Principal Service Engineer
Role Summary
The Principal Service Engineer (4P) is a consultative technical leader focused on on-prem infrastructure engineering, with deep expertise in VMware, Windows Server, virtualization operations, and related enterprise platform services. This role is responsible for platform architecture, service reliability, lifecycle management, automation, monitoring, backup and recovery readiness, and infrastructure modernization across enterprise data center environments. The role combines strong hands-on technical depth with consulting capability, operational leadership, and executive stakeholder engagement across global teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide consulting and advisory services for VMware, Windows Server, on-prem infrastructure architecture, virtualization reliability, and operational engineering
- Lead VMware and Windows platform architecture, design reviews, lifecycle planning, and modernization roadmaps for on-prem environments
- Define and govern platform standards for virtualization, Windows server operations, monitoring, backup, patching, and automation
- Drive data center modernization, platform consolidation, hardware refresh, and VMware lifecycle initiatives
- Lead capacity planning, performance optimization, and infrastructure cost efficiency across VMware and Windows environments
- Act as the primary technical advisor for on-prem infrastructure services, including coordination with healthcare customers, OEMs, and third-party vendors
- Define automation and configuration management approaches using PowerShell, Ansible, Terraform, and GitHub to improve VMware and Windows platform consistency
- Lead complex platform incidents, escalation management, root cause analysis, and service recovery across enterprise on-prem environments
- Apply continuous improvement methodologies to reduce recurring platform issues and improve service stability
- Mentor senior engineers and influence long-term technical direction
- Present platform architecture decisions, service health trends, capacity outlook, risk assessments, and modernization priorities to leadership
Required Skills & Experience
- 10+ years of experience in on-prem infrastructure engineering, virtualization architecture, or enterprise platform consulting
- Deep expertise in VMware, Windows Server, Active Directory, virtualization operations, and enterprise data center services
- Strong knowledge of storage, backup, disaster recovery, patching, monitoring, and server lifecycle management
- Strong background in automation, monitoring, incident management, and operational engineering for enterprise platforms
- Demonstrated experience in data center modernization, platform consolidation, infrastructure refresh, or migration programs
- Proven consulting experience in customer-facing roles
- Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills
Certifications (Preferred)
- VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) or VMware Certified Implementation Expert (VCIX)
- Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate or equivalent Windows infrastructure certification
- ITIL 4 Managing Professional or equivalent service operations certification
- Veeam, backup/recovery, or related infrastructure platform certifications would be good to have
- Six Sigma Green Belt or higher
- Certifications in monitoring, backup, or automation tools would be good to have
Good to Have (Strategic & Consulting Differentiators)
- Deep experience in Healthcare IT enterprise architectures and vendor ecosystems
- Leadership roles in large-scale data center modernization, virtualization refresh, consolidation, or migration programs
- Proven success in capacity management, service resilience, and operational governance
- Experience advising CIOs, CISOs, or clinical leadership
- Ownership of global infrastructure reliability, observability, or operational excellence programs