VMware Specialist

JobsCloseBy Editorial Insights

Penguin Random House is seeking a VMware Specialist to join the Technology team in London or Colchester, with hybrid working (two days per week onsite). The role owns the VMware stack across on‑prem and hybrid environments, including vSphere, stretched clusters, Horizon VDI and backup/recovery, plus patching, monitoring and incident response. You’ll work closely with Storage, Network and Security to meet SLAs and ensure compliance. Essential: hands-on vSphere administration and design, stretched cluster operations, Horizon VDI production support, backups (Veeam), and basic Windows/Linux, plus Azure VM management and RBAC. Desirable: automation, vSAN/NSX, cloud integrations, security hardening, and DevOps tools. Apply with clear, outcome‑driven examples by 26 February 2026, emphasising real results and your authentic voice.

We have a new opportunity for a VMware Specialist to join our Technology team in either London or Colchester. This is a permanent opportunity and is offered with hybrid working (2 days per week onsite).

As VMware Specialist, you’ll be responsible for keeping the platform secure, stable and available, and will support business-critical services across on-premises and hybrid environments. You’ll be involved in hands-on work with vSphere, stretched clusters, Horizon VDI and backup/recovery operations.

The team

The Technology team provides expertise and effective solutions to Penguin Random House. We integrate flexibility and agility which supports our consistent way of working. We set ourselves up for success by holding ourselves accountable and welcoming change. Each member of the Technology team brings skill and initiative to their role; we take personal ownership within a one team culture, working collaboratively to meet expectations from our stakeholders who trust us to deliver.

Key responsibilities:

• Administer, maintain, and optimise VMware vSphere environments (ESXi, vCenter, clusters, resource pools, datastores).
• Operate and support stretched clusters (e.g., cross-site resilience), including failover/failback processes and availability testing.
• Manage and support VMware Horizon VDI infrastructure (brokers, pools, golden images, lifecycle management, user experience and capacity).
• Provision, monitor, and troubleshoot virtual machines and supporting services to meet SLAs and performance targets.
• Perform platform monitoring and proactive health checks (capacity, performance, alerts, patch levels).
• Support backup and recovery operations for virtual infrastructure, including restores, verification/testing, and backup troubleshooting (e.g., Veeam).
• Execute patching and upgrades across the VMware stack, coordinating changes through change management processes
• Troubleshoot incidents and problems across compute, storage, networking, and virtualisation layers; drive issues to resolution and produce RCA documentation.
• Collaborate with Storage, Network, Security, and End User teams to deliver improvements and ensure platform compliance.
• Maintain operational documentation, runbooks, standards, and asset/configuration records.

What you’ll bring

Essential criteria:

• Strong hands-on experience administering VMware vSphere (vCenter, ESXi, clusters, HA/DRS).
• Strong experience in designing the VMWare estate, upscaling and downscaling the VMWare footprint.
• Demonstrable experience supporting stretched cluster designs and operational procedures (including resilience testing and incident recovery).
• Experience with VMware Horizon VDI in production (supporting users, pools, images, troubleshooting, performance).
• Solid experience with backup platforms and recovery processes for virtual machines and VMware environments (including restore validation).
• Working knowledge of enterprise infrastructure fundamentals:
  • Networking (VLANs, routing basics, DNS/DHCP, load balancing concepts)
  • Storage (SAN/NAS concepts, multipathing, datastore performance)
  • Windows Server and/or Linux administration basics
• Familiarity with IT service management practices (incident/change/problem management).
• Proficiency in creating, configuring, and managing Azure VMs, including skills in configuring and managing Azure Backup and Site Recovery, and experience with managing and automating patching processes for Azure VMs.
• Understanding of Azure networking concepts, including virtual networks, subnets, and network security groups.
• Knowledge of Azure storage options and management.
• Experience with Azure security features, including Azure Active Directory and role-based access control (RBAC).
• Ability to travel when necessary across our London and Colchester sites.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of vSAN and NSX, VMware Cloud Foundation, or cloud integrations (Azure VMware Solution / VMware Cloud on AWS).
• Automation/scripting (PowerCLI, Python, Ansible, Terraform).
• Experience working in regulated environments (security controls, audit requirements, hardening).
• Good working knowledge of Azure and AWS, including hybrid connectivity patterns and VMware-based services (Azure VMware Solution and VMware Cloud on AWS).
• Experience with VMware hybrid/cloud tooling and integrations (e.g., HCX, network extension, cross-cloud mobility and DR considerations).
• Desirable experience in vulnerability management (e.g Tenable) including remediation tracking, patch governance, and hardening in virtualised environments.
• Understanding of Microsoft datacentre and hybrid licensing (e.g., Windows Server Datacenter/SQL licensing fundamentals, Azure Hybrid Benefit, and licensing considerations for virtualisation and VDI).
• Understanding of Azure cost management and optimization techniques.
• Experience with integrating Azure with on-premises environments and other cloud services.
• Familiarity with DevOps tools and practices, including CI/CD pipelines using GitLab.Experience with using Terraform for deploying and managing Azure resources.

AI

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice.

Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team. We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself!

While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.

Application instructions

Please apply with your CV by 11:59pm on Thursday 26th February 2026.

Salary

The salary band for this role is £65,000-£70,000 depending on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Hybrid working

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from either our office in London or Colchester 2 days per week, with occasional travel across both as necessary.

 Company: The Random House Group Limited | Job ID: 286595