Mailcow / Linux Email Server Expert

We are looking for an experienced **Mailcow / Linux Email Server Expert** to design, configure, migrate, and secure a production email hosting environment for a business with **500+ email users**. ### Project Scope * Deploy and configure **Mailcow Dockerized** on a dedicated Hetzner server. * Configure approximately **500–600 business email accounts**. * Each mailbox will have up to **5 GB quota**, with approximately **600 GB total pooled storage** initially. * Migrate all existing emails from the current **cPanel email server** without data loss. * Configure and optimize: * Postfix * Dovecot * SOGo Webmail * Rspamd * ClamAV * IMAP / POP3 / SMTP * SSL certificates * SPF * DKIM * DMARC * PTR / Reverse DNS * Configure Outlook, mobile, and standard email client compatibility. * Optimize server performance for **500+ users**. * Configure mailbox quotas and storage monitoring. * Configure automated off-site backups and test the restore process. * Implement server monitoring and email-service uptime monitoring. * Secure the server against spam, brute-force attacks, unauthorized relaying, and common mail-server threats. * Review IP reputation and email deliverability to Gmail, Outlook/Microsoft, Yahoo, and other major providers. * Configure an SMTP relay only if necessary for improved deliverability. * Prepare a clear disaster-recovery procedure. * Provide documentation for administration, adding/removing users, backups, updates, and basic troubleshooting. ### Preferred Server Environment We are currently considering: * Hetzner Dedicated Server * 64 GB RAM * 2 × 1 TB NVMe SSD in RAID1 * Approximately 1 TB usable storage * Linux / Docker * Dedicated IPv4 We are open to recommendations if you believe another configuration would provide better reliability or cost efficiency. ### Required Experience We are specifically looking for someone with strong hands-on experience in: * **Mailcow Dockerized** * Production Linux mail servers * Postfix and Dovecot * Rspamd / spam filtering * SOGo * Docker and Docker Compose * Large mailbox migrations using IMAP / imapsync * cPanel email migration * DNS and email authentication * SPF, DKIM, DMARC and PTR * Email deliverability and IP reputation * Backup and disaster recovery * Hetzner or similar dedicated-server providers ### Important This is **not a basic Mailcow installation job**. The system will support more than **500 active business email users**, so we need someone who has previously managed a production mail server at a similar scale. When applying, please include: * Examples of Mailcow servers you have deployed or managed. * Approximate number of mailboxes/users handled. * Your recommended server configuration for this project. * Your proposed backup and disaster-recovery approach. * Your migration approach from cPanel. * How you would protect outbound email deliverability and server IP reputation. * Estimated fixed price for the initial setup and migration. * Your monthly or annual cost for optional ongoing server management and support. We prefer an expert who can also provide **ongoing maintenance after deployment**, including updates, monitoring, backup checks, deliverability troubleshooting, and emergency support.