Sr. Network Engineer/Administrator

Sr. Network Engineer/Admin

Full-time position

Germantown/Gaithersburg, MD

Hybrid/Remote position

SMART IT People has a full-time opportunity for a Sr. Networking Engineer with excellent problem-solving skills and thorough knowledge of network administration and architecture to establish network solutions that cater to customer disaster recovery/business continuity needs.

Required Skills:

• 8-12 years proven industry-related experience as a Senior Network Engineer or Senior Network Administrator

• Professional Certification (CCNP, CCNP Security, CCIE, etc.)

• Solid background in network administration and architecture

• In-depth understanding of communication protocols (mainly TCP/IP) and routing protocols (BGB, EIGRP, OSPF)

• Familiarity with access control models and network security

• Experience with network diagnostic, monitoring and analysis tools (e.g. Solarwinds, network tools, Netflow, Wireshark, iPerf, etc.)

• Solid understanding of network operating systems (Cisco IOS, NX-OS, JUNOS, PAN OS)

• IPv4 and IPv6 experience; DNS configuration and administration

• Sharp troubleshooting skills

• Ability to work independently

• Team player and contributor

• Possess solid problem solving skills

• Ability to work under pressure and shift priorities to meet tactical business objectives in a dynamic environment

• Organizational and mentoring skills

• Effective communicator orally and in writing – essential skill for this customer facing role

Desired experience:

• Fiber Channel infrastructure and switch configuration

• Cloud environment

• Cisco ACI/SDN technologies

• Data center

• Knowledge of any coding languages for scripting (e.g Python, Perl)

• Experience with FedRAMP environment

• Experience with VoIP systems

Education/Experience

• BS in a technical field or equivalent experience.

• Technical certifications such as CCNA or better in Cisco Data Center is a plus.

• CCNP in Routing and Switching or Security are preferred but CCNA Routing and Switching is acceptable with demonstrated experience.

• Eligible to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance

Job description:

- Provide network support services internally and to customers. 

- Must be comfortable communicating directly with customers. 

- Network Infrastructure

- Design, deploy and maintain functional networks (LAN, WLAN, WAN).

- Solid understanding of dark fiber transport and DWDM technology and equipment.

- Familiarity with Tier 1 service providers, circuits, terminology.

- Network Administration

- Administration of a variety of network equipment including but not limited to

• Cisco ASA and Firepower firewalls, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)

• Palo Alto firewalls, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)

• Cisco network routers

• Cisco Catalyst and Nexus switches

• Dell switches

• Alcatel OMNISWITCH switches

• Aruba wireless systems

• DWDM/Layer 1 equipment

• Load Balancers

- Extensive Layer 2 and Layer 3 knowledge & experience (including virtualized infrastructure).

- Diagnose, troubleshoot and resolve escalated issues.

- Monitor, tune and optimize network performance and integrity.

- Ensure security updates and software patches applied in a timely manner.

- Conduct routine network capacity, performance and scaling analysis & planning.

- Automate routine tasks and monitor effectiveness.

- Develop, validate and maintain documentation.

- Participate in team on-call rotation.

- Participate and lead team project initiatives to update architecture, perform fleet upgrades, drive new data center builds & expansions, add new technology, etc.

- Mentor junior team members on technologies, process and leadership.

- Lead and supervise as directed by management.

- Security Administration

- Hands on experience in production security systems, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, anti-virus software, authentication systems, log management, content filtering, etc.

- Create, oversee and test security measures.

- Configure and troubleshoot security infrastructure devices.

- Experience with network security, networking technologies and with system, security, and network monitoring tools.

- Solid understanding of the latest security principles, techniques, and protocols.

- Customer DR Test Support

- Active participation in customer pre-test planning meetings.

- Close coordination with other internal teams (Cloud, Mainframe, Power Systems, Hosting, Test Management, etc.) in preparation of events.

- Setup and teardown of network infrastructures for customer Disaster Recovery exercises.

- Provide technical support during customer exercises.

- Ability to work pre-scheduled alternate shifts to accommodate customer testing.

- Pre-sales/Sales Support for Network

- Customer facing role in pre-sales discussions with potential customers.

- Possess familiarity with industry replication and backup solutions, software and technologies as they pertain to Network.

- Maintain close consultation with Sales team for Network solution.

- Perform requirements gathering for Network solution.

- Coordination with other internal teams (Cloud, Mainframe, Power Systems, Hosting, etc.) in solution development.

- Conduct research and provide product solution identification, sizing and specifications based on customer requirements.

- Define network delivery scope and development.

- Develop Visio network solution diagramming.

- Ability to present/explain network solution & process to technical and non-technical consumers.

- Customer Onboarding

- Participate in customer onboarding meetings; cross-functional coordination with other internal teams.

- Equipment procurement, setup and deployment based on customer contracted requirements.

- Coordination with Customer Network team identifying detail requirements to establish connectivity to RPS facility (RPS provided Internet; customer provided dedicated P2P circuit, RPS provided dark fiber solution, etc.).

- Testing, troubleshooting and validating connectivity and solutions.

To apply, please send your resume in MS Word format to: michael@smart-itpeople.com withh job title in subject line.