Senior Systems Engineer, VMware

Ardent Health is a leading provider of healthcare in growing mid-sized urban communities across the U.S. With a focus on people and investments in innovative services and technologies, Ardent is passionate about making healthcare better and easier to access. Through its subsidiaries, Ardent delivers care through a system of 30 acute care hospitals, 24,000+ team members and more than 280 sites of care with over 1,800 affiliated providers across six states.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Systems Engineer (VMware) is responsible for the design, implementation, management, and optimization of VMware virtualization environments. This role involves working with VMware vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, NSX, vSAN, and other related virtualization technologies to ensure a stable, secure, and scalable infrastructure. The ideal candidate will be an expert in virtualization best practices, high availability configurations, disaster recovery, and automation for a large-scale enterprise environment.

• Develop and implement VMware-based solutions that align with business and technical requirements, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Install, configure, and manage VMware ESXi hosts, vCenter servers, vSAN clusters, NSX networking, and other virtualization components.
• Monitor and optimize virtual infrastructure performance, capacity planning, and resource allocation to ensure efficient operations.
• Implement security best practices and policies within the VMware environment, including patching, hardening, and access control.
• Configure and manage VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) and high-availability (HA) clusters to support business continuity and disaster recovery strategies.
• Utilize PowerCLI, Ansible, or other scripting languages to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce manual errors.
• Diagnose and resolve complex technical issues related to virtualization, storage, and networking. Provide tier-3 escalation support for incidents and problems.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation of infrastructure configurations, procedures, and best practices. Provide mentorship and training to junior engineers.
• Work closely with cross-functional IT teams, including storage, networking, security, and application teams, to ensure seamless integration and performance. Engage with VMware and other vendors for support and product improvements.
• Stay up-to-date with emerging virtualization technologies, industry trends, and best practices to drive innovation and efficiency.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, or related field of study.
• Additional years of experience may substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis.
• 7+ years of hands-on experience managing VMware environments in an enterprise setting.
• Deep expertise in VMware vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, NSX, vSAN, and other virtualization products.
• Experience with vSAN and integrating VMware environments with SAN/NAS storage solutions.
• Experience leading or participating in large-scale infrastructure projects.VMware Certified Professional (VCP) or higher (VCAP, VCDX), preferred.
• Experience with cloud-based VMware solutions such as VMware Cloud on AWS or Azure VMware Solutions, preferred.
• Experience in compliance and regulatory requirements related to virtualization, preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Proficiency in PowerCLI, PowerShell, Ansible, or similar scripting languages for automation.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve performance issues in a virtualized environment effectively.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to work effectively with IT teams, leadership, and external vendors.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities.
• Strong understanding of virtual networking, including VLANs, VXLANs, NSX-T, and distributed virtual switches.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies like Kubernetes and VMware Tanzu, preferred.
• Knowledge of backup and replication solutions (e.g., Avamar, PPDM), preferred.