Storage Area Network Administrator L2

Job description:

The L2 SAN & Storage Engineer is responsible for the day-to-day operations, provisioning, maintenance, and troubleshooting of enterprise shared storage devices, fabric networks, and backup technologies. This role provides Level 2 escalation support to ensure the demanding uptime, responsiveness, and performance of production storage and backup environments. The ideal candidate brings strong hands-on experience with Dell PowerMax, Dell Unity, and Data Domain, combined with deep knowledge of iSCSI protocols, VMware host environments, and solid ITSM practices.

Technical & Process Profile Summary:

• Storage Technologies: Dell PowerMax, Dell Unity (File & Block)
• Backup Technologies: Dell Data Domain, Veeam, Oracle RMAN
• Protocols & Networking: iSCSI, Fibre Channel (FC)
• Host & Virtualization: VMware vSphere (ESXi), Windows Server, RHEL/OEL
• Monitoring Tools: SolarWinds, Splunk (Log analysis & dashboard tracking)
• Ticketing & Operations: JIRA (Incident, Change, Service Requests), ITSM Framework
• Shift Timings: 24x7 Operations (Rotational Shifts)

Key Responsibilities:

• Storage Administration: Perform day-to-day provisioning and allocation of storage, including creating Storage Groups, Aggregates, Volumes, LUNs (Thin/Thick), and managing Storage Virtual Machines (SVM) across Dell PowerMax and Dell Unity platforms.
• Host Connectivity & Virtualization: Configure, map, and troubleshoot host-side storage connectivity within a highly virtualized VMware ESXi environment, including cluster configurations, multi-pathing (PSP/NMP), and datastore management.
• Protocol Management: Implement, manage, and troubleshoot storage connectivity using iSCSI (software/hardware initiators, network binding, CHAP authentication) and Fibre Channel fabric protocols.
• Enterprise Monitoring: Proactively monitor storage array health, replication status, and fabric alerts using SolarWinds. Leverage Splunk to track alerts, analyze system logs, and review dashboards to investigate storage performance anomalies.
• ITSM & Queue Management: Own the operational queue within JIRA, acting as the L2 technical owner for Incident Management, Service Requests, and Problem Management. Ensure all operational activities strictly follow organizational ITSM frameworks.
• Backup & Recovery Operations: Administer and monitor enterprise backups utilizing Dell Data Domain and Veeam. Triage backup failures for business-critical volumes and databases (SQL/Oracle via RMAN).
• Lifecycle & Maintenance: Coordinate with hardware vendors (e.g., Dell) for physical component replacements (disks, controllers, SFPs) and assist L3/Architecture teams with storage microcode/firmware upgrades and data migrations.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or equivalent practical combination of education and experience.
• Experience: 5-7 years of dedicated experience in enterprise SAN/NAS storage and backup infrastructure support.
• Storage Expertise: Proven hands-on administration experience with Dell PowerMax and Dell Unity storage arrays.
• Network & Protocols: Direct hands-on experience configuring iSCSI storage networks alongside traditional Fibre Channel switching.
• Virtualization Exposure: Operational knowledge of VMware vSphere environments, focusing on how ESXi hosts interact with shared enterprise storage.
• Tools & Processes: Practical experience tracking work via JIRA and a strong foundational understanding of ITSM methodologies (Incident, Change, and Problem workflows).
• Monitoring Skills: Experience using SolarWinds for infrastructure health monitoring and Splunk for analyzing technical logs.
• Collaborate with client, network, server, database, and application teams to resolve storage and connectivity issues.
• Participate in change management, patching, upgrades, and maintenance windows.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.

Skills

Dell PowerMax, Dell Unity, FC, Fibre Channel, PowerMax, SAN, Storage, Unity, iSCSI