Storage Engineer

Ignite IT•Suitland-Silver Hill, MD

About The Position

The U.S. Department of Census is seeking an experienced and highly technical Storage Engineer to manage and maintain our mission-critical enterprise storage and Storage Area Network (SAN) infrastructure. This position is responsible for the complete lifecycle management of our storage solutions, ensuring the integrity, performance, and availability of data supporting vital national programs. The successful candidate will be an expert in IBM FlashSystem 9200 and 9500 storage arrays and possess deep knowledge of IBM Spectrum Control for management, Galileo for performance analytics, and SANnav for Brocade SAN fabric management. You will oversee a complex, multi-petabyte environment, ensuring robust data protection, disaster recovery, and seamless resource provisioning.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen.
Must be able to pass a background investigation to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or 4+ additional years of equivalent experience).
7+ years of dedicated experience as a Storage Engineer or SAN Administrator in a large-scale data center environment.
Expert-level (5+ years) proficiency with IBM enterprise storage, specifically hands-on management of the IBM FlashSystem 9200 series.
Strong (3+ years) experience managing Brocade SAN fabrics (Director-class) and demonstrated expertise using SANnav for administration and monitoring.
Demonstrated (2+ years) professional proficiency with IBM Spectrum Control for storage resource management and Galileo for performance analysis.
In-depth knowledge of Fibre Channel, FC-NVMe, zoning, and multi-pathing (MPIO).
Proven experience with data replication, backup, and recovery strategies.

Nice To Haves

Active Public Trust clearance.
Relevant industry certifications: IBM Certified Specialist - FlashSystem Brocade Certified SAN Administrator (BCSA)
Experience with scripting and automation for storage tasks (Python, Ansible, or shell scripting).
Experience working within a federal government IT environment and familiarity with federal security compliance standards (NIST 800-53, FISMA).
Experience with storage solutions for virtualized environments (VMware, Hyper-V).

Responsibilities

Design, configure, install, and maintain IBM FlashSystem 9200 and 9500 storage arrays.
Manage all aspects of storage provisioning, including LUN creation, masking, and volume management.
Implement and manage data replication services (Global Mirror, Metro Mirror) for disaster recovery and high availability.
Perform firmware upgrades, patching, and hardware replacements on storage arrays and controllers.
Manage and maintain the enterprise Brocade SAN fabric across multiple data centers.
Utilize SANnav for fabric management, zoning (standard and enhanced), performance monitoring, and troubleshooting.
Ensure SAN health, security, and compliance with best practices.
Proactively monitor storage performance and health using IBM Spectrum Control and Galileo Performance Explorer.
Analyze performance metrics to identify bottlenecks, troubleshoot latency issues, and ensure service level agreements (SLAs).
Conduct comprehensive capacity planning, forecasting future storage needs, and generating regular reports for stakeholders.
Serve as the senior escalation point for all storage and SAN-related incidents.
Collaborate with virtualization, server, and database teams to provision storage and resolve complex cross-domain issues.
Develop and maintain system documentation, operational procedures (SOPs), and data maps.
Implement and validate security controls in accordance with NIST and FISMA guidelines.
Participate in an on-call rotation for 24/7/365 operational support.