Senior Infrastructure Specialist (NY IT Support)

Detailed description of work task to be carried out

The consultant will support the New York IT team in managing a high-demand workload that exceeds current capacity. This demand is primarily driven by large-scale infrastructure upgrades, application lifecycle activities, and regulatory requirements. The role is critical in reducing operational risk, addressing backlog, and ensuring successful delivery of 2026 migration deadlines, while coordinating closely with internal teams and external vendors.

Key responsibilities

Infrastructure migration and upgrades

• Migration of 124 SQL Server 2016 databases to SQL 2022 environments/clusters
• Upgrade, migration, or decommissioning of the Windows Server 2016 estate (27 servers)
• Support OS and application upgrades (e.g., Prime, SFTP)

Vendor application upgrades and coordination

• Execute and support upgrades of vendor-provided applications (e.g., Prime, Reg Reporter, RegTechOne, SteelEye)
• Coordinate closely with external vendors on planning, scheduling, issue resolution, and delivery execution
• Ensure alignment between vendor timelines and internal migration and release plans
• Support validation, testing, and rollout of vendor-delivered changes

Application lifecycle and operational support

• Support ongoing lifecycle management, including incident handling, vulnerability remediation, patching, and monitoring
• Maintain operational stability across 34 applications (local and central)

Application and infrastructure transformation initiatives

• Participate in upgrades and replacements (e.g., Reg Reporter, Prime replacements)
• Support file server migration to SharePoint and related integrations
• Contribute to migrations of banking and compliance systems (e.g., KYC, payment systems)

Security, compliance, and onboarding

• Support IIQ/SSO onboarding and service account remediation
• Assist with threat modelling, HLD/SDD documentation, and security baseline activities
• Contribute to regulatory- and compliance-driven initiatives

Migration coordination and execution

• Track and coordinate upgrade and migration activities (SQL, Windows, applications)
• Prepare documentation, test plans, rollout checklists, and verification materials
• Support UAT preparation and release execution

General operational workload

• Support daily operational tasks and incident resolution
• Assist with backlog reduction and improved delivery throughput

Must-have knowledge and experience

Strong experience with

• Windows Server administration (2016 to newer versions)
• SQL Server (2016 to 2022 migrations, clustering, performance tuning)
• Application and infrastructure lifecycle management

Proven ability in

• Large-scale infrastructure migrations (database and OS)
• Production support in complex enterprise environments
• Incident, problem, and change management

Experience with

• Application support in banking or financial systems
• Security and compliance activities (patching, vulnerability remediation, audits)
• Integration-heavy environments (payments, regulatory, reporting systems)

Strong capabilities in

• Documentation (HLD, SDD, operational procedures)
• Coordinating releases, testing, and deployment activities

Nice-to-have knowledge and experience

Experience with

• Oracle, Java, or Python
• Power BI or reporting solutions
• Identity & Access Management (e.g., IIQ / SailPoint)
• SSO onboarding frameworks

Familiarity with

• Banking domain systems (payments, KYC, compliance platforms)
• Automation and scripting of operational tasks
• SharePoint migrations and file transfer solutions

Knowledge of

• Regulatory frameworks and audit requirements in financial institutions
• Resilience, disaster recovery, and high-availability environments

Experience working in

• Distributed delivery models (e.g., coordination with offshore or Poland-based teams)
• Environments with high operational load and competing priorities

Team is primarily located in Gdansk and would be preferred, but Warsaw and Lodz are considered as well.