Senior Cisco UCS and Virtualisation Engineer

We are seeking an experienced consultant specializing in Cisco UCS firmware upgrades and ESX upgrades. The ideal candidate will have deep technical expertise in Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) and VMware ESXi, with a strong focus on upgrade execution, troubleshooting, and system optimization.

The role is based in City of London and can be carried out in hybrid model of 3 days on site, 2 days remote.(Inside IR35)

This role requires hands-on experience with UCS Fabric Interconnects, service profiles, VMware clusters, and best practices for maintaining high availability and performance during upgrade processes.

Role Responsibilities

UCS Firmware Upgrades:

Plan, coordinate, and execute UCS firmware upgrades across Fabric Interconnects, blades, and rack Servers.
Ensure minimal downtime and system stability during upgrades.
Troubleshoot any post-upgrade issues and coordinate resolutions with Cisco TAC if necessary.

ESXi Upgrades & Maintenance:

• Upgrade VMware ESXi hosts and ensure compatibility with UCS firmware versions.
• Validate upgrades in staging/UAT environments before deployment to production.
• Address performance, compatibility, and licensing considerations post-upgrade.

Performance Monitoring & Troubleshooting:

• Monitor system performance pre- and post-upgrade to ensure stability.
• Investigate and resolve any upgrade-related failures or performance degradations.
• Work with cross-functional teams to address any interoperability issues.

Capacity Planning & Scalability:

• Assess current infrastructure to determine upgrade impacts and resource requirements.
• Plan for future scalability while ensuring UCS and ESXi environments remain optimized.

Documentation & Reporting:

• Maintain detailed records of upgrade procedures, rollback plans, and post-upgrade reports.
• Provide recommendations for improving upgrade processes and minimizing operational risk.

Experience/Competencies

Essential:

VMware ESXi Expertise:

• Strong understanding of ESXi, vCenter, clustering (HA, DRS, vMotion), and Storage vMotion.

Cisco UCS Administration:

Expertise in Cisco UCS Manager, Fabric Interconnects, service profiles, and hardware configurations.

Firmware Upgrade Experience:

• Hands-on experience planning and executing UCS firmware and ESXi upgrades.
• Knowledge of upgrade dependencies, interoperability considerations, and rollback strategies.

Performance Tuning & Troubleshooting:

• Ability to diagnose and resolve UCS and ESXi performance issues.
• Experience using VMware and Cisco diagnostic tools for root cause analysis.

Automation & Scripting:

Familiarity with PowerCLI, Ansible, or Python for automating upgrade-related tasks.

Storage & SAN Connectivity:

• Understanding of integrating VMware with SAN/NAS storage (Fibre Channel, iSCSI).

Incident Management & Support:

• Experience handling P1/P2 incidents and working with Cisco TAC/VMware Support.

Infrastructure Documentation:

• Ability to create detailed upgrade runbooks and troubleshooting guides.

Desired:

• Experience with UCS Central for multi-site UCS management.
• Familiarity with VMware vSAN and NSX.
• Knowledge of hybrid cloud deployments (AWS/Azure VMware solutions).
• Understanding of ITIL change management processes.