Senior Data Center Engineer

ServicePoint is supporting a client seeking a Senior Data Center Engineer for a 3+ month hybrid engagement based in Fairfield, CA.
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Hybrid Model: 3–4 days onsite, 1–2 days remote.

The Senior Data Center Engineer – Cisco UCSX / VMware is responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing enterprise-grade data center and hybrid cloud environments. The role focuses heavily on Cisco UCSX, VMware vSphere 7/8/9, Microsoft Azure, and enterprise storage platforms (NetApp, Pure, Dell, HPE). The engineer ensures high availability, performance, scalability, and security across mission-critical systems and serves as a subject matter expert for VMware upgrades, multi-vendor storage performance and capacity, and automation/scripting for operational efficiency.

Core Skills

• Cisco UCS (especially UCS X-Series): configuration, fabric interconnects, service profiles.
• VMware Virtualization: vSphere, ESXi, vCenter; cluster management, vMotion, DRS, HA.
• Azure Hybrid Integration: Azure Arc, ExpressRoute, hybrid services.
• Enterprise Storage: SAN/NAS experience across NetApp, Pure, Dell, HPE.
• Infrastructure Monitoring & Maintenance: uptime assurance, firmware/patch management.
• Scripting & Automation: PowerShell (preferred), Python, Azure Automation, etc.

Key Responsibilities

Infrastructure Design & Implementation

• Design, deploy, and maintain Cisco UCSX solutions, including Intersight, fabric interconnects, and service profiles.
• Architect and implement VMware vSphere 7/8/9 clusters for high availability and enterprise performance.
• Design and manage hybrid cloud architectures integrating on-prem systems with Microsoft Azure (IaaS/PaaS).
• Engineer and support enterprise storage platforms with emphasis on NetApp ONTAP and Dell arrays, including SAN/NAS design and data protection strategies.

Operations, Upgrades & Maintenance

• Monitor and maintain compute, virtualization, and storage environments to meet uptime and SLA targets.
• Plan, test, and execute VMware upgrades (vSphere/vCenter), including compatibility, rollback, and validation.
• Apply firmware, driver, and software updates across UCSX, VMware, and storage systems.
• Manage backups, replication, and snapshot policies for continuity, retention, and compliance.
• Troubleshoot complex issues across compute, storage, virtualization, and network layers within a hybrid on-prem/Azure environment.

Storage Capacity, Performance & Optimization

• Analyze and forecast NetApp and Dell storage capacity, utilization, and growth for proactive planning.
• Monitor and optimize performance (IOPS, latency, throughput), recommending configuration or architectural changes.
• Develop reporting on storage health, capacity, and performance for both technical and leadership audiences.

Cloud & Virtualization

• Integrate on-prem VMware and storage environments with Azure via Azure Arc, ExpressRoute, VPN, hybrid identity, etc.
• Manage and optimize VMware clusters including resource pools, vMotion, DRS, HA, and lifecycle management.
• Support workload migrations between on-prem and Azure, and between physical and virtual environments.

Automation, Scripting & Observability

• Use PowerShell, PowerCLI, Azure Automation, Terraform, or similar tools to streamline deployment and configuration.
• Build dashboards and reports for infrastructure health, utilization, and operational visibility.

Security, Compliance & Collaboration

• Implement security best practices across compute, storage, virtualization, and cloud platforms.
• Partner with cybersecurity teams on patching, vulnerability remediation, and audit readiness.
• Provide documentation, technical guidance, and knowledge