Product Specialist 5/ PS5

Job Title: Product Specialist 5/ PS5

Location: Columbus, OH

Work Model: Hybrid

Compensation: $136-141k

AM: Ashley Hetman

Interviews: In person

Hybrid schedule

Working Title: Lead Product Specialist

Years of Experience:9 years

Education:4-yeardegree or equivalent technical study

Position Overview

The client seeks an experienced Product Specialist 5 to serve as the technical expert and operational leader for our COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) product portfolio. This critical role bridges our business operations and the Office of Information Technology (Client),ensuring commerce applications run efficiently across on-premises and cloud environments. You will be the primary technical authority for building,deploying, and managing mission-critical solutions while collaborating with client sister Server, Storage, Networking, Security, and Infrastructure teams.

This position offers the opportunity to work at the intersection of business and technology, managing critical systems that directly impact state commerce operations. You'll work with advanced security technologies like OPSWAT MetaDefender to protect sensitive commerce data while collaborating with talented professionals across multiple technical disciplines.As the central orchestrator between vendors, Client teams, and internal staff, you'll ensure seamless integration of COTS solutions while building team capabilities.

Working Environment:Hybrid arrangement with on-call for production support and occasional after-hours maintenance windows.

What You Will Be Doing

COTS Product Lifecycle Management

• Own complete lifecycle from evaluation through deployment and operational support
• Design and execute deployments across Windows Server, Active Directory, and Azure/AWS platforms
• Configure Tomcat/IIS middle ware and implement SAML authentication solutions
• Manage OPSWAT MetaDefender for advanced threat prevention and data sanitization
• Develop automation scripts and standardized deployment procedures
  
  

Vendor Collaboration & Partnership[KEY RESPONSIBILITY - GUIDE VENDORS]

• Guide and oversee vendor relationships for all COTS products, ensuring alignment with Department objectives and technical standards from operational perspective
• Coordinate vendor support escalations and manage SLA compliance
• Direct vendor resources during implementations, upgrades, and critical incidents
• Ensure knowledge transfer from vendors to internal team members
  
  

Cross-Team Collaboration with Client[KEY RESPONSIBILITY - SERVE AS LIAISON TO DAS/Client]

• Partner with client sister Server team for capacity planning and infrastructure provisioning
• Coordinate with client sister Storage team for SAN/NAS allocation and backup strategies
• Define networking requirements, firewall rules, and WAF policies with Security teams
• Manage F5 load balancer configurations and TLS/SSL certificate lifecycle
• Work with Security team on OPSWAT MetaDefender policies for file sanitization and malware prevention
• Participate in change advisory boards and enterprise architecture decisions
• Serve as Department's primary operational/technical liaison to all client sister teams
• Represent Department interests in enterprise technology decisions and roadmap planning
• Bridge communication gaps between business stakeholders and client sister technical teams
• Facilitate bi-directional knowledge sharing and establish collaborative workflows
• Champion Department requirements in Client governance forums and architecture reviews
  
  

Operational Excellence

• Provide tier 3 support and lead root cause analysis for production incidents
• Monitor system health, performance metrics, and capacity trends
• Maintain 24/7 readiness through on-call rotation and incident response
• Manage OPSWAT MetaDefender operations including scanning engines and policy updates
• Coordinate patch management and upgrades with minimal business disruption
• Develop comprehensive run books and disaster recovery procedures
  
  

Security & Data Protection

• Configure and maintain OPSWAT MetaDefender for multi-scanning and content disarm/reconstruction
• Implement file upload security policies and quarantine procedures
• Monitor threat detection logs and coordinate incident response with Security team
• Ensure secure file transfers and data sanitization for commerce transactions
• Manage integration between MetaDefender and commerce applications
  
  

Technical Leadership & Infrastructure Planning[KEY RESPONSIBILITY - MENTOR IT TEAM]

• Function as Technical SME for enterprise COTS implementations
• Translate business requirements into technical specifications for Client teams
• Document architectures, data flows, network topologies, and integration points
• Design high-availability and disaster recovery solutions
• Ensure compliance with state and federal security standards
• Mentor junior and mid-level IT team members in technical skills and best practices
• Develop and deliver training/knowledge transfer programs for COTS products and enterprise technologies
• Create knowledge repositories and maintain technical documentation standards
• Lead technical brown bags and knowledge-sharing sessions
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and professional development
• Provide technical growth paths for team members
  
  

What’s Needed

REQUIRED TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Infrastructure & Platform Skills

• Expert Windows Server administration and Active Directory management
• Proficiency with Tomcat/IIS middleware configuration and optimization
• Experience with OPSWAT MetaDefender deployment and administration
• Hands-on experience with Azure/AWS (including GovCloud)
• Strong understanding of virtualization and containerization
  
  

Networking & Security Skills

• Experience with firewall rules, ACLs, and network traffic analysis
• Knowledge of F5 load balancers and WAF protection strategies
• Expertise in TLS/SSL certificates and SAML authentication
• Understanding of file-based threat detection and data sanitization
• Experience with multi-AV scanning and CDR (Content Disarm &Reconstruction)
• Knowledge of security protocols and compliance requirements
  
  

Operational & Collaboration Skills

• Proven track record managing high-availability production environments
• Experience with ITIL processes and ServiceNow or similar ticketing systems
• Exceptional cross-team collaboration and stakeholder communication abilities
• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis capabilities
• Success working in government or regulated environments
• Experience managing vendor relationships and technical escalations
  
  

Expert Windows Server administration and Active Directory management Required 9 Years

Proficiency with Tomcat/IIS middleware configuration and optimization Required 9 Years

Experience with OPSWAT MetaDefender deployment and administration Required 9 Years Hands-on experience with Azure/AWS (including GovCloud) Required 9 Years

Experience with firewall rules, ACLs, and network traffic analysis Required 9 Years

Knowledge of F5 load balancers and WAF protection strategies Required 9 Years

Expertise in TLS/SSL certificates and SAML authentication Required 9 Years

Exceptional cross-team collaboration and stakeholder communication abilities Required 9 Years

Success working in government or regulated environments Required 9 Years

Experience managing vendor relationships and technical escalations Required 9 Years

Compensation & Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k)
• Other standard benefits as applicable
  
  

About Unicon

UNICON is a workforce solutions provider with over 35 years of experience supporting organizations across a variety of industries. We partner with our clients to deliver skilled professionals while maintaining a strong focus on quality, compliance, and long-term relationships. UNICON is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.