The Senior Infrastructure Engineer (L3) is the top-tier escalation point within the Managed Services Practice (MSP) engineering tier. This role owns the design, implementation, administration, and advanced troubleshooting of client environments with a primary focus on virtualization platforms, Microsoft 365 cloud services, and Active Directory / identity infrastructure. The L3 Engineer serves as the technical authority for complex incidents, architecture decisions, and project delivery across a diverse multi-tenant client base, while mentoring L1/L2 engineers and ensuring service quality, security, and documentation standards are met.
Local candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is based in our Indianapolis, IN office, and relocation assistance or remote work is not available at this time.
What You'll Do
Escalation & Advanced Troubleshooting
- Act as the final internal escalation point for complex, high-impact incidents across virtualization, M365, and Active Directory workloads.
- Perform root-cause analysis on recurring issues and drive permanent corrective actions to reduce repeat ticket volume.
- Engage vendor support (Microsoft, VMware, Dell, etc.) on behalf of clients and manage the support lifecycle through resolution.
- Maintain ownership of Major Incidents, communicating technical status to internal teams and client stakeholders.
Virtualization & Compute Infrastructure
- Architect, deploy, and manage Scale Computing HCI, VMware vSphere (vCenter, ESXi, vSAN, NSX) and Microsoft Hyper-V / Azure Stack HCI environments.
- Perform host provisioning, cluster configuration, vMotion/Storage vMotion, resource tuning, and capacity planning.
- Manage backup and disaster-recovery integrations (Cove, Veeam, Datto, Azure Site Recovery) including failover testing and runbook validation.
- Lead hardware refresh, P2V/V2V migrations, and datacenter consolidation projects.
Microsoft 365 Administration
- Administer M365 tenants including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams, and Defender/Compliance workloads.
- Design and implement Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) configurations: conditional access, MFA, app registrations, B2B/B2C, and identity governance.
- Manage tenant-to-tenant migrations, hybrid Exchange/AD configurations, and Intune MDM/endpoint management.
- Configure and tune Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Purview, and DLP policies aligned to client security baselines.
Active Directory & Identity
- Design and maintain Active Directory forests, domains, sites, trusts, OU structures, and Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
- Manage AD replication, FSMO roles, DNS/DHCP, certificate services (AD CS), and AD-integrated DNS at scale.
- Lead AD migrations, domain consolidations, forest recovery, and hybrid Entra ID Connect synchronization troubleshooting.
- Implement least-privilege role models, tiered administration, and privileged access management (PAM) practices.
Project Delivery & Engineering Leadership
- Lead scoping, design, and execution of client infrastructure projects from statement of work (SOW) through handoff to support.
- Produce architecture diagrams, build documentation, and knowledge-base articles to enable L1/L2 teams.
- Provide technical mentorship, peer review, and training to junior engineers; participate in onboarding and skills development.
- Participate in the on-call rotation for after-hours escalations and scheduled change windows.
Security, Compliance & Best Practices
- Apply CIS, NIST, and Microsoft security baselines to client environments and remediate findings.
- Conduct periodic health checks, patch management reviews, and vulnerability remediation across managed estates.
- Support client compliance initiatives (HIPAA, CMMC, SOC 2, etc.) with technical controls and evidence collection.
What You Have
- 5+ years of progressive IT engineering experience, with at least 2 years in an MSP or multi-tenant consulting environment.
- Deep expertise in VMware vSphere (vSphere 7/8) and/or Microsoft Hyper-V / Azure Stack and other HCI administration.
- Strong Microsoft 365 administration experience with working knowledge of the Microsoft 365 admin centers, PowerShell, and Graph API.
- Advanced Active Directory and Entra ID (Azure AD) engineering skills, including hybrid identity and AD Connect.
- Proficiency with Windows Server (2016/2019/2022), DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, and certificate services.
- Hands-on experience with enterprise backup/DR platforms (Veeam, Datto, Azure Site Recovery).
- Solid networking fundamentals: VLANs, routing, firewalling, VPN, and SD-WAN concepts.
- Strong PowerShell scripting skills for automation and bulk administration tasks.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
- Valid driver's license and ability to travel occasionally to client sites.
Preferred Qualifications
- Microsoft certifications: Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert, MS-102, AZ-104, SC- series.
- VMware certifications: VCP, VCAP, or VCDX.
- CompTIA Security+, CySA+, or equivalent; ITIL v4 Foundation certification.
- Experience with Intune, Defender for Endpoint, and Microsoft Sentinel.
- Experience with Cisco Meraki, Fortinet, or Ubiquiti networking platforms.
- Familiarity with ITSM platforms such as ConnectWise, Autotask, HaloPSA, or ServiceNow.
- Exposure to Linux administration and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) is a plus.
About VAF
Van Ausdall & Farrar is Indiana's leader in business office technology services since 1914. We provide Cloud Solutions, Cybersecurity, IT Managed Services, Copy & Print Solutions, Internet/ISP Services, Phones, Video Surveillance, Document Conversion, and much more. We are a privately-owned, Indianapolis based business whose mission is to provide value-driven technology solutions to meet the individual needs of our customers, while providing world-class customer service & making a positive impact on our community.
At Van Ausdall & Farrar Inc, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. We are an equal opportunity employer (EOE) and evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply, and we actively seek to promote a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their best. Please contact us to request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process.