VMWare Engineer


Rate - £525 - £550 (Daily)
Location - Manchester (Hybrid)
Duration - 4 Months (Initially)
Ir35 - Inside (Must use an umbrella company)


We are seeking a Senior VMware Engineer (Contractor) with a minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience provisioning and managing Linux and Windows virtual machines in enterprise VMware environments. This is a contract engagement supporting a higher education institution’s virtual infrastructure modernisation and operational support initiatives.
The contractor will provide advanced engineering expertise across VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), VMware ESXi, VMware vSphere, and VMware NSX-T, ensuring stability, scalability, and performance of mission-critical academic and research systems.
Scope of Work
*Provision, configure, and manage Linux and Windows VMs in enterprise clusters.
*Deploy and manage workloads within VMware Cloud Foundation environments.
*Install, configure, patch, and upgrade VMware ESXi hosts.
*Administer and optimise VMware vSphere clusters, including HA, DRS, and vMotion.
*Design and manage network virtualisation using VMware NSX-T.
*Perform VM lifecycle management (build, template creation, cloning, migration, decommissioning).
*Conduct performance monitoring, capacity planning, and resource optimisation.
*Support storage integration (SAN/NAS/vSAN) and ensure optimal IOPS performance.
*Implement and support backup, replication, and disaster recovery solutions.
*Provide advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
*Document architecture, configurations, and operational procedures.
*Collaborate with infrastructure, security, networking, and research computing teams.
Deliverables
*Fully provisioned and optimised virtual machine environments.
*Updated and documented VMware architecture diagrams and configurations.
*Performance optimisation and capacity planning reports.
*Resolved infrastructure incidents within agreed SLAs.
*Knowledge transfer documentation and handover sessions (if required at contract completion).
Required Experience & Skills
*Minimum 5+ years of enterprise VMware engineering experience.
*Proven track record provisioning Linux (RHEL, Ubuntu, etc.) and Windows Server VMs.
*Strong hands-on expertise in VCF, ESXi, vSphere, and NSX-T.
*Experience in higher education, research institutions, or large multi-tenant environments preferred.
*Solid understanding of storage, networking, and security integration.
*Automation and scripting skills (PowerCLI, PowerShell, Bash, Python).
*Experience with vCenter administration and cluster design.
*Strong troubleshooting and performance tuning capabilities.
Preferred Qualifications
*VMware certifications (VCP-DCV, VCAP).
*Experience with automation/orchestration (VMware Aria/vRealise, Ansible).
*Hybrid cloud experience (Azure, AWS, VMware Cloud).
*Experience supporting research computing or HPC workloads.
*Familiarity with ITIL-based change management processes.
Contractor Expectations
*Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
*Deliver results within defined project timelines.
*Participate in change advisory board (CAB) meetings as required.
*Provide regular status updates to project stakeholders.
*Availability for occasional after-hours maintenance windows.