Data Center Patch Management Engineer

Job TitleJob Overview: Requirement/Must Have:Advanced Windows Server administration (2016/2019/2022): roles, features, update mechanisms (CBS, WUA).Strong Linux skills: RPM/YUM/DNF on RHEL; APT on Ubuntu; patch lifecycle, kernel updates, reboot management.Deep expertise in patch tooling: WSUS / SCCM SUP, Red Hat Satellite, Ansible Tower/AWX.Advanced PowerShell and Bash scripting; experience with Ansible YAML playbooks.Virtualisation: VMware vSphere (vCenter, ESXi), Hyper-V – snapshot workflows and patching order (hosts before guests).Cloud exposure: AWS SSM Patch Manager or Azure Update Manager for hybrid environments.Vulnerability management: Qualys, Tenable Nessus/SC, mapping CVEs to patch remediation.ITSM: ServiceNow – change management, CMDB, and automated ticket creation.Understanding of storage (SAN/NAS) and cluster patching procedures (Windows Failover Cluster, RHEL HA).Strong analytical skills to diagnose complex patch failures across layered infrastructure.Excellent planning and co-ordination skills for large-scale maintenance windows.Strong verbal and written communication skills.Risk-aware mindset – balances security urgency with operational stability.Self-driven; proactively identifies tooling gaps and implements improvements.Responsibilities:Manage the end-to-end patch management lifecycle for Windows Server and Linux (RHEL/Ubuntu/SUSE) environments.Maintain and optimise patch management tooling: WSUS, SCCM SUP, Red Hat Satellite, Ansible, or similar.Develop and maintain automation scripts (PowerShell, Bash, Ansible playbooks) for patch orchestration, pre/post-checks, and compliance reporting.Analyse vulnerability scan outputs (Qualys, Tenable) and map CVEs to required patches; prioritise based on CVSS and business criticality.Design and maintain patching runbooks, maintenance window procedures, and rollback plans for server environments.Oversee VMware vSphere / Hyper-V snapshot and backup verification before patching; manage rollback in failure scenarios.Co-ordinate with application, DBA, and storage teams to ensure application-consistent patching with zero unplanned downtime.Drive patch compliance metrics towards defined SLAs (Critical: 72 hrs, High: 7 days, Medium: 30 days).Act as L2 escalation point for patch-related incidents; conduct root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.Maintain CMDB accuracy for server patch status and configuration baseline.Present patch compliance dashboards and trend reports to management and security teams.Mentor L1 analysts and support onboarding of new team members.Nice to Have:Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate (AZ-800/AZ-801).VMware Certified Professional – Data Center Virtualisation (VCP-DCV).CompTIA Security+ or CySA+.AWS Certified SysOps Administrator or Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104).ITIL 4 Foundation or Managing Professional.Skills:Datacenter.Patch Management.Windows Server.Linux (RHEL/Ubuntu/SUSE).WSUS.SCCM SUP.Red Hat Satellite.Ansible.PowerShell.Bash.VMware vSphere.Hyper-V.AWS SSM Patch Manager.Azure Update Manager.Qualys.Tenable.ServiceNow.Qualification And Education:03 - 06+ years of experience in Data Center Patch Management or related infrastructure roles.