Lead Product Specialist

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Department of Commerce seeks an experienced ProductSpecialist 5 to serve as the technical expert and operational leader for ourCOTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) product portfolio. This critical role bridgesour business operations and the Office of Information Technology (OIT),ensuring commerce applications run efficiently across on-premises and cloudenvironments. You will be the primary technical authority for building,deploying, and managing mission-critical solutions while collaborating withOIT''s Server, Storage, Networking, Security, and Infrastructure teams.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

COTS Product Lifecycle Management
• Own complete lifecycle from evaluation through deployment and operationalsupport
• Design and execute deployments across Windows Server, Active Directory, andAzure/AWS platforms
• Configure Tomcat/IIS middleware and implement SAML authentication solutions
• Manage OPSWAT MetaDefender for advanced threat prevention and datasanitization
• Develop automation scripts and standardized deployment procedures

Vendor Collaboration & Partnership[KEYRESPONSIBILITY - GUIDE VENDORS]
•Guide and oversee vendor relationships for all COTS products, ensuringalignment with Department objectives and technical standards from operationalperspective
•Coordinate vendor support escalations and manage SLA compliance
•Direct vendor resources during implementations, upgrades, and criticalincidents
•Ensure knowledge transfer from vendors to internal team members

Cross-Team Collaboration with OIT[KEYRESPONSIBILITY - SERVE AS LIAISON TO DAS/OIT]
• Partner with DAS Server team for capacity planning and infrastructureprovisioning
• Coordinate with DAS Storage team for SAN/NAS allocation and backup strategies
• Define networking requirements, firewall rules, and WAF policies withSecurity teams
• Manage F5 load balancer configurations and TLS/SSL certificate lifecycle
• Work with Security team on OPSWAT MetaDefender policies for file sanitizationand malware prevention
• Participate in change advisory boards and enterprise architecture decisions
•Serve as Department''s primary operational/technical liaison to all OITteams
•Represent Department interests in enterprise technology decisions androadmap planning
•Bridge communication gaps between business stakeholders and OITtechnical teams
•Facilitate bi-directional knowledge sharing and establish collaborativeworkflows
•Champion Department requirements in OIT governance forums andarchitecture reviews

Operational Excellence
• Provide tier 3 support and lead root cause analysis for production incidents
• Monitor system health, performance metrics, and capacity trends
• Maintain 24/7 readiness through on-call rotation and incident response
• Manage OPSWAT MetaDefender operations including scanning engines and policyupdates
• Coordinate patch management and upgrades with minimal business disruption
• Develop comprehensive runbooks and disaster recovery procedures

Security & Data Protection
• Configure and maintain OPSWAT MetaDefender for multi-scanning and contentdisarm/reconstruction
• Implement file upload security policies and quarantine procedures
• Monitor threat detection logs and coordinate incident response with Securityteam
• Ensure secure file transfers and data sanitization for commerce transactions
• Manage integration between MetaDefender and commerce applications

Technical Leadership & Infrastructure Planning[KEYRESPONSIBILITY - MENTOR IT TEAM]
• Function as Technical SME for enterprise COTS implementations
• Translate business requirements into technical specifications for OIT teams
• Document architectures, data flows, network topologies, and integrationpoints
• Design high-availability and disaster recovery solutions
• Ensure compliance with state and federal security standards
•Mentor junior and mid-level IT team members in technical skills and bestpractices
•Develop and deliver training/knowledge transfer programs for COTSproducts and enterprise technologies
•Create knowledge repositories and maintain technical documentationstandards
•Lead technical brown bags and knowledge-sharing sessions
•Foster a culture of continuous learning and professional development
•Provide technical growth paths for team members

REQUIRED TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Infrastructure & Platform Skills
• Expert Windows Server administration and Active Directory management
• Proficiency with Tomcat/IIS middleware configuration and optimization
• Experience with OPSWAT MetaDefender deployment and administration
• Hands-on experience with Azure/AWS (including GovCloud)
• Strong understanding of virtualization and containerization

Networking & Security Skills
• Experience with firewall rules, ACLs, and network traffic analysis
• Knowledge of F5 load balancers and WAF protection strategies
• Expertise in TLS/SSL certificates and SAML authentication
• Understanding of file-based threat detection and data sanitization
• Experience with multi-AV scanning and CDR (Content Disarm &Reconstruction)
• Knowledge of security protocols and compliance requirements

Operational & Collaboration Skills
• Proven track record managing high-availability production environments
• Experience with ITIL processes and ServiceNow or similar ticketing systems
• Exceptional cross-team collaboration and stakeholder communication abilities
• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis capabilities
• Success working in government or regulated environments
•Experience managing vendor relationships and technical escalations

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE UNIQUE

This position offers the opportunity to work at theintersection of business and technology, managing critical systems thatdirectly impact state commerce operations. You''ll work with advanced securitytechnologies like OPSWAT MetaDefender to protect sensitive commerce data while collaboratingwith talented professionals across multiple technical disciplines.As thecentral orchestrator between vendors, OIT teams, and internal staff, you''llensure seamless integration of COTS solutions while building team capabilities.

Working Environment:Hybrid arrangement withon-call for production support and occasional after-hours maintenance windows.

Skills Table:
Skill
Required / Desired
Amount
of Experience

Expert Windows Server administration and Active Directory management
Required
9
Years

Proficiency with Tomcat/IIS middleware configuration and optimization
Required
9
Years

Experience with OPSWAT MetaDefender deployment and administration
Required
9
Years

Hands-on experience with Azure/AWS (including GovCloud)
Required
9
Years

Experience with firewall rules, ACLs, and network traffic analysis
Required
9
Years

Knowledge of F5 load balancers and WAF protection strategies
Required
9
Years

Expertise in TLS/SSL certificates and SAML authentication
Required
9
Years

Exceptional cross-team collaboration and stakeholder communication abilities
Required
9
Years

Success working in government or regulated environments
Required
9
Years

Experience managing vendor relationships and technical escalations
Required
9
Years
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