Data Center Services - VMware Solution Manager

Company Description

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2024, Continental generated sales of €39.7 billion and currently employs around 190,000 people in 55 countries and markets.

With its premium portfolio in the car, truck, bus, two-wheel and specialty tire segment, the Tires group sector stands for innovative solutions in tire technology. Intelligent products and services related to tires and the promotion of sustainability complete the product portfolio. For specialist dealers and fleet management, Tires offers digital tire monitoring and tire management systems, in addition to other services, with the aim of keeping fleets mobile and increasing their efficiency. With its tires, Continental makes a significant contribution to safe, efficient and environmentally friendly mobility. 

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Datacenter Infrastructure Architect & Senior VMware Specialist to lead the design, optimization, and management of our virtualization and datacenter infrastructure. This role combines infrastructure architecture, service design, and provider management, ensuring a scalable, secure, and high-performing IT environment.

As a Level 3 Senior Specialist, you will provide expert-level VMware support, drive automation, and oversee external service providers, ensuring compliance with SLAs, high availability (HA), disaster recovery (DR), and security standards.

If you have deep expertise in VMware, hypervisors, and datacenter services, we’d love to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities:

1. Datacenter Infrastructure Design & Optimization

• Design and optimize compute, storage, networking, and backup with a focus on VMware virtualization.
• Implement best practices for scalability, availability, and security, ensuring compliance with industry standards.
• Plan and manage technology refresh cycles, capacity, and future scalability.

1. Service Provider & Vendor Management

• Oversee external service providers, ensuring contractual compliance and high-quality service delivery.
• Manage SLAs, evaluate vendor performance, and drive continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity strategies with service providers.

1. VMware Virtualization Architecture & Operations

• Design, implement, and optimize VMware platforms for performance and security.
• Define and maintain virtualization best practices (HA, FT, DR, resource management).
• Ensure seamless integration of VMware with storage, networking, and security.

1. Advanced VMware Troubleshooting & Level 3 Support

• Provide expert-level support and act as the escalation point for VMware-related incidents.
• Troubleshoot and optimize virtualization environments for efficiency and reliability.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and implement long-term solutions.

1. IT Service Management & Governance

• Establish a support hierarchy (L1-L3) and ensure documentation and escalation procedures are in place.
• Manage incident, change, and problem management processes.
• Identify and implement automation and cost optimization opportunities.

1. Innovation & Future Strategy

• Evaluate emerging technologies and define automation strategies to improve operations.
• Stay updated on datacenter and virtualization trends to drive future improvements.

Qualifications

DataCenter technologies

• Strong understanding of datacenter stack components, technologies and architecture including server, storage, backup, SAN, hypervisor, LAN, OS, Monitor