Lead Backup & Recovery Engineer
About the job
- At least 8 years of hands-on engineering experience with enterprise backup and recovery platforms, including experience in a lead, principal, or architect capacity.
- A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, or a combination of education and experience.
- Experience leading enterprise-scale end-to-end migrations of backup systems, with accountability for cutover and validation.
- Ownership of data protection architecture across a large, heterogeneous estate.
- Experience establishing governance frameworks, standards, and service-level agreement reporting where none previously existed.
- Experience leading vendor selection, including request for proposal and request for information development, proof-of-concept evaluation, and formal recommendation.
- Background in requirements gathering, gap analysis, and formal solution documentation.
- Deep understanding of cloud backup and cloud storage tiering in at least one major provider: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or Google Cloud Platform, including object storage, archive tiers, lifecycle policies, and egress and cost implications.
- Working knowledge of storage technologies including storage area networks, network-attached storage, object storage, snapshots, and replication.
- Deep understanding of disaster recovery frameworks, recovery time objective and recovery point objective design, and disaster recovery testing methodologies.
- Experience designing immutable, ransomware-resilient, and air-gapped or isolated recovery architectures.
- Familiarity with Information Technology Infrastructure Library practices and formal change management processes.
- Ability to communicate technical risk, options, and recommendations to upper management and steering committees, and to defend architecture decisions under scrutiny.
- Own the enterprise data protection strategy and architecture across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
- Define and maintain backup, retention, recovery, and data lifecycle standards, including recovery point objective and recovery time objective objectives aligned to business requirements.
- Design and implement resilient, ransomware-resistant backup and recovery solutions using immutable, air-gapped, and isolated recovery capabilities.
- Establish standard protection patterns for virtual, physical, database, containerized, software-as-a-service, and cloud-native workloads.
- Lead evaluation, selection, implementation, migration, and lifecycle management of enterprise backup and recovery platforms.
- Develop disaster recovery architectures, replication strategies, failover and failback processes, and recovery testing programs that support business continuity objectives.
- Serve as the technical authority during disaster recovery exercises, audits, major incidents, and recovery events.
- Partner with Infrastructure, Cloud, Security, Storage, Database, and Application teams to ensure data protection requirements are incorporated into solution designs.
- Define governance, compliance, and security controls supporting regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, ISO 27001, and internal security standards.
- Own resource planning, performance management, growth forecasting, licensing strategy, and cost optimization for backup and recovery environments.
- Establish reporting, dashboards, indicators, and service-level metrics to communicate protection coverage, recovery readiness, risk exposure, and operational performance.
- Drive automation initiatives to improve scalability, consistency, and operational efficiency across the backup estate.
- Lead vendor relationships, product roadmap discussions, proof-of-concept evaluations, and technology recommendations.
- Provide technical leadership, mentoring, design reviews, and escalation support for backup and recovery engineering teams.
- Maintain hands-on technical involvement in architecture validation, complex problem solving, platform upgrades, and critical implementations.
- Experience with multiple enterprise backup and recovery platforms, including complex or post-acquisition environments.
- Experience developing and presenting data protection strategies within regulated industries.
- Strong knowledge of enterprise database protection and application-consistent recovery using Oracle, SQL Server, SAP, and PostgreSQL.
- Experience protecting Kubernetes, containerized, cloud-native, and software-as-a-service workloads, including Microsoft 365.
- Proficiency with scripting, automation, and infrastructure-as-code methodologies.
- Experience supporting budgeting, licensing strategy, vendor negotiations, and cost optimization initiatives.
- Demonstrable ability to drive continuous improvement, service modernization, and operational excellence.
- Vendor certifications in enterprise backup and recovery platforms.
- Professional-level cloud certifications for Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or Google Cloud Platform.
- Information Technology Infrastructure Library certification.
About the company
Ferguson supplies and ships plumbing, heating, HVAC and other building and industrial products to professional customers. Its network includes about 1,700 locations and a workforce of around 36,000 associates serving customers in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Caribbean. The company sources, stores and delivers a wide range of products, offering expertise and services to support projects and maintenance, delivered through its extensive distribution and customer-facing teams. Compared with competitors, Ferguson differentiates itself through its large geographic reach, deep inventory and a focus on reliable, partnership-driven service for professionals. Its stated goal is to be a trusted partner that helps professionals “build better,” embodied in its slogan Together We Build Better.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Newport News, Virginia
Founded
1887
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Q2 2026 sales rose 4.6% to $8.8 billion, with guidance raised.
- Non-residential revenue grew 8% in Q2, driven by large capital projects.
- Eight 2026 acquisitions added roughly $1.4 billion annualized revenue and deepened local density.
What critics are saying
- Canada remained soft in 2026, and divestitures masked flat-to-down regional performance.
- FloWorks adds $1.6 billion integration risk while net debt rose to 1.3x.
- Digital rollout at limited branches risks slow adoption, preserving counter friction and margin pressure.
What makes Ferguson unique
- Ferguson owns 1,700 locations and 35,000 associates, enabling dense local service.
- Sales Cockpit unifies counter workflows, speeding quotes and closes for contractors.
- FloWorks lifts Ferguson into technical valves and flow control, expanding to $400 billion.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
401(k) Company Match
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Holidays
Paid Parental Leave
Mental Health Support
Wellness Program
Associate Discounts
Community Involvement Opportunities
Company News
UDig, Ferguson launch Sales Cockpit to streamline counter Sales. September 22, 2026 UDig designed and built Sales Cockpit with Ferguson, a value-added distributor of commercial and residential supplies servicing plumbing, HVAC, and other trade professionals. UDig creates digital experiences and frontline tools people want to use. The collaboration brings many of the sales systems Ferguson's counter associates use every day into one interface, cutting down on any back-and-forth between systems when contractors are waiting at the counter. Sales Cockpit is currently in initial deployment at a limited number of Ferguson branches with plans to expand in the months ahead. Contractors run on tight schedules, and every minute at the counter is a minute they're not on a job site. Sales Cockpit is designed to help associates search, quote, and close orders without switching screens so they can get contractors back on the road faster. The platform also brings Ferguson's modernized payment technology into the counter workflow. "Contractors don't have time to spare, and the associates helping them don't either," said Gordon Kelly, executive vice oresident at UDig. "We started by getting clear on what makes Ferguson different at the counter, then built alongside associates in their branches to drive adoption. We leveraged AI-native delivery to shorten cycle times and build quickly. The result is that associates can stay focused on the person in front of them, with the systems behind the counter working quietly in the background." "Sales Cockpit brings the systems our associates use every day into one cohesive, intuitive interface, built around the workflows and flexibility our associates already know," said Jeff Walbert, senior vice president of operations at Ferguson. "Working with UDig, we moved quickly without losing that focus. I'm looking forward to seeing how these improvements help our teams serve customers with greater speed and build on the strong relationships that define Ferguson." UDig will share more about Sales Cockpit and its work with Ferguson to support trade professionals at the Industrial Supply Association Fall Summit, Oct. 27 in San Antonio, Texas.
How national distributors decide where to build next. Sep 3, 2026 Where a distribution center goes matters. See how nationwide building, land cover, and parking data help distributors identify the right sites faster. Facility placement is a speed problem before it's a real estate problem. Get a distribution network's geography wrong, and no amount of warehouse automation fixes the extra day it takes a truck to reach a customer three states away. Why site selection matters. For a company running dozens of distribution centers and hundreds of branches, where a building sits determines what a customer actually experiences: an order that arrives next-day instead of two days late, a delivery route that runs efficiently instead of wastefully, or a new metro area that gets served well instead of left thin. Ferguson, the building-products distributor, put it plainly when announcing a new Ohio facility: "Our distribution centers are the heart of our supply chain," said Al Byrd, the company's senior vice president of supply chain. The site itself shows the logic in practice: a 400,000-square-foot distribution center on a 77-acre site in Celina, Ohio, chosen specifically for its proximity to Ferguson's other Midwest locations, letting the company reach customers even next-day. None of those decisions get made on a hunch. They get made by comparing dozens or hundreds of candidate sites against the same set of questions: how big is the available parcel, what's already built on it, how close is it to the customers and suppliers that matter, and how much room is there to expand later. The evaluation process. Answering those questions at the scale a national network operates at means working from data that covers the whole country consistently, not a patchwork of local surveys pulled together site by site. A network strategy team comparing a candidate site in Texas against one in Oregon needs both evaluated the same way, on the same resolution, updated on the same schedule, or the comparison isn't really apples to apples. If you're evaluating a single site, this is easier than it sounds. You commission a survey, you walk the property, you make the call. The moment you're comparing that site against dozens of others in different states, the math changes. You can't schedule a site visit for every candidate before a quarterly planning deadline, and you can't trust a different local vendor in each state to have measured a parking lot or a floodplain the same way. What you need instead is one dataset, built the same way everywhere, so a site in Ohio and a site in Texas are actually being judged on the same terms. That's where building footprint and land cover data earn their keep. Knowing the precise footprint, height, and layout of what's already built on a parcel tells a site-selection team how much of a lot is usable before they ever schedule a site visit. Land cover data shows what's actually on the ground around a candidate site, pavement, vegetation, open land, which shapes both site readiness and how much future expansion room realistically exists. And because a distribution center's footprint typically includes acres of parking and staging area, parking and lot data matter just as much as the building itself when comparing candidate sites for truck court capacity and dock access. What the data needs to deliver. EarthDefine's Building Footprints 3D dataset covers over 183 million commercial and residential structures across the continental United States, derived from LiDAR and 60-centimeter-resolution aerial imagery, precise enough to distinguish a building from the trees around it. Land Cover and Impervious datasets classify what's on the ground at the same resolution, and Parking lot data maps and staging capacity directly. All three are built to be compared consistently, market to market, which makes a nationwide site-selection process comparable rather than relying on region-specific data. Good data narrows a long list of candidates down to the handful worth that kind of scrutiny; it doesn't replace the scrutiny itself.
Ferguson HVAC sales rise 11% amid mixed markets. August 19, 2026 Distribution giant Ferguson Enterprises Inc. reported solid second-quarter sales despite what company officials said was an uncertain economic climate, a sluggish U.S. residential market, and "tough" markets in Canada. CEO Kevin Murphy and CFO Bill Brundage were upbeat about the remainder of the year as they discussed the quarter's financial results during an August 10 call with investors. Investor guidance was upgraded, with company officials predicting mid-single-digit sales growth for 2026, up from low- to mid-single-digit growth. "Our associates continued to execute for our customers, driving market outperformance in the second quarter," said Murphy in a press release. "We delivered another strong quarter of non-residential growth and we returned to growth in residential despite the challenging market backdrop." Sales by Ferguson's HVAC group were up 11% for the quarter, Murphy said during the call. "This was principally driven by healthy organic performance alongside contributions from M&A," Murphy told investors, referring to mergers and acquisitions. Ferguson acquired three HVAC-related companies, including two distributors, during the quarter. Ferguson is a major distributor of HVAC products, though its HVAC group typically accounts only for roughly 11% or 12% of U.S. sales. HVAC products, however, may also be included in sales reported by other Ferguson customer groups, such as the commercial/mechanical and industrial groups. The company, which also distributes appliances plus plumbing, waterworks, lighting, fire protection, and building products, does not categorize sales by product type. Sales in the commercial/mechanical group, Murphy said, were up 15%, led by growth in the data centers, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and general manufacturing sectors. Sales in the industrial group were up 18%, driven by growth in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, chemical, and power-generation markets, Murphy said. Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, its new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS Ferguson's overall sales for the quarter were $8.8 billion, a year-over-year increase of $4.6%. The gross profit margin was 31%, a decrease of less than 1%. "We expect to continue delivering market outperformance by deploying scale locally and leveraging the long-term growth drivers of water infrastructure, large capital projects, climate and comfort, and aging and underbuilt housing," Murphy said. In the U.S., the company said, the residential end market, which accounts for about half of company revenue, "remained subdued," with weak new construction activity and "soft" home repair, maintenance, and improvement market. Nevertheless, residential revenue was up 2% for the quarter. The non-residential sector was healthier, the press release said, and saw an 8% revenue increase for Ferguson in the quarter. "Our scale, expertise, multi-customer group approach, and value-added solutions drove strong share gains in a mixed market," the press release said. "Large capital project activity remained healthy with growth in open-order volumes and strong bidding activity." In Canada, net sales were down 1.9%, as growth of 1.7% was offset by 3.6% because of the divestment of a non-core business. "Markets have remained challenging in Canada, particularly in residential," the company's press release said. Overall, through the first six months of the year, Ferguson's sales were just over $16.2 billion, a 4.2% increase over the first six months of 2025. Ferguson completed five acquisitions during the second quarter, including, for its HVAC group, the distributors Carrier Great Lakes, which has seven locations across Michigan and Ohio, and Dealers Supply Co., which has 17 locations in the Southeast. For its commercial/mechanical group, it acquired New England Applied Products, a manufacturers' representative and engineering firm specializing in commercial HVAC in the Northeast. Looking for a reprint of this article? From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today! SPONSORED BY Hi there. I'm Ask ACHR NEWS. You can ask me anything about HVACR trends, news, and insights. Go ahead, type something below, and let's get started! Matt Jachman is an editor at the ACHR NEWS. He has 30-plus years of experience in community journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from Wayne State University in Detroit. JOIN TODAY To unlock your recommendations. Already have an account? Sign In
Discounted heat pump program kicks off second year in Thurston County. Thurston County Commissioner Tye Menser listens to a presentation during a business meeting recognizing Agriculture Day, International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, and World Frog Day at The Atrium in Olympia on Tuesday, March 17. Ridley Hudson / File photo Posted Monday, August 17, 2026 3:19 pm By The Chronicle staff Thurston County, the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater, and South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity are launching the second year of the Energize Thurston heat pump campaign. Energize Thurston provides discounts, instant rebates and customer support to help Thurston County residents purchase and install efficient, electric heat pump equipment for home heating and cooling and water heating, a news release stated. A limited number of free and low-cost installations will be available to income-qualified households. The campaign will take place in two phases. Phase 1, which began Aug. 17, will offer all interested residents access to equipment discounts, customer support and free site assessments from certified installers. Phase 1 will also provide subsidized installations for qualifying applicants on the program's existing waitlist. Phase 2, starting in October, will be open to new applicants with household incomes below 120% of the Thurston County area median income (AMI), who may qualify for funds to cover 80-100% of equipment and installation costs. "Our Energize Thurston partnership secured grant funding over and above last year to expand this program to more of our Thurston County community in 2026," Chair of the Board of County Commissioners Tye Menser said in the release. "Last year, local homeowners installed 227 new heat pump systems, saving each household thousands of dollars, and we're anticipating the savings will only grow as this program expands." South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity was awarded $4.17 million in grants for Energize Thurston in 2026-2027. This includes $3,071,333 from Washington state Department of Commerce's Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate (HEAR) program, $750,000 from Puget Sound Energy's Residential Decarbonization Program, and $350,000 from Washington State University's Community Energy Efficiency Program. The HEAR and PSE grants are both funded through Washington's Climate Commitment Act. Energize Thurston is a regional initiative of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative, an ongoing partnership among Thurston County, Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. On behalf of the partnership, the City of Olympia has contracted with two wholesale distributors of heat pump equipment, Thermal Supply Inc. and Ferguson Enterprises, to serve the countywide program. The distributors will provide discounts across a range of equipment options and will oversee a roster of highly qualified HVAC and plumbing contractors. Heat pumps provide highly efficient, all-electric space heating and water heating, plus the added benefit of air conditioning to make homes more comfortable in the summer months. Interested homeowners are encouraged to visit www.energizethurston.org where they can register for a free educational workshop, find a list of certified installers, and schedule a free site assessment.
The Beringer Group announces the sale of Rogers Supply Company, Inc. to Ferguson Plumbing Supply, LLC. The Beringer Group is pleased to announce that The Beringer Group served as the exclusive financial advisor on the sell-side transaction of Rogers Supply Company, Inc. to Ferguson Plumbing Supply, LLC. About Rogers Supply Company, Inc. Rogers Supply Company, Inc. is a leading distributor of HVAC/R equipment, parts, and supplies, serving contractors and customers across its markets. The company has built a strong reputation for industry expertise, quality products, and dependable customer service. The transaction was led by Brad Williams, Managing Director of Strategic Business Advisors. About Ferguson Plumbing Supply, LLC Ferguson Plumbing Supply, LLC is a leading value-added distributor of plumbing, HVAC, waterworks, and related products and solutions serving residential and non-residential construction markets. The acquisition of Rogers Supply Company, Inc. expands Ferguson's HVAC/R distribution capabilities and strengthens its presence in Rogers Supply's markets, supporting the company's continued growth and commitment to serving trade professionals and customers.