Virtualization and Systems Architect

Ritter Communications is the largest privately held telecommunications provider serving exclusively the Mid-South, offering world-class broadband fiber, telecom, video, cloud and data center services. The company has grown rapidly over the years, investing millions recently in technology infrastructure and is now serving 155 communities and more than 57,000 customers in Arkansas, Texas, Missouri and Tennessee. Headquartered in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Ritter Communications invests heavily in the communities it serves by deploying proven, best-in-class infrastructure and technology, while coupling it with a world-class customer-focused experience.

General Summary: 

The Virtualization and Systems Architect is responsible for the design and standardization of virtualization, bare metal infrastructure, and accompanying systems running within the company’s service provider environment.

This role requires an expert level understanding of private and public virtualization along with storage and disaster recovery.

Essential Job Functions: 

• Architecture Design: Architects storage, compute, and networking for all bare metal and virtual systems, while also meeting the company's needs for scalability, performance, and security;
• Cloud Solutions: Develops strategies for locally hosted cloud storage solutions and virtual environments;
• Performance Optimization: Monitors and optimizes storage performance, capacity planning, resource utilization, and licensing planning;
• Data Management: Ensures data integrity, availability, and security across all storage systems and virtual environments;
• Disaster Recovery: Designs and trains on disaster recovery solutions and backup strategies for cloud environments;
• Collaboration: Works closely with cross-functional teams, including Architecture, DevOps, Engineering groups, and security professionals, to ensure seamless integration of storage and virtualization solutions;
• Documentation: Maintains comprehensive documentation of architectures, configurations, and processes;
• Research and Development: Stays current with industry trends and emerging technologies to ensure our storage and virtualization strategies remain competitive;
• Support and Training: Provides technical support, training, scripting, and final escalation to operational and sales groups regarding storage and virtualization technologies;
• Budget Planning: Establishes lifecycles and budgets for all virtual environments and associated equipment;
• Network fabric: Works with the Architecture and operational groups on software defined cloud scale network fabric;
• Approves baselines of firmware, antivirus and security patches across all platforms;
• Leads change control by reviewing changes for technical accuracy and risk analysis;
• Partners with external vendors on solution architecture and procurement;
• Establishes and maintains policies, procedures, and technical documentation;
• Provides escalation for Sales and other engineering groups;
• Provides leadership to identify, manage, and resolve risks in a team environment;
• Works independently with little supervision on day-to-day tasks, receiving general instructions on new assignments;
• Supports systems in a 24x7 data center;
• Travels to project areas, business related events, and other Ritter Communications locations as required;
• Performs other duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:                                                     

• Deep understanding of virtualization systems on hyper-converged infrastructure including Microsoft Azure Stack HCI and VMware with vSAN;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to both technical and non-technical stakeholders;
• Proficient working with Microsoft Azure public and private cloud infrastructure;
• Comprehensive automation and scripting abilities (PowerShell, REST, Python, etc;)
• Strong understanding of data protection/business continuity industry standards (Veeam is a )
• Software defined networking experience, including Cisco ACI and Microsoft Windows;
• Working knowledge of System Center Virtual Machine Manager and VMware vCenter;
• Project management experience creating and maintaining project plans;
• Clear understanding of security best practices in multi-tenant environments;
• Experience working under compliance of industry standards, such as HIPPA, PCI, SOX, SOC2, and ISO 27001;
• Adept at strategic thinking, time management, and problem-solving;
• Technical familiarity with Microsoft Windows, Active Directory, identity & related cloud technologies;
• Able to create & deliver presentations on products and services to internal and external customers;
• Ability to travel for business requirements; must possess a valid Driver’s License with a satisfactory driving record.

Education and Experience:

BA or BS in information security, engineering, or related area or a minimum of 7 years’ Enterprise IT experience in Microsoft Windows Server, including System Center and cloud technologies with at least two of the preferred related certifications;

Preferred related certifications:

• VMCE (Veeam Certified Engineer)
• VMCA (Veeam Certified Architect)
• Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

Other experience / knowledge in the following is highly desired: 

• Cisco Nexus switches and APIC architecture
• Linux/UNIX 
• High-availability and clustering 
• Disaster recovery 
• Palo Alto