Platform Architect (Cloud Services)

ITPS; Chester-le-Street; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days annual leave

Your birthday off work

Annual pay reviews

On-Line GP and Physiotherapy Service

Enhanced maternity leave benefit (4m)

Enhanced paternity leave benefit (2 w)

Salary Sacrifice pension scheme match

Training and certification path

Fresh fruit and coffee machine

Hybrid/flexible working (3 days office

2 days home

Cycle to Work Scheme

Curry’s and IKEA voucher Scheme

Electric Car Lease Scheme

Job summary

ITPS is seeking an experienced Platform Architect to join the local platforms team in Chester-le-Street. You will design, operate and evolve the VMware-based private cloud, working with data centre infrastructure, storage, networking and security to deliver robust, secure services for internal teams and customers.

You will gather requirements across departments, drive automation through PowerCLI, Terraform and Ansible, and mentor junior engineers while aligning with SLAs and project timelines.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science/IT or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) / vSphere design and deployment experience.
• Strong Data Centre compute, storage and networking knowledge.
• Experience with capacity management and documentation.
• Knowledge of information security principles.
• Experience as escalation point for 2nd/3rd line support.
• Experience delivering to SLAs or project timelines.
• VMware certifications (VCF/vSphere) and NSX/vSAN knowledge.
• Public cloud knowledge (AWS/Azure/GCP) and ITIL Foundation.

Responsibilities

• Assist in support of the Data Centre estate.
• Develop, support and maintain the Private Cloud based on VMware VCF 9.1.
• Gather requirements from other departments and translate into technical solutions.
• Deliver robust, secure and reliable systems meeting availability targets.
• Ensure systems are documented, processes fit for purpose and capacity managed.
• Stay up to date on latest trends in technologies.
• Provide escalation path for Service Desk to diagnose and fix systems.
• Secure data and infrastructure from threats.
• Assist in improving operational efficiency.
• Assist in increasing competitive advantage.
• Move towards proactive/automated service.
• Work to SLAs or project timelines.
• Assist with BAU when required.

Skills

VMware Cloud Foundation

vSphere

Data centre infra

Capacity management

Information security

2nd/3rd line escalation

Requirements gathering

SLA/project delivery

VMware certifications

NSX/vSAN

Scripting/automation

Kubernetes

Vendor/supplier management

Technical leadership

Education

Degree in Computer Science/IT

Tools

PowerCLI

Terraform

Ansible

Kubernetes

NSX

vSAN

VCF/vSphere

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity to join our small, highly collaborative platforms team. Within this role, you will assist with the operation, support and development of the platforms and services that we provide internally and to customers. You will have the opportunity will be to collate, review and design evidence-based solutions to help drive efficiencies within the company. As part of the Platforms team, the architect will drive innovation in the services provided both internally and to customers — working with key suppliers and to a continual improvement strategy.

Core Responsibilities

• Assist in support of the Data Centre estate
• Develop, support and maintain the Private Cloud based on VMware VCF 9.1
• Working with other departments to gather requirements and develop solutions that meet their needs
• Deliver robust, secure and reliable systems that are well defined and meet agreed availability targets
• Ensure that all systems are documented effectively, processes are fit for purpose and capacity is managed
• Staying up to date on the latest trends in technologies
• Provide an escalation path for Service Desk to assist in diagnosing and fixing systems
• Securing data and infrastructure from threats
• Assist in improving operational efficiency
• Assist in increasing competitive advantage
• Move towards a proactive / automated service
• Working to SLA or agreed project timelines
• Assist with BAU when required

Requirements:

We welcome applications from engineers who have the following essential requirements:

• Proven experience designing, deploying and supporting VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) / vSphere private cloud environments
• Degree in Computer Science/IT, or equivalent professional experience
• Strong knowledge of Data Centre infrastructure — compute, storage and networking
• Experience with capacity management, system documentation and operational processes
• Working understanding of information/data security principles
• Experience operating as an escalation point for 2nd/3rd-line support teams
• Experience gathering requirements from other departments and translating these into technical solutions
• Experience delivering work to SLAs or agreed project timelines
• VMware certification relevant to VCF/vSphere (e.g. VCP-DCV)
• Advanced VMware certification (e.g. VCAP, VCDX)
• Certification in a public cloud platform (AWS/Azure/GCP)
• ITIL Foundation
• Experience with VMware NSX and/or vSAN
• Scripting/automation experience (e.g. PowerCLI, Terraform, Ansible) to support a move towards proactive/automated service
• Experience working in a managed service or customer-facing environment
• Experience working with Kubernetes or container environments Experience working with third-party suppliers and managing supplier relationships
• Experience mentoring or providing technical leadership to junior engineers

Key Behaviours

• Confident communicator able to explain technical decisions to engineers, project teams, customer stakeholders and end users.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and collaborate effectively across technical disciplines.
• Builds good relationships with customers and colleagues
• Maintain a high standard of work and technical capability, setting an example to junior members of the team
• Takes ownership of actions
• Learns about customer and stakeholder needs, interests and concerns

Who are ITPS?

We’re experts in solving complex business problems through intelligent and secure IT implementation that protects and transforms organisations, helping them to grow. We embrace innovation and drive change, bringing new ideas, new technologies and new ways of thinking as a trusted IT partner.

With 26 years of experience, we partner with companies across the public and private sector to deliver data centre, cyber security, cloud, data and analytics, network services and managed services solutions. Our highly accredited and experienced engineering teams combined with our strategic relationships with partners such as Microsoft and Cisco, mean that our customers trust us to simplify the complexity of IT and deliver benefits that make them more agile, competitive and resilient. Our vision is a world in which technology makes lives easier, society fairer and our planet greener.

Employee Benefits:

As soon as you are employed, you can access these benefits:

• 27 days annual leave
• Your birthday off work
• Annual pay reviews
• On-Line GP and Physiotherapy Service for you and your family
• Enhanced maternity leave benefit (4 months full pay)
• Enhanced paternity leave benefit (2 weeks full pay)
• Salary Sacrifice pension scheme match funded up to 7%
• Fully funded training and certification path
• Fresh fruit, soft drinks and a commercial coffee machine

Following probation, you can access these benefits too:

• Hybrid/flexible working (3 days office/2 days home)
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Curry’s and IKEA voucher Scheme
• Electric Car Lease Scheme

Your standard hours would be 8:30am -5:00pm, based at our offices in Chester le Street.