ARS has an exciting new opportunity for a Senior Virtualization & AI Engineering Specialist in support of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Combatant Command, Command and Control (C2) Division (AFNWC/NCC). This is a full-time position located at Offutt AFB, NE
The Senior Virtualization & AI Engineering Specialist is responsible for engineering, operating, and optimizing enterprise virtualization, AI, data science, and analytics solutions in support of USSTRATCOM and the Strategic Mission Planning & Execution System (SMPES). This position focuses on VMware vSphere, ESXi, vRealize Aria Operations, vRealize Aria Operations for Logs, and advanced analytics tooling to ensure highly available, secure, and compliant IT services within classified DoD environments. The role requires close collaboration with cyber, network, data science, and application teams to maintain full asset visibility, meet DoD STIG and cybersecurity requirements, and support 24/7 mission operations and SMPES objectives.
Why Work with us?
Applied Research Solutions (ARS) is respected as a world-class provider of technically integrated solutions as we deliver premier talent and technology across our focused markets for unparalleled, continuous mission support. Awarded a Best Places to Work nominee since 2020, ARS recognizes that without our career- driven, loyal professionals, we would not be able to deliver state-of-the-art results for our mission partners. We firmly believe that prioritizing our employees is of the upmost importance. We provide a culture where our employees are challenged to meet their career goals and aspirations, while still obtaining a work/life balance. ARS employees are motivated through our industry competitive benefits package, our awards and recognition program, and personalized attention from ARS Senior Managers.
Responsibilities include:
Virtualization Engineering & Operations
- An understanding of the design, implementation, and maintenance of VMware vSphere and ESXi-based virtualization infrastructure across multiple environments and security domains.
- Configure and administer vRealize Aria Operations and vRealize Aria Operations for Logs to ensure comprehensive performance monitoring, alerting, and log analysis.
- Perform advanced troubleshooting of virtualization, OS, and hardware issues; coordinate with vendors and internal teams to discover possible problems.
AI, Data Science & Analytics Support for SMPES
- Lead the development and tuning of AI, data science, and analytics tooling in support of SMPES administrative and mission requirements.
- Translate user and government stakeholder requirements into actionable technical tasks, with supporting text documentation and SysML/UML class, process, and sequence diagrams.
- Enable accurate modeling and simulation of future requirements, and support agile development and testing of mission software aligned with SMPES objectives.
- Integrate AI and analytics outputs with existing SMPES and virtualization platforms to enhance situational awareness, performance monitoring, and decision support for mission planners and operators.
Requirements Translation, Planning & Reporting
- Translate government stakeholder requirements into executable technical tasks and work packages in alignment with SMPES processes and standards.
- Track progress against plans, identify and surface issues, and develop and present courses of action (COAs) consistent with SMPES weekly and monthly status reporting requirements.
- Prepare technical documentation, briefings, and status reports for leadership and stakeholders, clearly communicating technical risks, dependencies, and milestones.
Cybersecurity, Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensure all assigned systems and virtual infrastructure components comply with DoD STIGs, DISA guidance, and organizational security policies.
- Partner with J5 cyber and security teams to achieve full asset visibility across classified networks and support ongoing risk management and accreditation activities.
- Support vulnerability remediation, configuration hardening, and security monitoring, including coordination of patching and mitigation strategies.
- Manage administrative support of the SMPES Risk Registry on SIPR and JWICS MSS platforms; develop, refine, and maintain Risk Registry processes in coordination with government stakeholders for approval and implementations
Systems Engineering & Integration
- Gather and analyze mission and customer requirements; translate them into technical system requirements and integration proposals aligned with vendor and DoD best practices.
- Support the design and implementation of new virtualization, AI/ML, and data analytics solutions, including integrations with on-prem and cloud environments (AWS, IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
- Provide metrics and feedback on verification and validation testing; support change management and release planning for virtualization and AI/analytics-related changes.
Leadership, Collaboration & Customer Support
- Collaborate with cross-functional engineering, cyber, data science, and operations teams to design and deliver end-to-end infrastructure and analytics solutions.
- Provide technical guidance, mentorship, and knowledge transfer to junior engineers, administrators, and analysts.
- Serve as a technical point of contact for internal customers and mission partners, explaining complex technical and analytics concepts in clear, mission-focused terms.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications/ Technical Experience Requirements:
Citizenship: Must be a US citizen Clearance: Must possess and maintain a TS w/SCI eligibility Education: High School Diploma
Years of Experience: Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience, including:
- 8+ years of progressive experience in IT infrastructure, including at least 3–5 years focused on virtualization and systems engineering in DoD or similarly complex environments.
- Hands-on experience with VMware vSphere and ESXi administration, including host configuration, VM provisioning, and lifecycle management.
- Experience with VMware vRealize Aria Operations and vRealize Aria Operations for Logs (or vRealize Operations and Log Insight), including dashboard creation and alert configuration.
- Demonstrated experience supporting DoD STIG compliance and cybersecurity best practices.
- Experience working with AI, data science, or analytics tooling (requirements translation, model support, data pipelines, or analytics dashboards) in support of mission or enterprise applications.
- Strong troubleshooting skills across virtualization, OS (Windows Server 2012/2019, Windows OS, basic Unix/Linux), and hardware layers.
- Proven ability to develop and automate capacity/performance or analytics reports and present findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications:Certifications: Sec+ or IAM II Equivalent
- VMware vSphere 6.7 Foundations (or higher) certification.
- CompTIA Security+ (or equivalent DoD 8570 IAT Level II/III certification).
Additional Experience:
- Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, IBM Cloud, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (associate-level training or certifications).
- Experience delivering or supporting AI/ML, modeling & simulation, or advanced analytics capabilities within DoD/IC programs, preferably aligned to SMPES or similar mission systems.
- Familiarity with SysML/UML modeling, model-based systems engineering (MBSE), and associated tools.
- Oracle Certified Foundations Associate and/or Certified Configuration Management Logistics Professional (CMLP) preferred.
All positions at Applied Research Solutions are subject to background investigations. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation including criminal history and identity check.
This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability, and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.
This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified protected veterans, and requires affirmative action by covered contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans.