Senior Platform Engineer - VMWare

About the Role

Our world-leading Time & Frequency department are seeking a Senior Platform Engineer with experience in VMWare and Virtualisation.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join the global authority in precision timing at a defining moment for UK digital infrastructure.

Backed by a government investment of £180 million in the National Timing Centre (NTC) programme, we are developing a world-first resilient time distribution capability that will provide industry with a robust complement to satellite systems (such as GPS) - which are increasingly vulnerable to disruption from solar storms, jamming and spoofing.

This will underpin essential services, including

• Telecommunications,
• Online banking,
• Emergency response,
• Transport networks, and
• Wider digital and data-driven operations.

Together, these services form the backbone of modern society - and your leadership will help ensure they remain secure, reliable and robust even if global navigation satellite systems fail.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, implement and support VMware platforms and virtual infrastructure services (vCenter, ESXi and vSAN environments) - ensuring they remain secure, resilient, stable and highly available.
• Support and development of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms - delivering secure, scalable and high-performing end-user services.
• Manage and support Windows Server and Active Directory services - ensuring the secure and reliable delivery of core infrastructure capabilities.
• Apply security best practice and platform hardening - supporting privileged access management, PKI and certificate services, monitoring, logging and data protection.
• Deliver platform upgrades, migrations and lifecycle management - ensuring infrastructure remains secure, compliant and fit for future needs.
• Develop and maintain automation, scripting and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions - improving consistency, efficiency and service reliability.
• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure, platform and network issues - supporting business continuity, disaster recovery and ongoing service improvement.

NOTE:Travel to customer and operational sites as required to support deployment, implementation and operational activities.

About You

You’re currently a Platform Engineer, Infrastructure, Systems Administration orTechnical Consultant; with

• Strong experience with On-Prem Enterprise Linux Environments - including the design, implementation and support of Linux-based services.
• Strong capability in automation, scripting and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) - using tools such as Bash, Ansible, Terraform and Python.
• Experience delivering secure, resilient and highly available systems across infrastructure and platform environments.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills with the ability to engage across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience producing technical documentation, operational procedures and implementation plans.

DESIRABLE:

• Experience with VMware (vCenter, vSAN) - including administration, maintenance and optimisation of virtualised infrastructure environments.
• Experience supporting Kubernetes and containerised platforms within enterprise-scale environments.
• Relevant Linux, Infrastructure, Security or DevOps/Automation certifications.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance.

For this role you will need to have an SC clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain an SC clearance.

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as practical.

About Us

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL)

is a world-leading centre of excellence that provides cutting-edge measurement

science, engineering and technology to underpin prosperity and quality of life

in the UK. Find out more about what it is like working here - The measure of us - Overview

NPL and DSIT have strong commitments to

diversity and equality of opportunity, and welcome applications from candidates

irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion,

or age, providing they meet the required criteria. Applications from women,

disabled and black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in particular are

encouraged. All disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) who

satisfy the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview under

the Disability Confident Scheme.

At NPL, we believe our success is a result of the diversity and talent of our

people. We strive to nurture and respect individuals to ensure everyone feels

valued by treating everyone on the basis of their own individual merits and

abilities regardless of their own or perceived identity, as part of our

commitment to diversity & inclusion, we ensure we’re creating an

environment where all our colleagues feel supported and welcome. More about

this on our Diversity & Inclusion page.

We are committed to the health and

well-being of our employees. Flexible working and social activities are

embedded in our culture to create a positive work-life balance, along with a

broad range of rewards, benefits and recognition. Our values are at the heart of what we do, and they shape the way

we interact, develop our people and celebrate success.

To ensure everyone has an equal chance,

we’re always willing to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

If you would like to discuss, please contact us.

Skills

General Skills - LABORATORY, General Skills - MARKETING, General Skills - TRAINING, General Skills - Science, General Skills - PRESENTATION SKILLS, General Skills - Engineering, General Skills - engineer, General Skills - stakeholder management, Data Analyst - Python, Vulnerability Research - Linux