Virtualization Patching Engineer

TEKsystems•Waukesha, WI

4d•$55 - $65•Hybrid

About The Position

Our client is seeking a Nutanix Infrastructure Engineer for a 12‑month contract to support and stabilize a highly segmented virtualization environment during a critical infrastructure modernization initiative. This role will play a key part in maintaining platform health, executing patching activities—including dark site (air‑gapped) patching—and supporting ATC’s strategic transition away from VMware toward Nutanix. This is a hands‑on, operational infrastructure role requiring strong technical depth, disciplined execution, and clear communication in a secure, regulated utility environment.

Requirements

Dark site / air‑gapped patching
Nutanix infrastructure administration
VMware ESXi & vSphere
Virtualization & clustering
Prism (Element & Central)
SSH
Hardware lifecycle support
Nutanix AOS
ESXi on Nutanix (Nutanix hardware with embedded ESXi)
Windows Server environments
Firmware, vSwitches, VLANs
Critical infrastructure support
Hands‑on experience administering Nutanix infrastructure
Strong experience with dark site / air‑gapped patching
Prior ownership of platform patching and lifecycle maintenance
Experience performing or coordinating hardware repair activities
Familiarity with structured change management processes
Strong communication, documentation, and organizational skills
Prism Element storage cluster administration
Nutanix AOS 6.10+
Prism Element UI
SSH usage
Prism Central administration
AHV administration
Nutanix Lifecycle Manager (LCM)
Coordinated upgrades using both internet‑connected and dark site LCM repositories
Nutanix NCC health checks
Execution and interpretation of pre‑ and post‑patch cluster health reports
Hardware dependency awareness
UEFI vs. legacy BIOS, node generation compatibility
vCenter Server administration
Cluster management, DRS, host maintenance mode
vCenter Server patching and upgrades
Baseline management, version compatibility, post‑upgrade validation
ESXi host patching and upgrades
Baseline configuration, compatibility with Nutanix AOS and hardware generations
VMware–Nutanix compatibility awareness
Supported ESXi versions by AOS release and hardware platform
Nutanix / VMware HCI integration knowledge
Adherence to procedural documentation for virtualization upgrades
Test script execution and evidence gathering
Control validation and post‑upgrade control reviews
Change management and maintenance window coordination
VM workload awareness (criticality, restart tolerance, business impact)

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting regulated, critical infrastructure environments
Prior experience in utilities, energy, or highly secure enterprise organizations

Responsibilities

Perform operational support and maintenance across Nutanix clusters
Respond to and remediate hardware issues, including disk, DIMM, and drive failures
Be local and available for on‑site data center visits as needed, particularly during the first 30 days
Support system stability during patching cycles, including troubleshooting post‑patch component or hardware issues
Execute Nutanix patching across both internet‑connected and dark site environments
Perform limited VMware patching (environment is largely frozen and maintenance‑only)
Maintain platform uptime, security, and compliance through disciplined lifecycle management
Support ATC’s VMware/vSphere lifecycle timeline through October 2027
Validate system health before and after upgrades to ensure successful completion
Operate within enhanced security environments with no direct internet access
Utilize internal IIS servers and approved repositories for sourcing and applying patches
Effectively support a 50/50 split between public and dark site infrastructure
Follow strict procedural and control requirements in secure domains
Participate in structured change management and maintenance window planning
Communicate risk, status, and outcomes clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders
Maintain operational documentation, evidence collection, and upgrade validation artifacts
Operate with a high level of discipline appropriate for a regulated utility environment