Systems and Storage Engineer

The Systems and Storage Engineer provides engineering and third- and fourth-line support for the firm’s global systems, virtualisation, cloud, storage and data protection services. Reporting to the Systems Engineering Manager, the role requires extensive experience supporting large, business-critical infrastructure across Windows Server, VMware, Active Directory, Microsoft Azure, Entra ID, enterprise SAN and NAS storage, Fibre Channel fabrics, backup and recovery technologies.

The successful candidate will use their technical experience to resolve complex issues, improve service resilience and security, and support infrastructure design and lifecycle management. They will work independently and as a subject matter expert, providing technical guidance to project teams, Architecture, regional IT, suppliers and support partners.

Key responsibilities include:

• Support Windows Server, VMware, Active Directory, Microsoft Azure, Entra ID and associated infrastructure.
• Administer enterprise SAN and NAS storage, Fibre Channel fabrics, capacity and performance.
• Operate backup, recovery, replication and data protection services.
• Diagnose complex incidents, identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
• Perform monitoring, health checks, maintenance, vulnerability remediation and lifecycle management.
• Design and implement resilient infrastructure aligned with architecture, security and IT strategy.
• Support business continuity and disaster recovery testing.
• Deliver upgrades, migrations and technology refreshes.
• Provide technical guidance to project teams, Architecture, regional IT, suppliers and support partners.
• Maintain technical standards, procedures, documentation and knowledge articles.
• Follow ITIL, production support, information security and change-management requirements.
• Manage and support Microsoft 365 services including those operated by 21Vianet in China, including Entra ID, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Intune, Conditional Access, security governance, tenant administration, monitoring, troubleshooting, and incident management.
• Participate in the on-call rota, including planned out-of-hours and occasional weekend maintenance activities.

Experience:

To perform this role, you will be an experienced Systems and Storage Engineer with strong technical knowledge across Wintel infrastructure, VMware virtualisation, Microsoft Azure services, enterprise Storage platforms and backup technologies. The role requires hands-on experience supporting mission-critical server, storage and backup environments, with the ability to administer, maintain and improve Windows, SAN/NAS, virtualised and cloud-based infrastructure services.

• Extensive experience managing and maintaining Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025 estates, ideally using VMware ESX / vSphere 8.0 or above on HPE Rackmount or Synergy server hardware, including firmware patching and security vulnerability management.
• Experience administering Microsoft Azure services through the Azure Portal, including Entra ID, Entra Connect and enterprise application configuration for SSO.
• Strong technical knowledge of NetApp SAN/NAS Storage arrays, storage protocols and enterprise storage management in a mission-critical environment.
• Experience supporting CommVault Backup solutions, Backup methodologies, array-based replication, disaster recovery and split mirror backup technologies.
• Experience administering SAN fabrics across multi-site Brocade environments, with a strong understanding of Fibre Channel networks.
• Experienced in Wintel system administration, with the ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues across server, storage and backup platforms.
• Knowledge using Infrastructure as Code via scripting languages including PowerShell, Azure CLI, PagerDuty Process Automation, Azure Automation & Terraform.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Defender Endpoint configuration and support, Microsoft SQL databases, will be an advantage.
• Experience administering Microsoft 365, including those operated by 21Vianet in China, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Intune, and Conditional Access Policies. 
• Strong understanding of identity and access management, authentication, and Microsoft 365 security best practices. 
• Accustomed to working within the ITIL framework including Incident, Request, Problem and Change Management.
• Good planning, documentation and project workstream delivery skills, with the ability to support infrastructure change, lifecycle management and service improvements.

Mandatory skills

The following technical skills are required at 3rd and 4th line support level:

• Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025.
• VMware vSphere, including ESXi, vCenter and associated recovery technologies.
• Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and DHCP.
• Microsoft Azure IaaS and PaaS design, implementation, management and administration.
• Entra ID, Entra Connect, Enterprise Applications, App Registrations and SSO.
• Enterprise SAN and NAS storage administration, preferably NetApp (OnTap).
• Storage protocols and Fibre Channel networking.
• Multi-site SAN fabric administration, preferably Brocade.
• Enterprise backup and recovery technologies, preferably Commvault.
• Storage replication, recovery and disaster recovery technologies.
• Enterprise monitoring using SCOM, Azure Monitor, NetApp monitoring platforms or similar tools.
• PowerShell or another relevant scripting and automation language.
• ITIL-aligned Incident, Request, Problem and Change Management.

Preferred certifications:

• Microsoft MCSE/MCSA certification
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (preferred)
• NetApp NCDA / NCSE (preferred)
• VMware VCP certification (preferred)
• ITIL V3/4 (preferred)

Education:

Minimum degree level education of a B. Tech. / B.E. / MCA/ BCA or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Systems Engineering or equivalent related field.

Clifford Chance is one of the world's leading law firms, helping clients achieve their goals by combining the highest global standards with local expertise.  The firm has unrivalled scale and depth of legal resources across the three key markets of the Americas, Asia and Europe and focuses on the core areas of commercial activity: capital markets; Corporate and M&A; finance and banking; real estate; tax, pensions and employment; litigation and dispute resolution.

Alongside world-class legal careers, Clifford Chance offers excellent opportunities in the support functions that underpin its business operations. By joining us in our Business Professionals Group, you will help us to innovate in the way we deliver our services and enable us to run a successful multinational business that never stands still.  Business professionals are integral to the running of the firm and are critical to its success.

The Systems and Storage Engineer sits within the global Systems Engineering team. The role provides design, implementation, administration, optimisation and third- and fourth-line escalation support across the firm’s global systems, virtualisation, cloud, storage and data protection services.

The role supports business-critical physical and virtual Windows infrastructure, Microsoft Azure and Entra ID services, VMware platforms, enterprise SAN and NAS Storage, Storage Fabrics, Replication, Backup and Recovery. The successful candidate will act as a regional lead for Systems and Storage, work effectively across global teams and suppliers, and take ownership of operational service quality, resilience, security and continuous improvement.

Equal Opportunities

At Clifford Chance we understand that our true asset is our people. We believe that each and every one of us should experience an equality of opportunity and an equality of experience here. We are always working to develop and deliver the best and most innovative approaches to make that happen. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are therefore committed to treating all employees and job applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

The firm will regularly review its procedures and selection criteria to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and otherwise treated according to their relevant individual abilities and merits.

We have a number of initiatives and networks that support our aspiration to be the Global Law Firm of choice. These include our LGBT, Gender Parity, Ethnicity and Disability networks.