JOB SUMMARY
We are seeking an Expert Cloud Platform Engineer to design, build, and maintain a next-generation private cloud infrastructure based on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9. This role involves transitioning traditional virtualization workloads into a highly automated, API-driven private cloud platform, ensuring maximum availability, exceptional performance, and unyielding security for virtualized services within a financial institution.
Key Responsibilities
• Platform Design & Architecture: Architect, deploy, and manage private cloud environments utilizing VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9, ensuring optimal resource allocation and scalability.
• Infrastructure Automation & Orchestration: Design and implement automated workflows for VM lifecycle management, day-two operations, and event-driven triggers. Develop API services to integrate virtualization platforms with internal catalogs and deployment pipelines.
• Systems & Network Management: Oversee the foundational OS and network layer supporting the virtualized environment, ensuring seamless integration of core IP services and reliable guest OS performance.
• High Availability & Optimization: Monitor enterprise infrastructure to ensure maximum uptime for mission-critical internal banking applications. Proactively tune CPU, memory, and storage configurations for performance and cost-efficiency.
• Security & Regulatory Compliance: Implement and enforce strict security policies, micro-segmentation, and role-based access controls (RBAC) to adhere to US banking regulations and internal audit standards.
• Modernization & Mentorship: Drive the evolution of platform engineering practice by incorporating infrastructure-as-code (IaC) principles. Provide technical guidance and escalation support for junior administrators and operational teams.
Required Qualifications
• Core Virtualization & Cloud Platforms:
• 10 years hands-on experience designing and administering VMware vSphere (ESXi and vCenter) at an enterprise scale.
• Proven ability to deploy and manage software-defined networking and security using VMware NSX.
• Strong operational knowledge of the VMware Aria (formerly vRealize) Suite, particularly Aria Automation and Aria Operations.
• Solid understanding of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) architecture and lifecycle management (SDDC Manager).
• Systems Administration & Core Networking:
• Proficiency in basic system administration, configuration, and troubleshooting for both Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Windows Server environments.
• Solid foundation in TCP/IP networking protocols and enterprise routing/switching principles.
• Hands-on experience managing and integrating core infrastructure services, specifically DNS, DHCP, and IPAM.
• Automation & Scripting:
• Proficiency in writing and maintaining automation playbooks using Ansible.
• Strong scripting skills in Python for building custom API endpoints, interacting with VMware REST APIs, and automating complex infrastructure tasks.
• 8 years experience with Terraform for infrastructure provisioning and state management.
• Familiarity with version control systems (Git) and modern CI/CD practices.
• Enterprise IT & Financial Compliance:
• Deep understanding of enterprise storage (SAN/NAS, vSAN) and compute hardware design.
• Experience operating within highly regulated environments, with a strong grasp of data privacy, compliance frameworks, and disaster recovery architectures.
Preferred Qualifications
• 10+ years' experience integrating virtualization infrastructure.
• Experience with modern cloud-native technologies, such as container orchestration platforms (e.g., Red Hat OpenShift, VMware Tanzu).
• Public cloud experience.
Certifications
• Active VMware certifications (VCP-DCV, VCP-NV, VCAP, or VCIX).
