hardware lifecycle. Leave everything better than you found it.
• Team Leadership: Formally manage a team of three engineers — set technical direction, run regular 1:1s, drive prioritization, and serve as the escalation point for critical infrastructure issues. You are the technical authority for the team and the person accountable for its output.
• Stakeholder Integration: Work with SRE, corporate IT, and production engineering teams to understand requirements and deliver reliable, well-documented infrastructure.
• Other duties as needed.

Benefits

• We are a collaborative, kind, and curious community.
• We honor your flexibility needs with full-time work that is hybrid remote.
• We have you covered with our comprehensive benefits package, which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• We help you prepare for your financial future with our 401(k) plan.
• We prioritize your work-life balance with our unlimited PTO.
• We reward your work with opportunity for growth and advancement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager