Test & Validation Integration Engineer
Stages and validates enterprise infrastructure before field deployment: physically racks and configures Dell, Cisco, Arista, and Palo Alto hardware, runs pre-deployment network and Kubernetes tests in a lab, authors deployment runbooks, and troubleshoots faults to the component level. On-site in Chantilly, VA; active TS/SCI clearance required.
- Compensation
- $120K–$140K / yr
- Location
- Oakton, Fairfax County
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Must have
- Hands-on experience racking, stacking, cabling, and configuring enterprise infrastructure (Cisco, Arista, Palo Alto platforms)
- Proficiency provisioning Dell PowerEdge compute and enterprise storage fabrics (SAN/NAS, iSCSI, NVMe-oF, NFS), including RAID and iDRAC out-of-band management
- Practical experience installing, configuring, and verifying Kubernetes, container runtimes (containerd), and container networking/storage plugins
- Ability to isolate physical and logical faults across Layer 1-4 using CLI diagnostics, optics validation tools, and packet captures
- Strong technical documentation skills (SOPs, cabling diagrams, site activation runbooks)
- Active TS/SCI clearance with ability to maintain access
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs
Nice to have
- Intermediate to advanced certifications such as CCNP, Arista ACE, PCNSE, or CKA
- Automation/IaC experience with Ansible, Terraform, Python, or Bash
- Understanding of leaf-spine architectures, BGP, EVPN-VXLAN, and stateful security inspection
- Strong Linux systems administration (systemd, kernel networking, driver/firmware upgrades)
- Familiarity with ePDU, QSFP28/QSFP-DD optics, and lab asset-tracking tools
Full description
Quantum Sky is searching for a Test & Validation Integration Engineer to support an Intel customer in Chantilly, VA The Test & Validation Integration Engineer serves as the critical bridge between staging and field deployment, ensuring enterprise-grade infrastructure operates seamlessly before reaching production sites. In this role, you will physically rack, stack, cable, and configure complex, multi-vendor compute, storage, and networking systems within a controlled lab environment. You will execute rigorous pre-deployment functionality tests, validate interoperability across network and container stacks, and fine-tune staging workflows to guarantee that onsite field teams can bring systems online rapidly with minimal friction. When configuration defects, hardware anomalies, or deployment bottlenecks arise, you will troubleshoot issues down to the component or protocol level, author prescriptive deployment runbooks, and collaborate directly with systems and network architects to ensure repeatable, zero-defect rollouts.
Responsibilities:
- Rack, Stack & Physical Integration: Physically assemble, mount, and cable high-density Dell PowerEdge servers, high-performance storage arrays, and network appliances within standard data center racks following structured cabling and thermal best practices.
- Multi-Vendor Device Provisioning: Apply baseline firmware, out-of-band management settings (iDRAC, console), and initial configurations across Cisco, Arista switches, Palo Alto firewalls, and Dell storage systems.
- Execute End-to-End Functionality Testing: Perform comprehensive pre-shipment validation, testing network throughput, VLAN segmentation, routing protocols, firewall policy enforcement, and storage volume availability prior to crating and shipping.
- Container & Platform Validation: Deploy, bootstrap, and validate baseline Kubernetes clusters across bare-metal and virtualized nodes, verifying container runtime health, CNI network plumbing, and persistent storage integration.
- Build & Optimize Deployment Runbooks: Formulate and refine step-by-step staging and commissioning procedures, identifying failure points in the lab so that field technicians can execute plug-and-play onsite activations with minimal engineering overhead.
Required:
- Systems & Network Integration: Hands-on experience racking, stacking, cabling, and configuring enterprise infrastructure—specifically involving Cisco, Arista, and Palo Alto hardware platforms.
- Server & High-Performance Storage: Practical proficiency provisioning enterprise compute (Dell PowerEdge) and enterprise storage fabrics (SAN/NAS, iSCSI, NVMe-oF, or NFS), including RAID configuration and out-of-band management (iDRAC).
- Kubernetes & Container Fundamentals: Practical experience installing, configuring, and verifying Kubernetes environments, container runtimes (containerd), and basic container networking/storage plugins.