Senior Infrastructure Lead (VMware) | United Arab Emirates

Manthra Soft; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Manthra Soft is actively seeking a Senior Infrastructure Lead (VMware) to own enterprise virtualization, data center operations, and security hardening for a major GCC airline operator in the UAE. The role supports a five-year onsite engagement beginning around November 2026.

You will lead VMware vSphere/ESXi/vCenter, vSAN, and NSX deployments, drive disaster recovery planning, and mentor engineering teams while ensuring SLA compliance and high performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive professional experience in IT infrastructure, data center operations, and enterprise computing.
• Deep hands-on operational experience with enterprise compute and virtualization technologies.
• Proven proficiency with VMware HA, DRS, and vMotion configurations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of data center architecture, hardware lifecycle management, and SAN storage integration.
• Experience with backup solutions, disaster recovery planning, and infrastructure security hardening.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills with strong stakeholder presentation abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and direct comprehensive enterprise IT infrastructure operations and datacenter resilience for a major GCC airline operator.
• Administer, configure, and optimize VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter environments.
• Implement and manage VMware HA, DRS, and live migration (vMotion).
• Design and maintain software-defined storage and networking via vSAN and NSX.
• Oversee server hardware lifecycle management and capacity planning.
• Integrate enterprise storage with virtualized compute clusters.
• Develop and test robust backup solutions and disaster recovery plans.
• Enforce strict security policies, patch management, and compliance with best practices.

Skills

Enterprise virtualization

VMware vSphere/ESXi/vCenter

VMware vSAN/NSX

Data center operations

Security hardening

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Systems Engineering

Tools

VMware vSphere

ESXi

vCenter

vSAN

NSX

Job description

Position Summary

Manthra Soft is actively seeking an experienced, high-caliber, and technical Senior Infrastructure Lead specializing in VMware with a minimum of 10 years of professional IT infrastructure experience to support a long-term five-year IT infrastructure engagement for one of the largest airline operators in the GCC region, based in the United Arab Emirates on a full-time onsite basis starting November 2026. In this critical enterprise leadership role, you will be responsible for overseeing advanced enterprise compute and virtualization technologies, data center operations, and infrastructure resilience. You will leverage your deep specialist expertise in VMware vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, vSAN, and NSX to deliver uncompromised system availability, security hardening, and performance optimization. This opportunity offers competitive compensation, long-term stability, executive technical visibility, and exceptional career growth prospects within a premier aviation technology environment.

Detailed Job Description

As a Senior Infrastructure Lead (VMware) supporting IT infrastructure for a major airline operator in the GCC region with Manthra Soft in the UAE, you will take full operational, tactical, and technical ownership of enterprise virtualization platforms, server hardware lifecycles, storage SAN integration, and disaster recovery planning. Your day-to-day responsibilities include administering VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter environments, configuring VMware HA, DRS, vMotion, vSAN, and NSX, managing complex data center architectures, and enforcing robust infrastructure security and hardening best practices. You will utilize your proactive leadership skills to guide technical support teams, mentor junior engineers, and maintain enterprise SLAs under B1 or above English language standards. Furthermore, you will manage application requirements via direct email to Brenda Anne at [e-mail] or via LinkedIn DM, ensuring strict compliance with the 10+ years infrastructure experience requirement and November 2026 start date.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and direct comprehensive enterprise IT infrastructure operations, virtualization architectures, and datacenter resilience for a major GCC airline operator.
• Administer, configure, and optimize enterprise-grade VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter virtualization environments.
• Implement and manage advanced VMware features including High Availability (HA), Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), and live vMotion.
• Design and maintain software-defined storage and networking via VMware vSAN and VMware NSX enterprise deployments.
• Oversee server hardware lifecycle management, procurement, routine maintenance, firmware upgrades, and capacity planning.
• Integrate enterprise storage arrays and SAN fabric connectivity with virtualized compute clusters.
• Develop, test, and execute robust backup solutions, replication workflows, and comprehensive disaster recovery (DR) plans.
• Enforce strict infrastructure security policies, vulnerability hardening, patch management, and compliance with industry best practices.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive professional experience in IT infrastructure, data center operations, and enterprise computing.
• Strong, demonstrable hands-on operational expertise in enterprise compute and virtualization technologies.
• Deep practical experience administering VMware vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, vSAN, and NSX environments.
• Proven proficiency with VMware HA, DRS, and live migration (vMotion) configurations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of data center architecture, hardware lifecycle management, and SAN storage integration.
• Solid understanding of backup solutions, disaster recovery planning, and infrastructure security hardening.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills (B1 proficiency or above recommended) with strong stakeholder presentation abilities.
• Mandatory legal work eligibility in the United Arab Emirates with availability for onsite operations starting November 2026.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Professional VMware certifications (e.g., VMware Certified Professional - Data Center Virtualization VCP-DCV, VMware Certified Advanced Professional - VCAP).
• Prior professional working experience supporting tier-1 airline operators, aviation networks, or large-scale enterprise environments in the GCC region.
• Familiarity with cloud-hybrid architectures, containerization platforms (Kubernetes, Docker), and automation scripting (PowerCLI, Python).
• Advanced knowledge of enterprise networking, BGP routing, and zero-trust security frameworks.

Application Information

• Salary/Rate: Market Competitive / Long-Term GCC Aviation Package
• Deadline: Open until filled (Urgent UAE Onsite Opening for November 2026 Start)
• Notice Period: Immediate to 30 Days
• Contract Duration: 5-Year Project Engagement / Full-Time Onsite (UAE)
• Company Website: https://www.manthrasoft.com
• Contact Name: Brenda Anne (Admin & HR Executive)

Recruitment Pro Tip

When applying for this Senior Infrastructure Lead (VMware) position at Manthra Soft, ensure your resume explicitly highlights your hands-on vSphere, vSAN, and NSX enterprise experience, your data center resilience background, and your availability for the November 2026 onsite start date in the UAE.