IT Expert Principal

Hays are now looking for an IT Expert Principal / V-Defend Architect:

- £715 p/d Inside IR35
- Remote working with travel to visit clients when needed
- London Area
- 2nd position requiring SC Clearance also available (1st postition doesn't require this)

We are seeking an experienced Security Specialist to support the design, deployment, and optimisation of advanced security capabilities across a complex virtualised environment. You will work closely with technical leads to enhance firewall, threat protection, monitoring, and investigative capabilities within VMware security platforms.

What You'll Be Doing

Firewall & Platform Enablement (vDefend DFW)

Supporting deployment of the platform to enable NSXi
Assisting with Distributed Firewall (DFW) policy creation and rule migration
Contributing to operating model definition and development
Defining standardisation goals and scalable policy structures
Supporting build-out of macro, meso, and micro-segmentation policies
Assisting with Identity Firewall configuration
Enhancing logging, monitoring, visibility, and operational metrics
Supporting capacity management activities

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

Assisting with ATP enablement and configuration
Supporting policy activation for IPS/IDS
Participating in testing, validation, and malware prevention tuning
Helping with threat assessments and advanced attack detection use cases
Supporting initial investigations and evidence-chain analysis
Contributing to threat scenario development and attack lifecycle visibility
Assisting with logging, monitoring, dashboards, and reporting
Supporting upgrades, patching, and ongoing day‑two operations
Skills & Experience Required

Strong hands-on experience with VMware security technologies, including vDefend, DFW, and ATP
Solid understanding of micro‑segmentation principles and firewall policy structures
Familiarity with IDS/IPS, malware prevention, and general threat detection methodologies
Experience contributing to operating models, scalable policy frameworks, and standardisation efforts
Ability to support investigations, threat analysis, and evidence chain documentation
Strong awareness of monitoring, logging, metrics, and dashboarding within security platforms
Excellent communication and collaboration skills within technical teams
Ability to work in complex, enterprise-scale virtualised environments

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or please send an up to date CV to

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