Manager, Datacenter and Systems Engineering

NinjaOne • Austin, TX

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a hands-on Manager, Datacenter and Systems Engineering to join the Platform Engineering organization and lead the transformation of our physical infrastructure. This role reports directly to the VP of Platform Engineering and involves managing the North Central Austin colocation environment, aiming to establish a stable, enterprise-grade datacenter operation. It is primarily a technical leadership position, requiring daily involvement in tasks such as building Terraform modules, defining golden image pipelines, managing DNS and Active Directory, setting up SNMP monitoring, and establishing standards for reproducibility and maintainability. Additionally, the manager will formally lead a team of three engineers, providing technical direction, conducting 1:1s, prioritizing tasks, and fostering their growth. The expectation is to lead by example, setting technical standards through action rather than just title. The candidate must reside in the greater Austin Area and be available to work onsite in the 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.
• 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.
• Managed or led a small technical team — 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.
• Willingness to learn and implement new hypervisors and 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: Reside within a commutable distance (approx. 30-45 mins) of North Central Austin and 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
• Education Level: Associate degree