Senior Application Operations Engineer / Technical Application Consultant

Project overview

For an exciting IT infrastructure project, we are looking for an experienced Senior Application Operations Engineer / Technical Application Consultant on a freelance basis. As part of the modernization of an existing data center landscape, you will support the technical analysis of business-critical applications and the preparation of a new operating model. The goal is to investigate the technical dependencies of selected applications within a Proof of Concept (PoC), define operating processes, and practically verify their functionality in a test environment.

The focus is on operational technical implementation, not on pure architecture consulting or project management.

Responsibilities

The Profile Sought

Language Requirements

• Technical Discovery: Analysis of existing application landscapes and identification of relevant servers, databases, interfaces, and infrastructure dependencies.
• Application Operations: Investigation of critical services, operating processes, monitoring capabilities, and potential sources of error.
• Web Servers & Load Balancing: Review of web server and load balancer configurations, and performance of availability, routing, and health checks.
• Databases: Analysis of application-related SQL databases, especially MySQL, including connection testing and error diagnosis.
• Network & Firewall: Review of relevant network connections and firewall rules, especially in the SonicWall environment.
• Troubleshooting & Playbooks: Creation of practical operating and incident manuals with test steps, troubleshooting measures, and escalation paths.
• Proof of Concept: Execution and documentation of technical functionality and incident tests within a provided test environment.
• Documentation: Creation of structured result documentation with technical dependencies, test results, risks, and recommendations for later operation.
• Project Coordination: Close collaboration with SOMI project management and involved technical contacts.
• At least 5 years of practical experience in operating complex IT application landscapes or in technical system administration.
• Sound knowledge in operating Linux and Windows server environments.
• Practical experience with web servers such as IIS, Apache, or Nginx, as well as knowledge of load balancing, reverse proxies, and HTTP/HTTPS.
• Good knowledge of relational databases, especially MySQL or MariaDB, including error analysis and connection diagnostics.
• Solid network understanding in the areas of TCP/IP, DNS, routing, firewall, ports, and network segmentation.
• Experience in systematic troubleshooting using logs, monitoring, and diagnostic tools.
• Ability to independently create technical operating documentation, runbooks, and incident playbooks.
• Experience in conducting and documenting technical functionality and incident tests.
• Ideally, knowledge of SonicWall, VMware, OpenStack/KVM, ITIL processes, or application migrations.
• Strong hands-on mentality, analytical mindset, and an independent, structured way of working.
• Very good German language skills and the ability to document technical contexts understandably.
• Project Type: Freelance / self-employed activity
• Contract Partner: SOMI Services GmbH
• Project Scope: Maximum 10 person-days à 8 hours (total 80 hours)
• Project Start: Short notice after coordination and customer approval
• Location: Predominantly remote, possibly required on-site appointments by arrangement
• Project Content: Technical discovery, operations analysis, PoC tests, and creation of operating playbooks
• Collaboration: Independent service delivery in close coordination with SOMI project management and technical project partners
• Confidentiality: Signing of a confidentiality agreement (NDA) is required before project start.

Project details

• Start: 2026-11-09
• Remote: remote
• Location: Remote, DE
• Languages: German