Virtualisation Support Engineer (VMware Specialist)

Location: Basingstoke, UK (with occasional travel to London)

Salary: £55k - £60k + 10% DV Bonus + Bonus

About the Opportunity:

We are recruiting for a major global IT services company known for managing secure and complex infrastructure for key clients. They are seeking a dedicated Virtualisation Support Engineer to join their expert infrastructure support team, focusing specifically on their extensive VMware environments.

This role offers a superb opportunity to specialise and deepen your expertise in cutting-edge VMware technologies (including vSphere, vCenter, and vRealize), working within a structured support model alongside 3rd Line and Engineering teams to resolve advanced technical challenges. You will receive relevant training on the specific established systems.

Clearance:
Due to the nature of the end client you will need to be DV Cleared or able to achieve DV Clearance.

The Role:

As a Virtualisation Support Engineer, you will be a senior technical resource (acting at a 4th Line level) responsible for the advanced support, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the core virtualisation platform. Your primary focus will be on VMware vSphere, vCenter, and vRealize components, ensuring the stability, performance, and availability of the virtual infrastructure supporting a high-profile user community.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide expert-level (4th Line) technical support focused on the VMware virtualisation infrastructure (vSphere, vCenter, ESXi, vRealize).
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex performance, configuration, and availability issues within the VMware stack.
• Administer, manage, and maintain VMware vCenter Server and ESXi hosts.
• Support and troubleshoot components of the VMware vRealize Suite (e.g., vROps, vRA).
• Monitor virtualisation platform health, performance, and capacity, recommending improvements.
• Collaborate with 3rd Line support, Engineering teams, storage, and network teams to resolve cross-functional issues impacting the virtual environment.
• Assist with patching, upgrades, and lifecycle management of the VMware infrastructure.
• Utilise PowerShell/PowerCLI scripting for automation, reporting, and administration tasks within the VMware environment.
• Support underlying infrastructure components essential for the virtualisation platform (e.g., Windows Server, AD, DNS).
• Maintain high availability and resilience features within the VMware environment (HA, DRS, Clustering).

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Strong, demonstrable hands-on experience supporting and administering VMware vSphere environments (vCenter, ESXi) in large-scale deployments.
• Proven experience managing and troubleshooting VMware vCenter Server.
• Experience working with components of the VMware vRealize Suite (e.g., vROps for monitoring/performance , vRA for automation).
• Solid understanding of core virtualisation concepts, including storage (SAN/NAS/vSAN) and networking (vSwitches/dvSwitches) within a vSphere context.
• Experience with VMware High Availability (HA), Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), and vMotion.
• Proficiency in PowerShell scripting, ideally with PowerCLI for VMware administration.
• Good understanding of supporting technologies: Microsoft Windows Server (essential for vCenter/related services), Active Directory, DNS, DHCP.
• Experience in troubleshooting complex technical issues methodically.
• Familiarity with incident management processes and tools.

Desirable Skills & Knowledge:

• Relevant VMware certifications (e.g., VCP-DCV).
• Experience with other virtualisation or cloud platforms (Hyper-V, Azure, AWS).
• Knowledge of Citrix technologies (PVS/MCS, StoreFront) running on VMware.
• Experience with blade server infrastructure (e.g., HP BladeSystem).
• Familiarity with backup solutions integrated with VMware (e.g., Veeam).
• Understanding of security hardening principles within a VMware environment.
• Experience with automation/configuration management tools (Ansible, Puppet).
• Knowledge of container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).

What's On Offer:

• An opportunity to specialise in VMware technologies within a complex, secure environment at a leading global company.
• A collaborative team focused on technical excellence.
• Specific training provided on established systems and processes.
• A company culture that values diversity, inclusion, and employee well-being.
• This organisation is a committed Disability Confident employer and offers guaranteed interviews to candidates with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for the role. Please let us know if you require adjustments during the recruitment process.
• This is a full-time, permanent position based primarily in Basingstoke.