VMWare Engineer

Title VMware and Storage Specialist

Duration: 3- 6+ months contract to hire

Location: Hybrid 2 days/ week (Tues & Wed required) in Ridgewood, NJ

Salary upon conversion to permanent: 115-135k

Objective: Support and manage two VMware environments with associated storage platforms, ensuring smooth operations, facilitating transitions to newer technologies, and easing the workload on existing team members.

Responsibilities:

VMware Environment Support:

• Manage and support multiple VMware environments, including a dedicated Meditech environment with 150 VMs and a core environment with approximately 1,400 VMs.
• Assist in the upcoming transition from VMware 7.x to 8.x, ensuring minimal downtime and continuity of services.
• Maintain and troubleshoot vCenters in both production and DR environments.

Cisco Server Management:

• Oversee and manage Cisco B-series chassis servers, ensuring optimal performance and reliability in the current environment.
• Prepare for the potential transition to Cisco X-series equipment, which is expected to replace the B-series chassis as they approach end-of-life within the next 2-3 years.
• Ensure the environment remains fully chassis-based, as there are no rack-mounted servers, and provide expertise in chassis-based server management.

Storage Management:

• Oversee storage solutions including Pure Storage, HPE Nimble, IBM SVC, and Cisco Blade servers.
• Participate in the decommissioning of legacy storage systems and the integration of new storage solutions (NetApp or Pure Storage).
• Support the upgrade of fabric interconnects and MDS switches in both production and DR environments.

Host Management:

• Manage 26 hosts in production, understanding that the difference between managing 5, 15, or more hosts lies in time management rather than technical difficulty.
• Provide additional support to reduce the workload on the current team member, Scott, who has been managing the environment single-handedly for 10 of his 11 years with the team.

Disaster Recovery and Backup:

• Ensure that both production and DR environments are fully replicated and operational in case of failure.
• Manage Rubrik backups and ensure all systems are protected and recoverable.

Qualifications:

• Extensive experience with VMware, specifically with large environments and upcoming migrations (from 7.x to 8.x).
• Strong experience with Cisco B-series chassis servers, and familiarity with Cisco X-series equipment is a plus.
• Understanding of chassis-based server environments, as opposed to rack-mounted setups.
• Proven ability to manage multiple hosts efficiently, with a focus on time management.
• Strong background in managing complex storage environments (Pure Storage, IBM SVC, HPE Nimble, etc.).
• Experience in healthcare IT, particularly with Meditech or similar EMR systems, is highly desirable.