Job Title: Senior Systems Engineer (Contract) 

Location: Pleasanton, CA (100% Onsite) 

Rate: $55 - $60/hr 

Contract Duration: 1 Year 

Contract Type: W-2 (Non Exempt; must be authorized to work in the U.S.; no sponsorships or C2C) 

Years of Experience: 5+ years 

Education: BA degree required

Job Description

For our client, we are looking for a highly skilled Senior Systems Engineer to lead our infrastructure core service engineering and product lifecycle management efforts. This role is responsible for deploying, upgrading, and managing VMware and related infrastructure components, configuring Cisco UCS compute platforms, and integrating enterprise storage solutions. The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in virtualization, storage, networking, and security, along with proficiency in scripting languages such as PowerShell/PowerCLI.

Key Responsibilities

• Infrastructure Leadership:

  • Lead infrastructure core service engineering and manage the product lifecycle.
  • Maintain accurate current state diagrams, documentation, and other data sources in a consistent and replicable manner.

• Automation & Process Improvement:

  • Identify tasks and processes requiring automation and implement effective solutions.
  • Develop detailed implementation, testing, and rollback procedures for planned changes.

• Systems Installation & Maintenance:

  • Install and maintain on-premises infrastructure components including virtualization, storage, and compute platforms.
  • Lead technical portions of projects and proof-of-concept (POC) initiatives to refine design patterns.
  • Author and maintain internal design documentation for consumption by engineering teams and business partners.
  • Validate and continuously improve implemented design patterns.

• Collaboration & Security:

  • Coordinate implementation projects, document tasks, and cross-train coworkers.
  • Work with internal security teams and business partners to conduct security assessments and ensure vulnerabilities are managed and remediated.
  • Assist with troubleshooting hardware, operating systems, and application layer issues in collaboration with vendors and team members.
  • Provide support for cloud infrastructure as needed.

• Additional Responsibilities:

  • Participate in on-call rotations as directed.
  • Stay abreast of emerging developments in infrastructure and software technologies and provide recommendations for improvements.

Qualifications

• Experience:

  • Minimum of 5+ years of infrastructure/systems engineering experience.
  • Significant experience deploying, upgrading, and managing VMware-related infrastructure components (vSphere, NSX, ESX, vCenter, VEEAM, Platform Service Controller, etc.).
  • Experience configuring fabric-based compute platforms such as Cisco UCS.
  • Moderate experience with modern enterprise storage technologies (e.g., NetApp, EMC) and understanding of geo replication and Fiber Channel zoning.
  • Proven ability to migrate workloads between storage and compute technologies.

• Technical Skills:

  • Demonstrated knowledge of PowerShell and PowerCLI or other object-oriented scripting languages.
  • Basic understanding of DevOps practices.
  • Broad competency across server operating systems, virtualization, storage/SAN, system backups, and security implementations.

• Communication & Work Ethic:

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across geographically diverse teams.
  • Strong multitasking, prioritization, and deadline management skills.
  • Ability to work independently and as a collaborative team member in a fast-paced, changing environment.

• Education:

  • BA degree in engineering, computer science, or a related field (required).