Senior IT Systems and Infrastructure Engineer

About the role
You'll join Forterra's IT Infrastructure team as a hands-on engineer across our on-prem virtualization, storage, and backup platforms and the hybrid cloud identity layer above them.

The team runs real hardware it is accountable for: Proxmox clusters, NetApp storage, Veeam and Proxmox Backup Server, and a Microsoft GCC High tenant spanning Entra ID and Azure Government, alongside AWS, Palo Alto, and Juniper. When we stand up infrastructure at a new site, you'll be in the room shaping it and on the ground deploying it.

We're looking for a generalist: someone equally comfortable hardening a Windows Server baseline, debugging a Debian kernel issue on a Proxmox node, and reasoning about Conditional Access policy in a GCC High tenant. The breadth is the point, and so is picking up what the team needs that week rather than defending a narrow specialty. If you've built range across the stack and want to use all of it alongside people who will push back on your thinking, this is that role.

You'll work inside a compliance-driven environment (CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, ISO 27001) that shapes design decisions rather than blocking them, partnering daily with Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, and Development.

Travel for this role is roughly 5% for site deployments across Forterra locations. Because we run IT for the business rather than a customer-facing service, the after-hours rotation is shared across the team and call-outs are rare.

What you'll do

• Run and evolve our Proxmox VE clusters and NetApp storage: capacity, performance, upgrades, lifecycle.

• Administer Entra ID and Azure Government in our GCC High tenant, plus Active Directory and Intune, working with Cybersecurity on policy and controls. AWS where it fits.

• Administer and harden Windows Server and Ubuntu/Debian: patching, security baselines, compliance evidence.

• Design infrastructure at enterprise scale with Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, and Development.

• Shape disaster recovery and business continuity for cloud and on-prem services on Veeam and Proxmox Backup Server.

• Extend our configuration-as-code practice in Ansible, turning manual work into repeatable systems for the whole team.

What We're Looking For

Mission-First Mindset - We put the needs of the mission and our customers first and understand that the US and its allies have no preordained right to victory in any future conflict.

Ownership Mentality - We're looking for owners; those who have a natural bias to assume responsibility, a healthy dose of skepticism, and contribute to a culture of performance.

Technical Aptitude and Intellectual Curiosity - We are first and foremost a technology company, and this role requires genuine curiosity to operate across a broad, evolving infrastructure stack rather than staying within a narrow specialty.

Structured Thinker and Problem Solver - Supporting critical infrastructure requires clear communication, sound triage judgment, and the ability to distill complex problems into their essential, actionable components, especially under after-hours pressure.

360 Degree Leader - We are a non-hierarchical organization with a matrix structure that is dynamic and evolving. We expect you to be self-aware enough to recognize your position of unstated leadership within the company, and to lead and influence through both formal and informal channels.

What We Need

• Hands-on Windows Server administration: patching, hardening, compliance.

• Hands-on Linux administration (Ubuntu/Debian), ideally in a virtualization context.

• Production experience running on-prem virtualization: Proxmox, VMware, Hyper-V, or similar. We care that you've run a platform, not which one.

• Strong Entra ID and Azure experience, plus Active Directory and Intune.

• Experience designing and deploying infrastructure at enterprise scale, ideally across multiple sites.

• A collaborative default: you document what you build, hand off cleanly, and would rather the team be able to run something than be the only one who can.

What We Love to See

• GCC High or Azure Government. A real advantage, but we'll teach a strong engineer the sovereign-cloud specifics.

• Proxmox VE specifically, or NetApp administration.

• Ansible or equivalent configuration-as-code in production.

• Enterprise networking exposure (Palo Alto, Juniper, SD-WAN).

• Defense, government contracting, or other regulated-industry background.

US Salary Range
$150,000—$175,000

The salary range for this role is an estimate and is based on a wide variety of compensation factors. The salary offered to candidates will vary based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to) relevant work experience, education, specialized training, critical expertise, training, and more. Equity in Forterra is included in most of our full-time, high-demand roles and is therefore considered part of Forterra’s overall compensation package. In addition to base salary and equity, Forterra offers competitive benefits for full-time employees including:

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: Three plan options, including an HSA-eligible plan, with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for you and your dependents.
• Basic Life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance plans 100% covered by Forterra, plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents.
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a winter break in December.
• Competitive paid time off (PTO) offering 20 days accrued per year.
• A minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth/adoption.
• A $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend.
• Fully stocked beverage refrigerators with all the Celsius your little heart desires.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan, including traditional, Roth 401(k), and after-tax deferral with company match up to 4%.

Your recruiter will be able to share more information about our salary and benefits offering during the hiring process.

CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY - This position may require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. For more information about U.S. Security Clearances: click here.

Forterra is an equal-opportunity employer, providing and promoting equal employment opportunity in all personnel practices. Forterrans are unique, talented individuals who are united through a shared passion to deliver autonomous systems that enable national resilience and a robust supply chain.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any factor, including veteran and disability status, and criminal history, in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws.

Forterra is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.

To see Forterra’s candidate data privacy policy, please visit Forterra Legal | Job Applicant Privacy Notice.