Senior Platform Engineer: VMware, VDI & Automation (12M)

National Physical Laboratory (NPL); Teddington; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is recruiting a Senior Platform Engineer to join the Time & Frequency team on a 12‑month fixed term contract. You will design, deploy and operate VMware, VDI, Windows Server, and automation platforms with a focus on resilience and security.

You will lead provisioning, upgrades, and lifecycle management while delivering IaC and robust documentation. The role requires clear communication with stakeholders and readiness for potential site travel.

Qualifications

• Experience designing, deploying and supporting VMware environments (ESXi, vCenter, vSAN).
• Extensive Windows Server administration in enterprise settings (AD, DNS, PKI, GPO).
• Proven experience with VDI environments and end-user computing solutions.
• Strong scripting/automation skills (PowerShell, Ansible, Bash, Python, Terraform).
• Ability to design secure, resilient, highly available systems and document plans.
• Experience producing technical docs, runbooks and implementation plans.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and collaboration.
• Senior infra/platform engineering background or technical consultancy.
• Certifications in VMware, Microsoft, or automation technologies are desirable.

Responsibilities

• Administer, maintain and optimise VMware vCenter and vSAN environments.
• Support and develop VDI platforms for enterprise users.
• Manage Windows Server environments including AD, Trusts, DNS, GPO, PKI and security hardening.
• Design and support resilient, highly available infrastructure; troubleshoot complex issues.
• Deliver upgrades, migrations, patching and lifecycle management.
• Develop automation and orchestration using scripting and IaC tools.
• Support enterprise security initiatives, including privileged access mgmt and monitoring.
• Produce technical documentation, runbooks and operational procedures.
• Contribute to disaster recovery, business continuity and redundancy planning.
• Travel to sites as needed to support deployments and operations.

Skills

VMware ESXi/vCenter/vSAN

Windows Server administration

VDI platforms

Scripting & automation

Infrastructure resilience

Documentation & runbooks

Stakeholder management

Senior infra experience

Certifications desirable

Education

VMware certification / Microsoft / automation certifications

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Tools

VMware vCenter

VMware ESXi

VMware vSAN

Kubernetes

Automation tooling (Terraform, Ansible)

Job description

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is recruiting a Senior Platform Engineer to join the Time & Frequency team on a 12‑month fixed term contract. You will design, deploy and operate VMware, VDI, Windows Server, and automation platforms with a focus on resilience and security.

You will lead provisioning, upgrades, and lifecycle management while delivering IaC and robust documentation. The role requires clear communication with stakeholders and readiness for potential site travel.