VMware SME

Job Title: IAAS Virtualization SME

Location: Jersey City, NJ

Duration: Long Term Contract

About VLink: Started in 2006 and headquartered in Connecticut, VLink is one of the fastest growing digital technology services and consulting companies. Since its inception, our innovative team members have been solving the most complex business, and IT challenges of our global clients.

Job Description:
The VMware Virtualization SME provides expert level strategy, design, and 24 7 365 support for the Americas region virtualization platform. The role owns performance monitoring, automation, and continuous improvement of the VMware ecosystem including VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (VCF 9), Aria Operations, vRealize Log Insight (VRLI), vRealize Network Insight (VRNI), NSX T, and vSAN while pioneering AI driven operational models and cost optimization initiatives.

Required Experience & Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• 5-7 years of hands-on experience designing, deploying, and supporting large scale VMware environments (vSphere 8+, NSX T, vSAN).
• Demonstrated experience migrating legacy VMware sites to VMware Cloud Foundation 9 or newer cloud native stacks.
• Strong automation background expert level use of PowerCLI, vRealize Automation (vRA), Ansible, Terraform, and PowerShell/Python scripting.
• Hands on experience with the Aria Operations suite (formerly vRealize Operations), VRLI, and VRNI for log analytics and network insight.
• Solid understanding of enterprise storage (EMC/Isilon, Pure Storage, Dell/NetApp SAN, iSCSI), and how vSAN integrates with these platforms.
• Deep networking knowledge TCP/IP fundamentals, VLANs, routing, and NSX T concepts (micro segmentation, distributed firewalls).
• Experience applying AI ops concepts: predictive monitoring, automated RCA, LLM driven chat ops, and intelligent capacity forecasting.
• Proven track record of cost optimisation (rights sizing VMs, leveraging spot/ephemeral instances, improving TCO).
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to influence senior stakeholders and mentor junior team members.
• Strong project management skills focused on outcome-based results (Agile/ITIL preferred).

Desired Certifications & Skills:

• VMware Certified Professional Cloud Management and Automation (VCP CMA)
• VMware Certified Advanced Professional Cloud Foundation (VCAP CF)
• ITIL Foundation / Managing Professional.
• Experience with Aria Operations and related APIs for custom automation.

Core Responsibilities:

• Platform Architecture & Migration
• Lead the migration to VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (VCF 9), ensuring zero downtime, compliance, and alignment with security baselines.
• Design and evolve the integrated VMware stack (vSphere, NSX T, vSAN, Aria Operations, VRLI, VRNI) to meet ultra-low latency and high availability requirements.

Automation & AI Enabled Operations:

• Implement Infrastructure as Code (Ansible, Terraform, PowerCLI) to automate provisioning, patching, and lifecycle management of the virtualization layer.
• Deploy agentic AI assistants (LLM powered chat ops) for ticket triage, predictive alerting, and automated root cause analysis within Aria Operations.
• Create self healing playbooks that remediate common performance or capacity events without human intervention.
• Performance Monitoring & Capacity Management
• Configure, fine tune, and maintain monitoring thresholds, alarms, and dashboards in Aria Operations, VRLI, and VRNI.
• Use AI driven anomaly detection to anticipate capacity bottlenecks and latency spikes before they affect production.

Process Improvement & Standardization:

• Facilitate environment wide process improvement initiatives (change, release, and incident management) to increase efficiency and consistency.
• Ensure all deployments adhere to group standards, best practices, and security hardening guides (CIS, VMware Hardened Base Image).
• Vendor & Global Team Collaboration
• Interface with VMware, storage, networking, and hyper converged hardware vendors; coordinate with global IT teams to keep the platform aligned with enterprise standards.
• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
• Participate in DR planning, testing, and execution for the virtualization environment; maintain RPO 5 seconds and RTO 15 minutes for critical workloads.
• Operational Support
• Provide Tier 2/3 support for production workloads, including 24 7 on call rotation.
• Conduct thorough morning and end of day health checks using scripted tools and AI generated health scores.
• Perform OS and firmware upgrades, mandatory security patches, and storage system updates through automated pipelines.
• Stakeholder & Service Management
• Liaise with application owners to gather requirements, design standards, and deploy consistent virtual infrastructure services.
• Maintain the service catalogue for internal business lines, regularly reviewing consumption, pricing, and performance metrics.
• Reporting & Governance
• Report to the Americas IT Infrastructure Virtualization Platform Manager; deliver executive dashboards on SLA compliance, cost savings, AI ops impact, and platform health.

Employment Practices:
EEO, ADA, FMLA Compliant
VLink is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Applicant information will be handled in accordance with VLink's privacy policy.