Senior Virtual Training Environment Developer

Forge Forward is searching for a Senior Virtual Training Environment Devleoper to support a client in Charleston, SC. The Senior Virtual Training Environment Developer will design, build, automate, secure, document, and sustain reusable virtual lab environments that complement the program’s online and on-demand training. The role will replace the current instructor-dependent sandbox model with a maintainable Virtual Training Environment that allows learners to perform realistic tasks using network-management, monitoring, infrastructure, and internally developed software products.

This is an infrastructure and lab-development role with instructional-technology integration responsibilities. The successful candidate will work closely with instructional designers, curriculum developers, LMS administrators, technical writers, instructors, product teams, cybersecurity personnel, and technical subject-matter experts. Initial emphasis is on a cost-conscious IL5-capable solution that can be expanded later, with selected capabilities potentially replicated at IL6.

Functional Skills and Responsibilities:
• Design and implement an IL5-capable Virtual Training Environment for hands-on, instructor-supported, and on-demand technical labs; support planning for selected IL6 instances where mission needs justify them.
• Assess existing instructor-led labs and convert them into repeatable virtual exercises with defined starting states, student instructions, validation criteria, reset procedures, and troubleshooting paths.
• Build and administer virtualized lab environments using VMware vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, virtual machines, templates, snapshots, clones, and segmented virtual networks, or a comparable approved platform.
• Create labs for enterprise network-management and monitoring products such as SolarWinds, Cisco ISE, Splunk, Wireshark, VMware, BMC products, Juniper, Palo Alto, cryptographic-support components, and internally developed applications.
• Engineer reusable golden images, software baselines, datasets, user accounts, network topologies, and restoration mechanisms so learner environments can be provisioned and returned to a known-good state efficiently.
• Automate environment provisioning, configuration, health checks, resets, and cleanup using PowerShell, VMware PowerCLI, Python, REST APIs, or comparable scripting and orchestration methods.
• Integrate lab access and learner instructions with the program’s online courseware and LMS workflows; coordinate with Storyline, Captivate, and Camtasia developers without duplicating the instructional-design function.
• Develop realistic task-based scenarios that require learners to configure, monitor, diagnose, and troubleshoot systems and tools rather than only observe demonstrations.
• Apply DoD cybersecurity, configuration-management, access-control, software-approval, vulnerability-management, and change-control requirements throughout design and sustainment.
• Create architecture diagrams, build guides, administrator procedures, student lab guides, reset/recovery instructions, test plans, known-issue logs, and sustainment documentation.
• Prototype low-cost options, document tradeoffs, and recommend scalable enhancements based on learner demand, software licensing, infrastructure capacity, security constraints, and total sustainment effort.
• Coordinate with vendors and internal product teams to obtain installation media, licensing, technical documentation, test data, and approved configurations.
• Test labs for technical accuracy, usability, repeatability, accessibility, and performance before release; collect feedback and iteratively improve the environment.
• Strong hands-on experience administering enterprise virtual infrastructure, Windows and Linux systems, networking, authentication, and common infrastructure services.
• Demonstrated ability to explain complex technical tasks clearly and collaborate with instructors, developers, engineers, cybersecurity personnel, and non-engineering training staff.

Desired Skills:
• Experience building virtual training labs, cyber ranges, technical sandboxes, demonstration environments, integration labs, or student workspaces.
• Experience with one or more target products, especially BMC platforms, SolarWinds, Cisco ISE, Splunk, Wireshark, VMware, Juniper, or Palo Alto.
• Experience in IL5, IL6, classified, disconnected, or otherwise restricted DoD environments.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code or configuration automation tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Packer, Git, or CI/CD pipelines.
• Familiarity with Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Captivate, Camtasia, SCORM, xAPI, or LMS integration.
• Experience designing task-based technical training, performance assessments, guided practice, fault-injection scenarios, or automated lab validation.
• Experience supporting Navy C4I, network transport, enterprise data centers, or comparable DoD infrastructure programs.
• Unity, Unreal Engine, 3D simulation, digital-twin, serious-game, XR/VR, or immersive-learning experience is desirable for future capability expansion but is not required for initial performance.

Education Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Network Engineering, Instructional Technology, or a related field is desired. Relevant technical experience building and sustaining virtualized infrastructure or training environments may be considered in lieu of a degree, subject to contract labor-category requirements.

Certification Requirements:
Required: CompTIA Security+ or another certification meeting the position’s approved DoD Cyber Workforce qualification requirement, if required by the assigned work role.
Desired: VMware Certified Professional; Microsoft, Linux, Cisco, Juniper, Palo Alto, Splunk, BMC, or automation-related certifications relevant to the assigned environment.

Clearance Requirements:
SECRET (minimum) with current SSBI/T5 investigation required. TS/SCI clearance desired.