Job Description

About Us:

Cognex is the largest, most successful and recognized global player in industrial machine vision! We are a financially strong, international company with no debt and have been in business for over 40 years. Using advanced optics, image sensors and artificial intelligence software Cognex vision and ID systems capture an image then analyze it to make sense of what’s being seen. We are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment, guided by our "Work Hard, Play Hard, Move Fast" culture, which celebrates employee innovation, determination, and dedication in a dynamic, fun, and distinctive atmosphere.

This role is a hybrid schedule - 3 days in the Natick, MA office and 2 days remote

The Team: Global Infrastructure & Security Team, part of our Global IT organization

As a member of the Global Infrastructure Team, you will be part of a team of highly skilled IT infrastructure engineers dedicated to excellence and responsible for architecting, developing, and maintaining IT infrastructure solutions on-premise and in the cloud that deliver and protect Cognex’s compute, storage and networking requirements in support of customer requirements throughout Cognex

The Role:

As a Principal Backup and Recovery Engineer, you will be a pivotal IT team member, responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining robust backup and disaster recovery solutions. This role involves advanced technical expertise, leadership, and strategic planning to protect the organization's critical data and systems and swiftly recover during a disruption.

As a senior team member, you will champion, lead, and operate the architecture and solutions that ensure the backup and recovery of Cognex systems, applications, and data worldwide.  Your experience and analytical skills will be relied upon to recommend and facilitate decision-making on cost-effective solutions for Cognex.

In the on-premise environment, you will be responsible for architecting, implementing, maintaining, and securing the computing and storage infrastructure that comprises Cognex’s “platform as a service” and managing the capacity and utilization.  In the cloud environment, you will be responsible for architect and prescribing the virtualization and storage products, standards, policies, and configurations that will accompany provisioned assets, relying on the elasticity of the cloud and product selection of the cloud teams to manage the effectiveness of compute and storage relative to cost (efficiency).

Your ability to influence and champion the optimization and evolution of the technologies and services required to provide these infrastructure services is critical, including managing vendors, maintaining budgets, and developing and presenting business cases that facilitate decision-making.

Essential Functions:

• Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) Strategy and Planning:

  • Develop and evolve the organization's backup and disaster recovery strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and industry best practices

  • Lead the planning and execution of comprehensive backup and recovery initiatives

• Solution Design and Implementation:

  • Design and implement enterprise-level backup and disaster recovery solutions, leveraging advanced technologies and methodologies

  • Collaborate with infrastructure, security, and application teams to integrate BDR solutions seamlessly into the IT landscape

• Technical Leadership:

  • Provide technical leadership and guidance to a team of BDR engineers, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment

  • Mentor junior team members and conduct knowledge-sharing sessions

• Disaster Recovery Testing and Optimization:

  • Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans, conducting regular testing to validate effectiveness and identify areas for improvement

  • Optimize BDR processes through automation and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Incident Response:

  • Play a key role in incident response activities, providing expertise in identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions during data loss or system failure incidents

  • Ensure swift and effective recovery of critical systems and data

• Documentation and Compliance:

  • Maintain comprehensive and up-to-date documentation of BDR configurations, procedures, and policies

  • Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, standards, and industry best practices

• Capacity Planning:

  • Conduct regular assessments of BDR infrastructure to ensure it meets the organization's growing needs

  • Plan for scalability and expansion as required

• Collaboration and Communication:

  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand business requirements and ensure BDR solutions meet organizational needs.

  • Communicate effectively with stakeholders, providing regular updates and reports on BDR initiatives

• Training and Development:

  • Conduct training sessions for IT staff and end-users on BDR best practices and procedures

  • Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging backup and recovery technologies

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience with VMware, Cohesity, Zerto, Solar Winds, AWS EC2, S3, Containers and Docker; Azure Compute and Storage Services

• Familiarity with API Security, Container Security, AWS Cloud Security

• Knowledge of PCI-DSS, HIPPA, SOX, GDPR, and CCPA Standards and Policies and the associated certification and audit processes

• Experience with Linux-based infrastructures, Linux/Unix administration, Windows administration, Azure, and AWS

• Knowledge of scripting languages such as Java, JavaScript, Perl, Ruby, Python, PHP, Groovy, Bash

• Experience with project management and workflow tools such as Agile, Jira, Scrum/Kanban, etc

• Experience with open-source technologies and cloud services

• Strong communication skills and ability to explain protocol and processes with team and management

• Exceptional troubleshooting skills with the ability to spot issues before they become problems.

• Stay current with industry trends and best practices concerning computing, storage, backup, and recovery

• Time and project management skills, with the capability to prioritize and multitask as needed.

• Solid team player

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field

• Several years of experience in backup and disaster recovery, with a focus on designing and implementing enterprise-level solutions

• Strong expertise in backup technologies, disaster recovery planning, and automation

• Strong scripting skills (e.g., PowerShell, Python) for automation

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Advanced troubleshooting skills and the ability to guide junior team members

• Relevant certifications (e.g., Veeam Certified Engineer, Certified Information Systems Security Professional - CISSP) are a plus

Additional Job Description

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cognex is an equal opportunity employer. Cognex evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, disability/handicap status or any other legally protected characteristic.