Job#: 3048671 Job Description: DNS / DDI Architect DNS Role (Architect / Strategic)- Short-term: stabilize environment following recent outage.
- Medium-term: improve monitoring, telemetry, automation practices.
- Long-term: drive DNS future state; evaluate potential new products/projects.
- Evaluate and recommend improvements; provide oversight, guidance, and governance.
- Deep DNS knowledge required (RFCs, BIND, DDI), platform knowledge (Blue Cat, Infoblox) preferred but not required.
- Not focused on day-to-day configuration, but hands-on may be needed for complex production issues.
- Expected first 90 days: learn Vanguard environment, technologies, layout; identify and begin implementing improvements.
Skills & Experience- DNS: deep expertise in DDI, RFCs, BIND; platform flexibility (Blue Cat or Infoblox).
- Enterprise-level architecture experience desired.
- Ability to provide guidance and evaluate improvements across large-scale, complex environments.
- Strategic, governance-oriented perspective, not purely operational.
Environment & Context- Vanguard IT is transforming from a small IT shop to an enterprise organization.
- Complexity: environment rated ~8.5-9/10 for onboarding and architecture considerations.
- Outage and past underinvestment drive need for strategic oversight.
- Governance: architecture review board involvement depends on scope of changes; smaller changes may not require board approval.
- Metrics: no formal DNS uptime/resiliency targets; standard goals for all team members apply.
Key Focus Areas- Stabilization of DNS post-outage.
- Monitoring, automation, and best practices implementation.
- Evaluation and strategic roadmap for DNS
- Cross-training and enterprise architecture alignment.
- Mentorship and guidance for existing engineers and contractors.
Core Responsibilities- Short-term:
- Stabilize the DNS environment post-outage.
- Apply DNS best practices (monitoring, telemetry, automation, resiliency).
- Long-term:
- Define the future-state DNS architecture.
- Evaluate whether to expand functionality or consider alternative vendors/platforms.
- Provide architectural guidance and governance-level input rather than just execution.
Technical Requirements- Deep expertise in DDI fundamentals (DNS, RFCs, BIND-level knowledge).
- Strong enterprise architecture experience; platform-agnostic mindset.
- BlueCat experience is a plus, but not required.
- Infoblox backgrounds are acceptable, with the expectation that BlueCat can be learned.
- Familiarity with:
- DNS
- BlueCat
- Akamai (limited internal depth today; opportunity to add value here)
- Enterprise-scale, high-complexity environments (Vanguard described as ~9-9.5/10 in onboarding complexity).
Role Scope / Expectations- Not just a platform SME; expected to design, evaluate, and influence enterprise standards.
- Some hands-on work may be required during major incidents, but day-to-day is more strategic.
- No explicit uptime or resiliency metrics were defined, beyond standard organizational goals.
Priority- This is the top priority role, ahead of other open listings.
Hiring & Interview LogisticsHiring Model- All candidates must be hireable as contract or contract-to-hire.
- Contract onboarding is significantly faster (typically a few weeks once an offer is made).
Interview Process (Typical Flow)Initial screening by Andrew (culture fit, relevant experience).Technical interview with the team.Final interviews with Neil and Bill.- There is discussion about potentially compressing this to two steps, depending on standardization efforts.
Locations: - 1041 West Valley Road Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087
- 7900 Windrose Ave Plano, Texas 75024
- 2525 Water Ridge Pkwy, Charlotte, NC 28217
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