IT Services Specialist- Platform Wintel

The Infrastructure Platforms team manage all server-related infrastructure and hardware within the data centres in Clarks. This covers virtualisation, storage, compute, backup and recovery, and datacentres. The successful candidate will get experience in a broad range of systems and services. There's often a narrower focus in larger companies, but working in a small team like the one we have at Clarks means the role has accountability for many technologies. While the focus is on a subset, it includes managing around 600 systems and services running in our data centres globally.

What You'll Be Doing

This role takes ownership and leadership for the technologies it covers. There will be no technical depth of knowledge for these platforms outside of this role. Managed, maintained, troubleshot, and performed performance management of virtualisation platforms that supported around 600 workloads. These are split, with critical services running in the UK and supporting services in regions including the USA and China. Day-to-day activities will differ but may include server upgrades, building or retiring servers, patching, hardware and firmware maintenance, cabling and hardware swaps. Additionally, support of critical systems built on Microsoft technologies will be required.

Managing relationships with the rest of the Infrastructure or other applications teams, the security team, the computing team, and the Cognizant offshore team are essential, as are the relationships with vendors to aid in roadmap definition and maintenance.

You would be required to work in the office for at least three days a week. The broader infrastructure team is small, and as such, interaction between other team members while troubleshooting is critical. You would need to provide out-of-hours support as required and hands-on support where necessary. As the data centres and hardware are UK-based, travel at short notice may be required to meet the role's requirements.

The office is located in Menara IGB, Mid Valley City, and to cover some UK hours, the working hours start later in the morning.

What You'll Bring

To be successful in this role, you'll need:

• 5 years in Windows Server operating systems (2008 2025), including build, patching, upgrading, and troubleshooting.
• 5 years managing and maintaining a Nutanix HCI platform, using AHV as the hypervisor and Prism Central.
• In addition to standard virtual machines, virtual appliances, including F5 load balancers and virtual firewalls, must be managed.
• Vulnerability management and OS hardening through policy.
• SCCM / Azure Update management skills.
• Microsoft Defender for Servers management.
• Advanced operating system knowledge, including Clustering, Certificates and PKI, DNS, DHCP, Directory Services, Group Policy, LAPS, FTP, SFTP, SSH and other Windows server roles.
• Azure understanding of key concepts, but experience and knowledge of Arc in particular.
• Backup and recovery using Veritas NetBackup, both running the service and maintaining the platform.
• Veritas hardware appliance management.
• 3 years managing and maintaining VMware ESXi, both on traditional server/storage platforms and Nutanix HCI platforms.
• Experience working with HPE DL server hardware and HPE Storage.
• Experience managing Nutanix NX hardware.
• Knowledge of ESXi on Nutanix and traditional hardware platforms.
• Knowledge of container-based architectures built on Docker.
• Knowledge of load balancers, firewalls and virtual appliances.
• Powershell scripting.
• Experience working in tiny teams, needing to make risk-based decisions under pressure. Must be able to communicate effectively with both the wider team and business project teams as required.

About Clarks

Clarks, based in Somerset, England, has been at the forefront of innovative shoemaking since its foundation in 1825 when brothers James and Cyrus Clark made a slipper from sheepskin off-cuts. Sparking revolutions and defining generations, Clarks archive of over 22,000 pairs includes the inimitable Desert Boot and Wallabee and a ground-breaking combination of invention and craftsmanship remains at the heart of what the brand does now. Cutting-edge collaborations with cultural icons and KOLs, taking strides in social change, reimagining legendary silhouettes, and making shoes that move with the world ahead Clarks is never standing still.