Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer

Liquidia is deeply passionate and committed to the discovery, engineering, and development required to bring novel therapies to patients who need them most, and to the healthcare providers who care for them. Our current drive is toward improving the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH). We will continue to combine our proprietary, innovative PRINT® Technology with new and established medications, offering the potential for both better precision and improved clinical outcomes. Our team members include some of the industry’s top scientists, clinicians, business strategists, engineers, and pharmaceutical executives. We work together to help people lead longer, healthier, and happier lives.

Job Summary
The Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer is the senior individual contributor and named technical owner of Liquidia's server, virtualization, cloud, and network estate across Liquidia's facilities, including manufacturing operations, in an environment subject to SOX, GxP, and 21 CFR Part 11 regulations. The role administers the Microsoft Azure environment and on-premises hypervisor and server infrastructure, owns the enterprise network including switching, wireless, security appliances, and redundant internet connectivity, and owns backup, replication, and recovery of the infrastructure estate. The role is expected to perform the work hands on as well as set direction for it, defining the technical roadmap for the environment, identifying and driving improvements, and directing contracted engineering and managed service resources. The role participates in GxP work alongside the Senior Computer Systems Engineer, including qualification and change control of GxP-supporting infrastructure, and builds to the security standards and configuration baselines defined by Cybersecurity.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, build, and operation of the server, storage, virtualization, and network estate across all Liquidia facilities, and define and maintain the technical roadmap for that environment, including capacity, lifecycle, modernization, and the sequencing of security control maturity remediation.
• Administer the Microsoft Azure environment, including subscriptions, virtual networking, infrastructure and platform workloads, hybrid connectivity, resource governance, and consumption monitoring.
• Administer on-premises hypervisor and server infrastructure, including Windows Server, clustering, storage, and lifecycle refresh planning.
• Own the enterprise network, including switching, wireless coverage and density, security appliances, segmentation and virtual network design, and redundant internet connectivity and failover across sites.
• Provide onsite engineering support for manufacturing and laboratory operations, including main and intermediate distribution frames, structured cabling coordination, and network dependencies for building management, environmental, and manufacturing systems.
• Own backup, replication, and recovery of the infrastructure estate, maintain documented restore procedures, and execute scheduled disaster recovery testing and complete its verification records, coordinating with the Senior Computer Systems Engineer on recovery of validated and GxP systems.
• Execute patching and remediation across server, network, and cloud infrastructure in accordance with the vulnerability management program, where prioritization and closure verification are performed by Cybersecurity.
• Build to the security standards and configuration baselines defined by Cybersecurity, support conformance review, and serve as documented secondary operator for enterprise security platforms.
• Direct contracted infrastructure and managed cloud service resources, including scope definition, scheduling, acceptance of delivered work, and escalation to the provider when delivery is not on plan.
• Identify and drive infrastructure improvement, modernization, and automation initiatives, evaluate emerging technologies, and present recommendations with cost, risk, and sequencing to IT leadership.
• Author and submit IT change control for infrastructure changes, and support qualification, validation, and periodic review of GxP-supporting infrastructure in coordination with Quality Assurance and the Computer System Validation function.
• Maintain infrastructure documentation, runbooks, network diagrams, and configuration and asset records to a standard that allows another engineer to operate the environment, with documented administrator procedures and secondary or emergency administrative access so that infrastructure operation is not dependent on a single individual.
• Perform capacity, performance, and lifecycle planning, and provide technical input to infrastructure budget, renewal, and procurement decisions.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Education and Experience

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive infrastructure engineering experience across server, virtualization, cloud, and network domains, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience.
• Demonstrated hands-on administration of Microsoft Azure, including virtual networking, hybrid connectivity, infrastructure workloads, backup, and cost management.
• Demonstrated hands-on administration of an enterprise hypervisor platform and Windows Server infrastructure, including clustering and storage.
• Demonstrated hands-on administration of enterprise network infrastructure, including switching, wireless, security appliances, segmentation, and redundant internet connectivity.
• Demonstrated experience owning backup, replication, and disaster recovery, including documented restore procedures and executed recovery testing.
• Demonstrated experience defining a technical roadmap and leading infrastructure modernization or migration programs to completion.
• Demonstrated experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or life sciences industry preferred, including working knowledge of GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, and infrastructure qualification practice.

Knowledge, Skills, and Capabilities

• Strong working knowledge of hybrid infrastructure architecture across on-premises and cloud, including identity integration, connectivity, workload placement, and cost and resilience trade-offs.
• Strong working knowledge of network design and troubleshooting, including routing, switching, wireless coverage and density, segmentation, and internet redundancy.
• Working knowledge of infrastructure security practice, including hardening baselines, patch management, remediation of scanned findings, and the ability to operate enterprise security platforms as a documented secondary.
• Working knowledge of SOX IT General Controls and GxP qualification as they apply to infrastructure change, access, and operations.
• Proficiency with automation and scripting to support consistent configuration and reduce manual operational work.
• Demonstrated ability to assess an existing environment, identify improvement opportunities, and produce a sequenced plan rather than maintaining the current state.
• Demonstrated ability to direct contracted and vendor resources to committed dates and deliverables, and to escalate promptly when delivery is not on plan.
• Capable of independent decision-making on infrastructure matters within defined scope, with sound judgment on when to escalate. Provides realistic dates and communicates schedule risk early.
• Strong technical writing skills suitable for design documentation, runbooks, and qualification records, and excellent verbal communication with manufacturing, quality, and senior stakeholders. Proficient in MS Office.

Benefits

Liquidia offers a competitive compensation package as well as a comprehensive benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD, 401(k) Savings Retirement Plan, ESPP, and more!

Liquidia is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Recruiting Agencies, Please Note:
Liquidia will not accept unsolicited assistance from recruiting/search agencies for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by recruiting or search agencies to any employee at Liquidia via email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search/recruitment agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Liquidia. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Liquidia as a result of the referral or through other means.