Architect

Role Summary

The Citrix Architect is the technical authority for the organization's Citrix virtualization platform.

This role investigates complex, high-severity issues, leads upgrade and migration projects (CVAD and Citrix DaaS), drives the Citrix Profile Management (UPM) vs FSLogix strategy, and evaluates and proves out new solutions through POCs before leading their production deployment.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1.

Architecture and Design

·       Design, document, and maintain the end-to-end Citrix architecture (CVAD on-prem, Citrix DaaS, hybrid, and multi-site/DR designs).

·       Produce high-level and low-level designs (HLD/LLD), reference architectures, standards, and build guides.

·       Define capacity planning, sizing, scalability, and high-availability strategies for Delivery Controllers, StoreFront, NetScaler/ADC, Cloud Connectors, and VDA workloads.

·       Design secure remote access using NetScaler Gateway/ADC, including authentication (SAML, MFA, Entra ID), aligned with Zero Trust principles.

·       Ensure the architecture aligns with security, compliance, and enterprise standards.

2.

Complex Issue Investigation and Escalation

·       Serve as the Tier 3 / final technical escalation point for complex, high-impact Citrix incidents.

·       Perform deep-dive root cause analysis (RCA) on slow logons, session launch failures, black screens, session reliability/reconnects, HDX/graphics performance, VDA registration failures, and profile issues.

·       Use tools such as CDF Control, Citrix Director, WEM analytics, Wireshark, ProcMon, Event Logs, and Citrix Scout to diagnose problems.

·       Engage Citrix Support and vendors (Microsoft, hypervisor, storage, network) and drive cases to resolution.

·       Document RCA findings, implement permanent fixes, and create knowledge base articles and runbooks.

3.

Upgrade and Project Delivery

·       Lead end-to-end delivery of CVAD upgrades (LTSR/CR): assessment, prerequisites, test plan, pilot, cutover, and rollback planning.

·       Lead Citrix DaaS migration, upgrade, or onboarding projects, including Cloud Connector deployment and hybrid/cloud transition.

·       Upgrade related components: StoreFront, NetScaler/ADC, Licensing Server, Director, WEM, PVS/MCS, and VDA/master images.

·       Develop project plans, timelines, risk registers, and communication plans; coordinate with Project Managers, infrastructure, security, and application teams.

·       Ensure minimal downtime and sound change management (CAB, change records, post-implementation reviews).

4.

Profile Management Strategy (UPM vs FSLogix)

·       Evaluate Citrix Profile Management (UPM) vs Microsoft FSLogix on logon performance, scalability, storage impact, resilience, Office/OneDrive/Teams support, and supportability.

·       Design the profile architecture: storage (SMB, Net...