VMware vSphere Consultant - VCF 9 Workload Migration (Contract)

**Overview:** Stafford Gray is seeking an experienced VMware consultant to support the virtualization team of a global financial services client in Jersey City, NJ. The environment runs vSphere at significant scale (no other VCF suite components), with automation handled through an in-house marketplace and monitoring via Grafana. You'll support day-to-day IaaS operations, then assist with workload migration to VMware Cloud Foundation 9 once the migration design — owned by a separate VMware team — is validated. **Engagement:** Full-time (5 days/week), starting ASAP, running through October 31, 2026 **Responsibilities:** - Support the IaaS team's daily operational activities across a large-scale vSphere environment - Troubleshoot and maintain virtualization infrastructure, working within established automation (internal marketplace) and monitoring (Grafana) tooling - Assist with workload migration to VCF 9 following validation of the migration design and roadmap - Coordinate with the client's dedicated VMware migration team during the migration phase - Document operational procedures and migration activities **Required Qualifications:** - 5+ years of hands-on VMware vSphere administration/engineering in enterprise environments *(inferred — confirm with client)* - Experience executing large-scale VM workload migrations - Familiarity with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) concepts and architecture - Ability to work on-site in Jersey City, NJ at least 50% of the time - Strong communication skills for a client-facing, embedded-team role **Preferred Qualifications:** - Direct VCF 4.x/5.x/9.x migration or deployment experience - Experience in financial services / regulated environments - Grafana or comparable monitoring stack familiarity - Exposure to custom automation/self-service provisioning platforms - VMware certifications (VCP-DCV or higher)