Sr. VMWare Architect (VCF 9 / Cisco UCS)

Sr. VMware Architect needed for a 6+ Month Contract working remotely!  2 positions available.

Our client, a leader in enterprise IT infrastructure, is seeking a highly skilled and fully certified Senior Architect specializing in VMware Cloud Foundation and Cisco UCS. The ideal candidate will be an expert-level strategist, architect, and practitioner with deep, hands-on experience designing, implementing, and optimizing large-scale virtualized environments.
 
Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the architecture, deployment, and lifecycle management of VMware Cloud Foundation (vCF) environments (version 4.x and above, including vSphere 8/9).
• Design and integrate Cisco UCS solutions for computer and network infrastructure in multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.
• Serve as a VMware technology evangelist, shaping cloud and virtualization strategy for enterprise-scale customers.
• Develop reference architectures, best practices, and migration strategies for VMware and Cisco UCS platforms.
• Provide advanced troubleshooting, optimization, and performance tuning for VMware Cloud Foundation, vSphere, NSX, vSAN, and Cisco UCS.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams (Network, Storage, Security, Application) to ensure seamless integration and security compliance.
• Mentor technical teams and provide knowledge transfer for VMware and UCS solutions.
• Stay up to date with the latest VMware and Cisco UCS releases, tools, and certifications.

Required Skills & Qualifications: Certifications (Mandatory):

• Current and latest VMware Cloud Foundation certifications (e.g., VMware Certified Specialist – Cloud Foundation, VMware Certified Professional/Advanced Professional/Design Expert – Data Center Virtualization).
• VMware Certified Advanced Professional/Design Expert strongly preferred.
• Relevant Cisco UCS certifications (CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center, or equivalent) preferred.

Technical Expertise:

• 10+ years' experience in VMware vSphere (version 7/8/9) architecture, design, and implementation.
• Extensive hands-on experience with VMware Cloud Foundation (deployment, upgrades, automation, SDDC Manager, NSX, vSAN).
• Advanced knowledge of Cisco UCS compute platforms (B/C series, Fabric Interconnects, UCS Manager).
• Proven track record architecting and migrating complex workloads to VMware private and hybrid clouds.
• Strong background in virtualization, networking, storage, and security integration.

Other Requirements:

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working with large enterprise or government environments.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and influence technical teams.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with automation (PowerCLI, Ansible, Python) in VMware environments.
• Familiarity with cloud integration (AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid cloud architectures.
• Exposure to emerging VMware technologies (Tanzu, Aria, vRealize Suite).

***Extremely likely position will extend***