Next Step Systems is hiring a Senior Network/Infrastructure Engineer, Onsite in Charlotte, NC

Senior Network/Infrastructure Engineer, Onsite in Charlotte, NC We are seeking a Senior Network/Infrastructure Engineer with strong experience in designing, deploying, and supporting enterprise networks and modern infrastructure platforms. This hands-on role focuses on secure data transfer, infrastructure optimization, and day-to-day management of networking hardware, virtualization, and cloud workloads, with a strong bias toward automation and operational rigor. This position is 100% Onsite in Charlotte, NC. Senior Network/Infrastructure Engineer Responsibilities: Infrastructure Management - Own day-to-day operations of the VMware environment (vSphere/ESX/ESXi): lifecycle management, capacity, performance tuning, patching, upgrades, backup/DR coordination, and incident response. - Partner on the virtualization roadmap, including planning and execution for migration from VMware to Nutanix (or Nutanix-based platforms), minimizing downtime and risk. - Operate and optimize storage and compute platforms (e.g., Cisco UCS, SAN/NAS such as NetApp FAS/AFF, FlexPod), including performance troubleshooting and resilience planning. Cloud & Platform Operations - Manage and optimize Microsoft Azure workloads: networking, compute, storage, security controls, cost optimization, and operational monitoring. - Operate Kubernetes environments (cluster upgrades, reliability, networking, ingress, policy, and workload troubleshooting). - Build, deploy, and support Docker containerized applications and supporting infrastructure (registries, image hygiene, runtime security, scaling). - Implement and maintain load balancing solutions (L4/L7), including TLS configuration and operational monitoring. Network Engineering & Communications - Design, implement, and support enterprise data/voice/video networks across LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi. - Configure and support routing/switching and core network services (TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, VLANs, QoS, DHCP/DNS). - Administer and harden firewalls/VPNs (SonicWall, Cisco ASA, Palo Alto) and support secure remote access patterns. Security, Secure Transfers, and Compliance Support - Maintain secure internal and external data transfer mechanisms (e.g., SFTP/managed file transfer), including certificate/keys, access controls, and auditing. - Support vulnerability remediation, security hardening, and practical control implementation aligned to customer/security expectations (e.g., PCI/SOC-related controls where applicable). - Own SSL/TLS certificate lifecycle management across infrastructure components. Operational Excellence & Automation - Build repeatable, automated operations (Infrastructure-as-Code and configuration management preferred), reducing manual work and increasing reliability. - Improve observability and troubleshooting practices (monitoring, alerting, packet capture, traffic analysis) and drive root-cause prevention. - Participate in on-call/after-hours support rotations as needed for high-priority incidents and maintenance windows. Collaboration - Collaborate across internal teams and external vendors/clients to plan changes, execute upgrades, resolve incidents, and document outcomes. - Create and maintain clear technical documentation (runbooks, diagrams, standards) to improve operational consistency and knowledge sharing.