Junior Infrastructure Engineer

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Description

The Junior Infrastructure Engineer is an entry-to-mid-level technical role on the Infrastructure team responsible for supporting, maintaining, securing, and helping evolve Pampered Chef's hybrid infrastructure across on-premises, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments. Working collaboratively within the technology organization, this engineer plays a key role in ensuring the reliability, security, performance, and recoverability of critical infrastructure services.

The ideal candidate possesses foundational systems administration skills, experience supporting cloud-based services, an interest in automation and Infrastructure-as-Code practices, and a passion for continuous learning. This role will actively participate in infrastructure operations, cloud administration, security hardening, automation initiatives, disaster recovery preparedness, and operational excellence efforts.

Key Responsibilities

Server and Operating System Administration

• Maintain and support Windows and Linux server environments, ensuring availability, performance, and security across both on-premises and cloud-hosted workloads.
• Upgrade and maintain core infrastructure services, including Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, and DHCP.
• Implement regular software updates, patches, and security updates to optimize performance and mitigate vulnerabilities.
• Troubleshoot server, operating system, and infrastructure-related issues to ensure reliable service delivery.

Cloud Infrastructure Administration & Security

• Deploy, configure, troubleshoot, and maintain cloud infrastructure hosted within AWS and Microsoft Azure environments.
• Support AWS services including EC2, VPC, IAM, Route 53, S3, CloudWatch, and backup and recovery services.
• Assist in the design, implementation, and support of secure cloud architectures following company security standards and industry best practices.
• Monitor cloud infrastructure for availability, performance, capacity, cost optimization, and security risks.
• Support cloud security controls, including identity and access management, role-based access controls, encryption, logging, monitoring, vulnerability remediation, and infrastructure hardening.
• Support cloud and infrastructure disaster recovery, resilience, and business continuity initiatives, including participation in recovery testing activities.

Virtualization

• Administer and maintain Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware virtualization environments, supporting VM provisioning, lifecycle management, and resource optimization.
• Participate as an active member of the SecOps team, contributing to virtual infrastructure management with an emphasis on Infrastructure-as-Code principles.
• Assist with capacity planning and performance optimization of virtualized environments.

Microsoft 365 & Azure Administration

• Administer and support Microsoft 365 and Azure environments, including Entra ID, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Teams.
• Maintain and support the broader Microsoft cloud ecosystem, including Entra ID, Microsoft Defender, Exchange, and Intune.
• Manage identity, access, and authentication services including MFA, Conditional Access, role-based access control (RBAC), and identity lifecycle management.
• Support implementation and maintenance of security policies and compliance controls across Microsoft cloud services.

Monitoring, Backup & Incident Response

• Proactively monitor infrastructure components with a focus on availability, performance, security, and optimization; respond to alerts and escalate as appropriate.
• Administer and validate system backup operations leveraging Rubrik, ensuring recoverability and compliance with data protection standards.
• Troubleshoot complex technical issues and perform root cause analysis to prevent recurrence.
• Participate in infrastructure and security incident response activities, assisting with investigation, containment, remediation, and documentation.
• Support disaster recovery validation exercises and ensure infrastructure recovery procedures remain current and effective.

Automation & Documentation

• Develop and maintain automation, configuration, provisioning, and monitoring solutions to improve operational efficiency and reduce manual effort.
• Automate infrastructure build, deployment, and management tasks using PowerShell, AI-assisted automation tools, cloud-native automation services, and Infrastructure-as-Code technologies.
• Create and maintain repeatable infrastructure deployment standards and operational procedures.
• Develop and maintain infrastructure runbooks, recovery procedures, process flows, architecture diagrams, and technical documentation.
• Support standardization, security hardening, compliance initiatives, and operational maturity improvements through automation and documentation.

Collaboration & Communication

• Communicate professionally and effectively with stakeholders at all levels of the organization regarding technical issues, project status, infrastructure changes, and operational risks.
• Collaborate closely with Infrastructure, Security Operations, Service Desk, Networking, and Application teams to resolve issues and improve service reliability.
• Maintain a working knowledge of networking fundamentals, cloud technologies, security principles, and infrastructure appliances to support cross-functional troubleshooting and collaboration.
• Participate in after-hours maintenance activities and on-call rotations as needed.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
• 1-3 years of hands-on experience in systems administration, infrastructure support, cloud operations, or related IT roles.
• Demonstrated experience with Windows Server/ Linux, and Virtualization administration.
• Experience supporting enterprise infrastructure in both on-premises and cloud environments.

Technical Skills

• Working knowledge of Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, and DHCP administration.
• Foundational experience with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 services including Entra ID, Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, and Intune.
• Foundational knowledge of AWS cloud services including EC2, IAM, VPC, Route 53, S3, CloudWatch, and security best practices.
• Familiarity with virtualization platforms, preferably Microsoft Hyper-V and/or VMware vSphere.
• Basic understanding of networking concepts including VLANs, TCP/IP, routing, firewalls, VPNs, and load balancing.
• Experience using PowerShell or similar scripting languages for administrative automation.
• Knowledge of infrastructure security fundamentals, vulnerability management, patch management, and system hardening concepts.
• Understanding of backup, recovery, and disaster recovery principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Solutions Architect - Associate, or equivalent AWS certification.
• Experience with Rubrik or a comparable enterprise backup and recovery platform.
• Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code technologies such as Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, or PowerShell.
• Experience leveraging AI-assisted tools to improve infrastructure administration, monitoring, automation, or operational efficiency.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Cloud, or similar enterprise security platforms.
• Experience supporting disaster recovery testing and business continuity initiatives.
• Basic understanding of Linux server administration, including RHEL, Ubuntu, or CentOS

What We're Offering

• Salary Range: The anticipated salary range for this position is $75,000-85,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications
• Bonus Eligibility: This role is eligible for a performance-based bonus based on individual and company performance

Benefits

This position includes a comprehensive benefits package, which includes:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Company-paid life insurance with additional voluntary coverage options
• Disability insurance
• Additional voluntary benefits
• 401k match
• Flex PTO
• Paid parental leave
• 30%+ discount on Pampered Chef products and product giveaways
• Free onsite fitness center and sports court
• Premium Care.com membership
• Hybrid work environment

Work Environment & Logistics

• Work Model: Pampered Chef follows a hybrid schedule at the headquarters office in Addison, IL. Coworkers are expected in the office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week
• Travel Requirements: Less than 10%