1

Virtualization Engineer Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Senior FinOps Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$107K - $147K/yr

As a Senior FinOps Engineer, you will be responsible for implementing and guiding the ... VMware, Nutanix, storage and virtualization platforms * Cost and financial management: Cloudability ...

Proficiency with server and virtualization * Experience with system engineering and requirements management tools and techniques. * Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. Skills:

Senior Linux Engineer Location: Chicago, IL or Kennesaw, GA or Chandler, AZ (Hybrid role) Duration ... Virtualization technologies (ex. vSphere, vSAN, NSX) * Automation & orchestration (ex. vCAC/VCO ...

... virtualization, Active Directory administration, SQL Server backup and restore activities, and a ... The engineer will serve as an extension of the field engineering team, staging and rebuilding ...

Showing results 41-60

Virtualization Engineer information

See Chicago, IL salary details

$10

$61

$90

How much do virtualization engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 20, 2026, the average hourly pay for virtualization engineer in Chicago, IL is $61.36, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $50.77 and $70.10 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a virtualization engineer?

A Virtualization Engineer is an IT professional who designs, implements, manages, and supports virtualization technologies such as servers, storage, and networks. They work with platforms like VMware, Hyper-V, and KVM to create and maintain virtual environments that optimize hardware utilization and improve scalability. Their responsibilities include configuring virtual machines, troubleshooting performance issues, and ensuring the security and reliability of the virtual infrastructure. Virtualization Engineers play a key role in modern data centers and cloud computing environments.

What is a virtualization engineer?

A virtualization engineer manages data storage, server resources, and other virtual computing platforms. You perform a variety of functions, including data migration, virtual machine set-up and training, troubleshooting end-user problems, and designing assessment tools for storage and visualization applications. Qualifications for the job include a variety of career experience, skills, and education. You should have a bachelor’s degree in statistics, data science, or IT systems, along with several years of work in the field. Strong analytical qualities, attention to detail, and ability to be a team player are all important.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a virtualization engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Virtualization Engineer, you need expertise in server virtualization technologies, systems administration, and a solid understanding of networking, typically backed by a degree in computer science or related certifications like VMware Certified Professional (VCP) or Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator. Familiarity with tools such as VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix, and automation scripts is essential. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective communication help in troubleshooting complex environments and collaborating with cross-functional teams. These skills are crucial for ensuring reliable, scalable, and secure virtual infrastructure that supports organizational IT needs.

What are some typical challenges a virtualization engineer faces when managing large-scale virtual environments?

Virtualization Engineers often encounter challenges such as resource allocation issues, ensuring high availability, and maintaining optimal performance across numerous virtual machines. Troubleshooting performance bottlenecks and preventing VM sprawl require careful monitoring and proactive management. Additionally, coordinating with network and storage teams to address dependencies and security concerns is a critical part of the role. Staying current with evolving virtualization technologies and best practices helps address these challenges effectively.

What is the difference between Virtualization Engineer vs Cloud Engineer?

AspectVirtualization EngineerCloud Engineer
CertificationsVMware, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect, Cisco CCNAAWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect
Work EnvironmentData centers, on-premises infrastructure, virtualization platformsCloud platforms, hybrid environments, cloud service providers
Industry UsageIT infrastructure, data centers, enterprise networksCloud services, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS deployments

While both roles involve managing IT infrastructure, Virtualization Engineers focus on creating and maintaining virtual environments within data centers, whereas Cloud Engineers design and implement cloud-based solutions across public, private, or hybrid clouds. The roles often overlap in skills like virtualization and networking but differ in scope and deployment environments.

What are popular job titles related to Virtualization Engineer jobs in Chicago, IL?

For Virtualization Engineer jobs in Chicago, IL, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Virtualization Engineer job openings in Chicago, IL as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 5% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 6% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $127,624 per year, or $61.4 per hour.

DevOps/Principal DevOps Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Rolling Meadows, IL • Hybrid

$53 - $72.75/hr

Full-time

Medical, Life, PTO

Re-posted 27 days ago


Northrop Grumman rating

8.2

Company rating: 8.2 out of 10

Based on 364 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

89th of 542 rated manufacturers


Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be availableCLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: YesCLEARANCE TYPE: SAPTRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescriptionAt Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter.Come bea part of our mission!

We are looking for you to join our team as a SoftwareDevOpsEngineer based out of Rolling Meadows, IL.As aSoftwareDevOpsEngineer atNorthrop Grumman,you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation.Through the use ofModel-based Engineering,DevSecOpsand Agile practices we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter.Our success is grounded in our ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation.The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation

Job Requirements:

  • Deploy CI/CD frameworks that automate code generation, builds, testing at both the unit and system test levels,releasesand documentation.
  • Deploying solutions in cloud and virtualized environments.
  • Developingback-endenvironments for storing testing data and results
  • Developing web-based front end dashboard applications for reporting and analysis.
  • Maintainingdependency management and container environments
  • Work in afast-pacedAgiletypeenvironment

This position will be full-time and on-site at our Rolling Meadows, IL. Location

This position is contingent upon Funding/Contract award, special access program and acquiring and maintaining the necessary US Government security clearance per customers' requirements prior to start.

This position can be filled at either the DevOps or Principal level based on requirements below

Basic Qualifications for DevOps Engineer:

  • Bachelor's Degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field and 2+ years of experience; or a master's degree OR in lieu of a degree, an additional 4 years of experience is required.
  • Experience writing programs in one or more languages such as Python, C/C++, Java, JavaScript, Shell, Bash, Groovy, Go or similar
  • Experience working with deployment and orchestration technologies (Containerization, Kubernetes, OpenShift, Ansible, Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, AWS CloudFormation).
  • Experience with daily development and administration in Linux (RHEL, Ubuntu, or similar).
  • Experience maintaining internet facing production grade applications in virtualized environments such as Amazon Web Services, Azure and Google Cloud Platform
  • Experience working with and presenting accomplishments to internal and external customers
  • Experience with mentoring junior engineers and contributing to knowledge-sharing sessions and documentation
  • Understanding of Agile/Scrum Methodologies
  • US Citizenship
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a minimum of a Secret Clearance with additional customer specified clearance prior to start.

Basic Qualifications for Principal DevOps Engineer:

  • Bachelor's Degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field and 5+ years of experience; 3+ years of experience with Master's Degree;OR in lieu of a degree, an additional 4 years of experience is required.
  • Experience writing programs in one or more languages such as Python, C/C++, Java, JavaScript, Shell, Bash, Groovy, Go or similar
  • Experience working with deployment and orchestration technologies (Containerization, Kubernetes, OpenShift, Ansible, Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, AWS CloudFormation).
  • Experience with daily development and administration in Linux (RHEL, Ubuntu, or similar).
  • Experience maintaining internet facing production grade applications in virtualized environments such as Amazon Web Services, Azure and Google Cloud Platform
  • Experience working with and presenting accomplishments to internal and external customers
  • Experience with mentoring junior engineers and contributing to knowledge-sharing sessions and documentation
  • Understanding of Agile/Scrum Methodologies
  • US Citizenship
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a minimum of a Secret Clearance with additional customer specified clearance prior to start.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with monitoring system health with Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or similar; set up alerts and incident response processes.
  • Familiarity with integration of third-party tools and their deployment to air-gapped networks (e.g. container scanning & signing, code scanning)
Primary Level Salary Range: $87,600.00 - $131,400.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $163,200.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

What Northrop Grumman employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom


Northrop Grumman logo

About Northrop Grumman

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible.

Industry

Space research administration

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Falls Church, VA, US

Year founded

1939