What Does a Storage Engineer Do?
A storage engineer is responsible for designing, implementing, and deploying shared system resources, like disks and networking. Storage engineers also work on performance analysis and troubleshooting, data recovery strategies for critical systems, and data backup measures. They must be highly skilled in storage hardware architectures; high-level programming languages; distributed file systems; network protocols; and data storage applications. These individuals must stay up-to-date on new technologies to ensure they offer the latest solutions to their clients.
A successful storage engineer will possess expertise in both hardware and software. They should be familiar with the latest trends in data storage, backup strategies, and network security. This person must also have experience working on distributed file systems—due to advancements in cloud computing, more organizations are moving towards these types of storage networks.
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National Average Salary
Storage engineer salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.
The average U.S. salary for a Storage Engineer is:
$93,250
Storage Engineer Job Descriptions
It’s important to include the right content in your job description when hiring a storage engineer. The following examples can serve as templates for attracting the best available talent for your team.
Example 1
We are seeking a storage engineer to provide technical support for our software engineers. The ideal candidate will have experience with data storage applications and cloud-based file systems. A degree in computer science or electrical engineering is preferred, but not required. The engineer will be responsible for designing, implementing, and deploying shared system resources. They will also work on performance analysis and troubleshooting, data recovery strategies, and backup measures. A Bachelor’s degree in computer science or electrical engineering is preferred, but not required. Experience with data storage applications and cloud-based file systems is required.
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Design, implement, and deploy shared system resources
- Work on performance analysis and troubleshooting
- Data recovery strategies
- Backup measures
- Knowledge of storage hardware architectures
- Familiarity with high-level programming languages
- Experience working in a distributed file systems environment
- Stays up-to-date on new technologies to ensure they offer the latest solutions to their clients
Education and experience
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science or electrical engineering
- Experience with data storage applications and cloud-based file systems
- Knowledgeable in storage hardware architectures and high-level programming languages
- Should be experienced in working in a distributed file systems environment
Required skills and qualifications
- Stays up-to-date on new technologies
- Offers the latest solutions to clients
- Expertise in hardware and software
- Familiar with latest trends in data storage, backup strategies, and network security
- Experience working in a distributed file systems environment
- Ability to think critically and solve problems
Preferred qualifications
- Scripting experience with Python or Bash
- Working knowledge of VMware vSphere and storage area networks (SANs)
- Experience with machine learning or data mining
- Understanding of object-oriented programming concepts
- Knowledge of Redis, PostgreSQL, and Apache Cassandra
- Linux system administration experience
Example 2
Position summary:
ABC Company is looking for an engineer with experience in Li-Ion and battery system technology with specific knowledge in battery design, operation, and thermal management for PHEV and BEV-based vehicle architectures.
The New Energy Storage Engineer works in our global advanced engineering team, developing but also leading ABC Company’s future battery systems-based thermal management product and process portfolio, ensuring program readiness on time, on spec, and on costs, from initial concept to successful serial production.
Responsibilities of position:
- Support development of ABC Company’s global expertise in battery technologies with a focus on PHEV and BEV, from system down to component level including its functional breakdown
- Screen the global battery system technology-based market and convert it into an ABC specific technology roadmap
- Benchmark battery system technologies with a focus on thermal management
- Evolve global understanding of different battery technologies (technology, costs, strategy)
- Identify future product opportunities for ABC Company
- Lead technical meetings with our global customers to actively market and support new battery-related technologies, including alignment on product requirements
- Interface and active conversation with research institutions, universities, and other battery experts to support ABC Company’s battery strategy
- Support the development of future manufacturing technology
- Development and implementation of battery system-based thermal prototype build, test, and validation activity
- Actively publicize ABC Company’s thermal management systems approach to customers, partners, suppliers, and the industry
Skills & experience requirements:
- Knowledge of battery systems design and operation
- Knowledge of battery thermal management solutions and physical implications
- Understanding of vehicle coolant and refrigerant systems and their interaction and influence on battery performance
- A creative and intuitive mindset
- Ability to lead the team in a new complex solution approach
- Ability to learn and teach others about battery technology
- Ability to manage programs meeting the objectives
- Ability to implement remedial actions and plans to address concerns
- Excellent customer interaction skills
- Self-directed with a high degree of self-motivation
- Team player with the ability to support a team goal
- Excellent communication and team interaction skills
- Proficient IT skills in Microsoft Office
- Knowledge of power electronics and hydrogen fuel cell systems is an advantage
- Knowledge of polymer material processing and development is an advantage
- Knowledge of materials used in thermal management systems is an advantage
Education and experience requirements:
- BSME or related engineering degree (electrical engineering or chemistry)
- The expectation of 3-10 years of engineering experience, at least 1-5 years of experience with Li-Ion battery-based electrified vehicle architectures (PHEV/BEV)
Example 3
Job duties and responsibilities
This position is responsible for the planning, engineering, implementation, administration, and support of a Backup and Recovery and disaster recovery infrastructure for ABC Company retail wireless applications in the AWS cloud. The focus is on backup/restore for new ABC Company retail wireless cloud application builds and ABC Company retail wireless applications that have migrated, or will migrate, from on-premise to a cloud-virtualized environment. This includes all aspects of backup/restore including gathering protection requirements, policy creation and management, success/failure reporting and remediation, upgrades, troubleshooting, configuration monitoring, and business continuity in a cloud environment. This position will also be responsible for researching new technology related to backup/restore, security, retention, and business continuity in a cloud environment. The candidate must possess strong verbal communication skills, and interpersonal skills, and be able to work in a fast-paced team environment.
- Actively participate in the design and architectural decisions for backup, recovery, and storage options in a cloud environment
- Integrate cloud operations with legacy processes, with an understanding of new cloud principals CICD Pipelines, Software/Infrastructure as a Service
- Work with operations teams to implement system changes: Firmware/Hardware compatibility bundles, Latest support Hypervisor versions, understanding traditional Storage Solutions, and Cloud Storage Solutions
- Ensure all hardware and software components, are in compliance, with security guidelines
- Implement and defend PCI requirements in the Cloud
- Evaluate and recommend new technologies based on business requirements Craft and develop AWS Cloud solutions, translating business requirements into scalable, flexible, and secure cloud architectures
- Experience with, and understanding of NetWorker, On-Prem Storage Arrays, hyper-converged, VSAN, IP storage or similar product offerings, and cloud storage solutions to offload on-prem storage footprint
- Assist in Cloud Tiering from on-premise storage solutions
Skills, experience, and requirements
- B.S. in Computer Science or related area of study preferred, or equivalent industry experience
- 5-10 years of IT-related experience
- Expertise in industry tools for CI and CD pipeline creation and execution – Jenkins, Chef, Ansible, PowerShell, Hashicorp stack, JUnit, Selenium, Sonar, Terraform, Cloud Formation, or equivalents.
- Expertise in design, implementation, and management of compute virtualization technologies – VMWare, AWS EC2/ECS/EKS, GCP, and/or Azure Virtual Machines
- Expertise in the design and implantation of a virtual data center in AWS, GCP, or Azure including technologies supporting Backup/Restore, data protection, Networks, VPCs, Security, DNS, Computer, Storage, Persistent storage technologies, EMR, Transport, and Data structures
- Enterprise-class experience designing and implementing highly available infrastructure solutions: VMWare, DELL/EMC RP4VM
- In-depth knowledge of Virtualized cloud products: VMWare Cloud, Storage Solutions, AWS File Gateway, AWS Backup, AWS EC2/EBS/S3, CloudWatch
- Experience and knowledge of multiple hypervisors and virtualization technologies: VMWare, Hyper-V
- Experience in deploying a cloud solution in a secured environment: AWS VPC, Security Groups, IAM Roles, S3
- Knowledge of multiple cloud technologies: AWS, GCP, Azure
- Experience with storage provisioning for VMware 7 and/or other hypervisors
- Experience supporting environments providing high availability and disaster recovery desirable
- Experience with application selection/deployment/support with private and public cloud (AWS)
Example 4
Position
As part of ABC Company’s diverse team, you will collaborate with the larger engineering organization to develop, deploy, and maintain custom storage systems and storage management software to handle petabytes of data generated by ABC Company’s instruments and computational systems.
About you
You are a jack of all trades, but a master of storage or, at least storage is the area you gravitate towards. You are adventurous, passionate, creative, and curious. You feel that knowing the answer is not sufficient, but that understanding the “why” behind the answer is important. You have worked in environments where the user base does weird things to storage, whether it be in a post-doc lab, a large-scale HPC lab (whether government or private), or deep in the bowels of a “big data” environment, and tweaked, modified, and otherwise bent storage systems to your will in support of the userbase.
You are excited to open a new chapter in your career and join the search for medicines that will have a positive impact on diseases that impact people across the globe and, in doing so, be on the front lines of handling 100s or terabytes of data a day for real-time processing, and for the long-term care and feeding of the resulting output data across multiple buildings, cities, and countries. You will bring to this challenge enthusiasm, high energy, intellectual curiosity, and scientific rigor which you have demonstrated throughout your career.
What you’ll do
- Provide input on the strategic direction of the engineering storage environment
- Develop and maintain a hybrid cloud/on-prem storage environment capable of handling tens of petabytes of data
- Participate in vetting new storage solutions and providing feedback to vendors regarding ABC Company’s needs
- Participate in the development and deployment of any custom storage solutions developed by ABC Company
- Work closely with Corporate IT to ensure security, backup, and disaster recovery needs for instrument and Engineering data are comprehended and to implement solutions that meet those needs
- Lead efforts to troubleshoot and resolve any issues with the engineering storage environment
- In collaboration with other Engineering IT subject matter experts, the engineering software group, and the science teams, deploy and maintain an information management solution that will map the scientist’s view of data (an experiment) to the storage view of data (an object, file, or directory) and allow for intelligent management of ABC Company’s science data
- Work collaboratively with engineers and scientists to understand and address tactical needs and create a positive and productive development and analysis environment
- Contribute to multiple projects simultaneously, developing milestones, and deadlines in coordination with the broader company goals
Qualifications
- BS or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related quantitative field
- 10+ years of combined experience in IT infrastructure, commercial, and custom storage solutions, tools development and support, and IT administration
- Demonstrated experience deploying and supporting custom storage solutions from non-commercial sources: deployment of a Lustre environment as an example
- Familiarity with storage technology from multiple vendors — NetApp, Qumulo, EMC, TrueNAS, Weka, etc.
- Experience managing petabyte-sized data sets
- Strong Python and Shell programming experience are required – expect someone to ask you to write code
- C/C++ familiarity desired
- Linux system administration experience is a requirement
- Experience with AWS or other S3-compatible storage environments
- Experience deploying on-prem S3 storage or S3 translation layers
- Ability to logically and efficiently investigate and solve problems and to develop solutions from prototype development to production designs
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Team-oriented, flexible, and able to adapt to rapidly evolving goals and challenges
- Adept at balancing multiple projects and competing priorities
Candidate Certifications to Look For
- Redis Certified Developer. This is a professional certification program for software developers who regularly work with Redis. Earning this certification is a great way to ensure that candidates achieve a high level of Redis mastery. They can also use this certification to demonstrate their Redis expertise to prospective employers.
- PostgreSQL Certification. Candidates can show they have the expertise needed to set up, deploy, maintain, and monitor high-performance databases for enterprise applications using open-source PostgreSQL.
- DataStax Developer Certification. This certificate is designed for professionals that use Apache Cassandra clusters to manage data. This includes roles such as application developers, data architects, database designers, and database administrators.
How to Hire a Storage Engineer
When hiring a storage engineer, first consider the following:
- Recruiting: Do you have the knowledge, tools, and resources to attract and screen candidates?
- Complexity: Do you need a senior professional, or will mid or junior-level skills and experience suffice?
- Duration: Is this a one-time project or an ongoing need?
- Management: Do you have the time and expertise to direct the work effectively?
- Urgency: How soon does the work need to be completed?
- Headcount: Do you have the budget and approval for an internal employee, or should you consider alternate options?
Answering these questions will help determine the best course of action for your current hiring need. Fortunately, great options exist for every scenario. These are our recommendations:
1. Use 4 Corner Resources (or another professional recruiting firm)
The heavy lifting is done for you when working with a top-tier staffing company like 4 Corner Resources. We source, screen, recruit, and deliver only the most qualified candidate(s), saving you significant time and effort throughout the hiring process while you remain focused on your core business. Understanding your needs and ensuring the right candidate for the position is the key to our success.
This is the best route to take when:
- You need to fill the position quickly
- You want access to a vast talent pool of high-quality, prescreened candidates
- Your position is suited for temporary hiring services, contract staffing, or contract-to-hire recruiting, and you intend to direct the work activity.
- You are hiring an employee as a direct placement but aren’t able to recruit effectively or efficiently with your internal staff.
- You aren’t familiar with current salary rates, market trends, and available skill sets
2. Advertise your opening on a top job board
Your best option may be to advertise your opening on a proven job board. There are many widely used job sites out there that draw visits from qualified candidates. If you have someone internally who can dedicate the time and energy to sort through applications and screen individuals effectively, this can be a great choice.
We recommend using a job board when:
- Your internal recruiting team has the knowledge and experience to assess candidate qualifications
- You are hiring a direct employee and have time to manage the entire recruiting effort
- You have a process for receiving, screening, and tracking all resumes and applications
- You are prepared to respond to all applicants
We recommend CareerBuilder when hiring a storage engineer:
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder has been a trusted source for hiring since 1995. Reach 80+ million unique, diverse U.S. job seekers annually by posting your jobs through their talent acquisition channels. Through CareerBuilder, you can engage candidates and drive them into your sourcing pipeline. We recommend using CareerBuilder for hiring when you have the internal resources and processes to review, screen, and reply to all applicants.
3. Leverage your internal resources
You can utilize your own website, social media, and employees to assist in your search for top candidates.
A company website posting should be the first step in notifying prospective candidates that you are hiring. Social media can also be a powerful tool for spreading the word about your new opening. As far as exposure is concerned, this option can be as good as some job boards when you have a large enough following across various platforms, like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.
Current employees are every organization’s greatest asset. Encourage your internal team to promote job openings to their network by offering cash and other incentives.
We recommend these options when:
- Your brand has great name recognition
- You can consistently monitor and respond to candidate activity through your website and social media accounts
- You have a process in place to quickly and broadly communicate job openings and requirements
- You have an effective employee referral program in place
If you aren’t sure which path is best, schedule a discovery call today with our seasoned recruiting professionals. The 4 Corner team is on standby to help you find the best option for your unique hiring need.
Sample Interview Questions
- Have you ever worked with cloud-based storage or file systems? If so, describe the experience.
- What scripting languages are you familiar with? What sort of tasks have you used them for in the past?
- Describe your experience with data mining or machine learning.
- What object-oriented programming concepts are you familiar with? How have you used them in your work?
- Have you ever been responsible for system management duties? If so, describe the experience.
- What security measures have you put into place while working with storage systems?
- What challenges have you faced while working with storage systems? How did you overcome them?
- What are your thoughts on the future of the storage engineer role? How do you see it evolving?
- Describe a complex data storage problem that you were able to solve. What was the outcome?
- Do you have any experience working with analytics? If so, describe the experience.
- What are your thoughts on the future of data storage? How do you see the industry evolving?
- Where do you see yourself in five years? What would be a successful outcome for you in this position?