Principal Windows Infrastructure Engineer
Principal Windows Infrastructure Engineer – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
About the Role
Our client is seeking a senior-level Principal Engineer to provide engineering leadership for enterprise Windows Server platforms. This is a strategic, hands-on role focused on platform standards, automation, lifecycle strategy, and complex infrastructure delivery—not day-to-day administration. You will help define the roadmap, service model, and technical direction for a large-scale Windows Server environment.
Working closely with architects, infrastructure teams, security, operations, and application stakeholders, you will drive reliable, secure, and supportable solutions. The role reports directly to infrastructure leadership and may provide technical direction to indirect project resources.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the design, engineering, and implementation of enterprise Windows Server infrastructure across physical and virtual environments.
- Act as the technical product owner for Windows Server services, defining standards, roadmaps, lifecycle plans, and platform improvement opportunities.
- Develop and maintain server build standards, golden images, hardened templates, and security baselines using tools such as Packer.
- Drive automation through PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, Git, and CI/CD practices to streamline provisioning and configuration.
- Own server-focused Group Policy standards in partnership with the Active Directory team.
- Define lifecycle, patching, and maintenance standards, including cadence, prioritization, and exception handling.
- Support security hardening, vulnerability remediation, and compliance alignment with CIS and NIST standards.
- Provide advanced troubleshooting for performance, stability, and operational issues across the Windows Server estate.
- Define standard hosting patterns, monitoring requirements, alerting thresholds, and CMDB standards for Windows Server services.
- Partner with backup, resiliency, security, application, SQL Server, Citrix, Active Directory, and cloud teams on cross-functional initiatives.
- Participate in architecture and design reviews, change planning, and technical governance; create documentation and executive-ready materials.
- Lead technical workstreams and coordinate with vendors or managed service providers to resolve complex issues.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of infrastructure engineering experience, including 5+ years of hands-on Windows Server engineering in enterprise environments.
- Deep expertise in Windows Server operating systems: build, configuration, troubleshooting, patching, hardening, and lifecycle management.
- Experience supporting both physical and virtual Windows Server environments.
- Advanced troubleshooting skills with Windows Server internals, event logs, services, registry, certificates, networking, storage, and performance tools.
- Strong PowerShell scripting and automation experience.
- Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code patterns using Terraform, Ansible, Packer, Git, and CI/CD.
- Experience building and maintaining golden images, hardened templates, and automated deployment patterns.
- Knowledge of Windows Server security hardening, vulnerability remediation, and compliance frameworks such as CIS or NIST.
- Experience developing or managing server-focused Group Policy Objects.
- Experience defining monitoring requirements, operational metrics, service catalog offerings, and CMDB standards.
- Proven ability to lead technical workstreams and communicate effectively with technical teams, stakeholders, and senior leadership.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
Preferred Skills
- Experience with Azure or Azure Local.
- Familiarity with SQL Server infrastructure requirements from a Windows Server perspective.
- Experience with Citrix environments.
- Knowledge of Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and common Windows Server roles.
- Experience with Rubrik backup and recovery processes.
- Exposure to Windows Failover Clustering, IIS, Windows Admin Center, PerfMon, ProcMon, or Wireshark.
- Experience with enterprise monitoring platforms and observability tools.
- Background in regulated or security-focused enterprise environments.
- Relevant Microsoft, automation, cloud, security, or infrastructure certifications are a plus.
Why Join Us
This is a long-term contract opportunity offering the chance to shape the Windows Server strategy for a large, security-conscious enterprise. You will work alongside talented infrastructure, security, and application teams while driving meaningful platform modernization and automation initiatives. Our client values technical leadership and offers a collaborative environment where your expertise will directly influence infrastructure standards and service delivery.
Apply Today
If you are a seasoned Windows infrastructure engineer ready to lead platform strategy and deliver enterprise-scale solutions, we encourage you to apply. Take the next step in your career and help define the future of Windows Server infrastructure for our client.