Job Description:

We are looking for an experienced Senior Virtualisation Engineer with a strong background in legacy system preservation, physical-to-virtual (P2V) migration, and the modernisation of critical Windows-based infrastructure. The candidate will play a key role in preserving existing legacy environments and migrating them to a modern virtualization platform while maintaining operational stability, compatibility, and recoverability.

The ideal candidate combines hands-on experience with legacy Windows operating systems and physical hardware with practical expertise in modern hypervisors, virtual machine optimization, and enterprise infrastructure management. This is a specialized technical role requiring an understanding of both legacy system behaviour and the infrastructure needed to support these systems reliably over the long term.

Legacy System Imaging and Preservation

The candidate must have specific experience creating bit-accurate images of physical legacy machines, including sector-level imaging using tools such as ddrescue, Clonezilla, or equivalent solutions. They must understand the importance of preserving the original system state, including operating system installations, disk structures, configuration data, and application dependencies.

Experience working with unstable or ageing storage media is essential. The candidate must understand the risks associated with imaging deteriorating disks, including read errors, data loss, and the potential impact of repeated imaging attempts. They must be able to select appropriate imaging strategies that prioritize data preservation and minimise the risk of further degradation.

Legacy Operating System Conversion

The candidate must have demonstrable experience converting physical Windows XP and Windows 7 installations into virtual machines running on modern hypervisors. This includes performing physical-to-virtual migrations, resolving driver incompatibilities, addressing hardware dependencies, and ensuring that the migrated operating system retains the functionality required by the legacy application.

A strong understanding of legacy Windows environments and the differences between physical and virtualized hardware is essential. The candidate must be able to investigate and resolve issues arising from changes in storage controllers, network interfaces, processor configurations, peripheral connections, and other hardware-dependent components.

Hypervisor Configuration and Virtual Machine Optimization

The candidate must have hands-on experience administering Proxmox and/or VMware ESXi in production environments. They must be capable of configuring and optimizing virtual machines for applications with specific legacy requirements, rather than relying solely on standard virtual machine configurations.

Relevant experience includes CPU pinning, serial and COM-port emulation, time synchronization, I/O scheduling, and other virtual machine tuning techniques. The candidate must understand how these settings can influence application behaviour, timing, communication with external equipment, and overall system stability.

The objective is to establish a virtualized environment that preserves the operational characteristics of the original system while providing a maintainable and supportable infrastructure.

Backup, Monitoring, and Recovery

The candidate must have experience implementing enterprise backup and monitoring solutions for business-critical or operationally critical systems. This includes developing and validating backup strategies, monitoring system health, and establishing reliable recovery procedures.

A key requirement is the ability to design recovery scenarios that can be executed by personnel without specialist engineering knowledge. Procedures must be clearly documented, repeatable, and tested to minimise downtime and reduce dependency on individual technical experts.

The resulting environment must support predictable recovery following hardware failures, virtual machine corruption, configuration errors, or other operational incidents.

Additional Qualifications

Experience with high-availability architectures, virtual machine replication, and failover configurations is considered an advantage. Familiarity with disaster recovery planning and recovery-time requirements for critical operational systems would also be beneficial.

On-site Presence and Information Security

The assignment must be performed almost entirely on-site at the customer's location in Den Helder. Remote working must be kept to an absolute minimum, and the candidate must be willing and able to work on-site on a regular basis. A remote or predominantly hybrid working arrangement is not suitable for this assignment.

Due to the confidentiality of the systems and information involved, all work must be performed in an environment that is not connected to the internet. The candidate must be comfortable working within an isolated IT environment where external network access, cloud-based services, and online support resources may be unavailable or prohibited.

All infrastructure changes, imaging activities, configuration management, backup operations, and recovery testing must comply with the applicable security requirements and procedures of the Dutch Ministry of Defense. The information handled is classified at a minimum of Restricted, requiring a disciplined approach to information security and the handling of sensitive technical data.

Availability and Security Requirements

The candidate must be willing and eligible to undergo the applicable Dutch Ministry of Defense security screening, including a VOG or any additional screening required for the assignment.

Key Requirements

• Fluent in the Dutch and English language.
• Demonstrable experience with bit-accurate, sector-level imaging of physical legacy machines, including unstable storage environments.
• Proven experience migrating Windows XP and Windows 7 installations to virtual machines, including resolving driver and hardware compatibility issues.
• Hands-on production experience with Proxmox and/or VMware ESXi.
• Practical expertise in virtual machine optimisation, including CPU pinning, COM-port emulation, time synchronisation, and I/O scheduling.
• Experience implementing enterprise backup, monitoring, and tested recovery procedures for critical systems.
• Ability to document recovery processes so they can be executed reliably by personnel without specialist engineering expertise.
• On-site availability in Den Helder, with remote working kept to an absolute minimum.
• Ability and willingness to work in an internet-isolated environment, following security procedures appropriate for information classified at a minimum of Restricted.
• Willingness and eligibility to undergo the applicable Dutch Ministry of Defense security screening.

This is a hands-on infrastructure engineering role focused on the preservation, migration, and long-term continuity of legacy systems. General virtualisation or infrastructure administration experience alone is insufficient; candidates must demonstrate practical experience with legacy operating systems, physical-to-virtual migration, and the specialised configuration requirements of critical legacy applications.

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