Virtual Desktop Engineer

GovCIO is seeking an experienced Virtual Desktop Engineer to engineer, administer, and optimize virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) supporting the 616th Operations Center (616 OC) and 616th Air and Space Communications Squadron (616 ACOMS). The ideal candidate is expected to independently own assigned VDI engineering and sustainment activities, serve as an escalation resource for complex virtual desktop issues, identify emerging infrastructure problems, and drive solutions through implementation, validation, automation, and documentation. The position delivers reliable, secure virtual desktops and applications and administers Linux systems supporting virtualization and related mission services. This full-time position is located onsite in San Antonio, Texas.

Responsibilities

Designs, implements, and maintains virtual desktop infrastructure and supports Windows and Linux systems in accordance with mission requirements. Defining system configurations, integration requirements, and performance standards for virtual desktops, applications, and supporting infrastructure. Develops and maintains desktop images, provisioning processes, user environments, and automation to ensure consistent service delivery. Integrates virtualization platforms with network, storage, authentication, and security services. Implement system hardening, patching, monitoring, and recovery procedures to maintain security and availability. Resolves complex technical issues, maintains system documentation, and evaluates performance with customers to ensure operational requirements are met.

• Engineer, deploy, configure, and sustain Omnissa Horizon (formerly VMware Horizon) and its supporting VMware vSphere, vCenter, ESXi, and vSAN infrastructure; evaluate capacity, availability, and performance against mission requirements.
• Create and maintain Windows and Linux golden images and instant-clone desktop pools, including image versioning, snapshot management, Horizon Agent configuration, image publishing and push operations, provisioning configurations, application delivery, and user environment settings; test and validate changes before production deployment.
• Administer Horizon Connection Servers, desktop assignments, user access policies, Omnissa Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM), profile and environment management, and application virtualization capabilities, including App Volumes and ThinApp where deployed.
• Troubleshoot instant-clone and desktop provisioning failures, logon delays, profile issues, application delivery, and session connectivity; diagnose dependencies involving compute, storage, networking, authentication, Horizon Agent, and display protocols.
• Monitor resource utilization and user experience; tune desktop and infrastructure configurations, plan capacity, and implement corrective actions to reduce service interruptions.
• Apply patches, upgrades, Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), and Technical Compliance Notification Orders (TCNOs); remediate vulnerabilities and document compliance results.
• Automate provisioning, image maintenance, health checks, and recurring administration through PowerShell, PowerCLI, or other appropriate scripting tools.
• Maintain architecture diagrams, configuration baselines, operating procedures, and recovery instructions; coordinate approved changes, backup and restore validation, and technical support with network, storage, cybersecurity, and service desk personnel.
• Install, configure, patch, and harden Linux servers and desktops, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and other supported distributions, with emphasis on systems supporting VDI and virtualization services.
• Administer Linux accounts, permissions, services, storage, repositories, logging, and host firewalls; troubleshoot operating system and application dependencies using command-line tools.
• Support Red Hat Satellite patching, content and repository management, and subscription administration where deployed; use Ansible, Bash, or Python to automate routine maintenance.
• Monitor Linux system health, support backups and recovery, implement security controls, and maintain configuration and troubleshooting documentation.

Qualifications

High school diploma with 10 or more years of relevant experience, or commensurate experience. Demonstrated engineering and operational experience with enterprise virtual desktop environments and practical Linux administration capability are required.

Required Skills and Experience

• Clearance Required: Top Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) access eligibility.
• Information Assurance Technical (IAT) Level II certification, such as CompTIA Security+ or equivalent; satisfy applicable contract and assigned work-role qualification requirements.
• At least 10 years of relevant enterprise IT infrastructure, virtualization, systems engineering, or VDI experience, including substantial hands-on experience engineering and administering Omnissa Horizon enterprise VDI environments.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with vSphere, vCenter, ESXi, Horizon Connection Servers, Windows and Linux master images, and instant-clone desktop pools, including image versioning, snapshot management, Horizon Agent integration, image publishing and push operations, provisioning failures, clone lifecycle troubleshooting, application virtualization, and user profile or environment management.
• Working knowledge of Active Directory, Domain Name System (DNS), Network Time Protocol (NTP), TCP/IP, virtual local area networks (VLANs), routing, storage dependencies, and PCoIP and Blast display protocols.
• Ability to administer enterprise Linux systems, perform command-line troubleshooting, apply patches, manage repositories and services, and implement system hardening.
• Experience applying STIGs, managing TCNO compliance, remediating vulnerabilities, and maintaining secure configurations in a controlled production environment.
• Demonstrated PowerShell scripting experience for VDI or Windows infrastructure administration, including the ability to develop, modify, troubleshoot, and maintain production administrative scripts; ability to maintain accurate technical documentation, communicate clearly, independently prioritize mission support requirements, and serve as an escalation resource for complex VDI issues.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience supporting Department of Defense networks and mission systems, including infrastructure upgrades, migrations, backup and restore operations, and recovery testing.
• Five or more years of hands-on Horizon engineering or administration experience in enterprise environments; advanced PowerShell and VMware PowerCLI experience automating image lifecycle management, provisioning, health checks, reporting, capacity analysis, or bulk administration; Ansible, Bash, or Python experience; Red Hat Satellite provisioning, content management, and Hammer command-line interface experience.
• Experience creating and sustaining RHEL-based Omnissa Horizon instant-clone pools, including master image preparation, Horizon Agent configuration, Active Directory or SSSD integration, image publishing, and authentication or session troubleshooting; experience with Citrix or comparable virtual desktop platforms, storage area networks, and performance monitoring.
• Working knowledge of the Elastic Stack, including Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana, and Beats, for Linux-hosted service support.
• VMware Certified Professional credentials in desktop virtualization or data center virtualization; Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE); relevant Microsoft certifications.
• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or a related field.

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Posted Salary Range

USD $140,000.00 - USD $165,000.00 /Yr.