Data Center Network Engineer

Position: Sr Network Engineer Datacenter focused

Location: In-office 5 days/week in Dallas, TX (Las Colinas to be specific): Mandatory!

Job Type: Fulltime

Interviews: Video Zooms: probably 3-4 rounds

Must Haves:

1. 5-7+ years of Datacenter Network Architecture experience physical datacenters with 100 racks+ (NOT CLOUD)
2. Must have a experience deploying Palo Alto Firewalls and Switches

DESCRIPTION

Our client is seeking a highly skilled, adaptable, focused, and driven Senior Network Engineer with expertise in datacenter environments.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and manage complex network solutions in a multivendor solution stack including routing, access layer switching, and datacenter switching in a mixed Cisco, Arista, Mellanox/Infiniband network, firewalls with a focus on Palo Alto and Fortinet, WAN circuits including dedicated cloud access technologies, WAN and general network optimization technologies to enable international collaboration.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to gather and understand business requirements, translating them into solutions to accomplish company objectives.
• Architect and support varied environments, ensuring seamless integration of networking assets to deliver high-performance and reliable services. Must have the ability to step back and observe the bigger picture in order to design solutions that consider impacts beyond the physical network.
• Participate in the implementation and maintaining of network security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, access controls, and encryption, to safeguard sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry standards.
• Monitor network performance, proactively identify issues, and provide rapid resolution to maintain optimal network functionality.
• Stay current with emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices to continuously improve and innovate.
• Participate in researching and evaluating new technologies.
• Document network configurations, processes, and procedures to facilitate knowledge sharing and provide reference materials for future initiatives.
• Participate in an on-call rotation for network support and incident response.

Requirements:

Must Have

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science or STEM related field.
• Minimum 6 years network experience in a datacenter context.
• Demonstrable experience, adaptability, and resilience is required.
• Must be able to hit the ground running on a large scale initiative including project planning, participate in ongoing discussions, quoting, capacity planning, future maintenance planning, and implementation.
• Strong demonstrable understanding of high throughput datacenter, private cloud, and HPC environments leveraging, but not limited to: Cisco, Arista, Aruba, and Mellanox/Infiniband for switching, interconnects, and routing; Palo Alto and Fortinet high throughput firewalls; WAN and dedicated private cloud connectivity including the routing knowledge to support it including eBGP, iBGP, OSPF and etc.
• Proficiency with Meraki cloud-managed networking solutions.
• Excellent soft skills to enable communication with all parties including experts, project management, senior management, and non-technical end users.
• Self-starter mentality and the ability to function equally well as an individual or as part of a team to accomplish goals.
• Solid understanding of firewalling principles, network security best practices, and encryption methods.
• Familiarity with network automation and orchestration tools (e.g., Ansible, Puppet, Terraform) for efficient management.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to diagnose and resolve complex network issues.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Proven track record of successfully delivering network projects on time and within budget.

A Plus

• Relevant certifications to demonstrate competence in the field (Network+, CCNA, VCTA-NV, etc.).
• Knowledge of software-defined networking (SDN) concepts and microsegmentation.
• Familiarity with public cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid cloud networking.
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes