Network Engineer

Description
JOB TITLE: Network Engineer
REPORTS TO: Director, Network/Security Services
LOCATION: Remote but must be located in the Chicago Metro area for onsite support our customers
DATE: December 2023
For 40+ years, Meridian IT has been helping medium and enterprise businesses solve their complex technical IT problems. Through a unique strategic perspective, deep expertise, and a personalized proactive approach, Meridian IT is the top IT solutions provider in the industry.
Offering best-in-class cloud, hybrid, and on-premises data storage solutions, backup and recovery solutions, security solutions, hyperconverged infrastructure, contact center solutions, flexible pricing models and award-winning managed services, Meridian IT works with each client to create a customized plan to help solve their IT obstacles.
Meridian IT is part of Meridian Group International. Meridian Group International is a privately held organization headquartered in Deerfield, IL. Operating since 1979, Meridian Group International is a leading IT service provider and equipment leasing and finance company across 4 continents.
Position Summary
The Network Engineer is a technical resource responsible for assisting Senior Engineers with implementing end-to-end solutions to complex business networking and communications problems for new and existing clients. The Network Engineer is responsible for components of lifecycle of an engagement (Onboarding to Decommission) as delegated by Senior Resources. The ability to properly and professionally manage customer expectations and to calmly handle stressful and complex troubleshooting scenarios are requirements of this position.
The Network Engineer will also work on assisting our managed service customers, as well as respond to ad-hoc support requests. This is an excellent opportunity for candidates to advance their networking career by working with senior engineers in multiple technologies in various industries.
Duties and Responsibilities
Post-Sales Implementation and Operational Work

• Provide assistance to Senior Engineers with project execution;
• Provide assistance to managed service customers within the agreed upon SLAs in our managed service contracts with them;
• Assist with verifying received hardware inventory, performing initial equipment staging, assisting with physical deployment of switches, creating documentation during onboarding and maintaining it, performing software updates, scripted triaging of tickets;
• Assist with the management of monitoring solution used by Meridian;
• Manage and troubleshoot Cisco, Aruba, and Palo Alto technologies;
• Configure and manage network security policies;
• Work with other IT team members to support the company's business goals;
• Troubleshoot LAN/WAN infrastructure issues under stressful conditions;
• Design and implement secure, scalable and highly resilient LAN/WAN infrastructure solutions utilizing products from such manufacturers as Cisco, Palo Alto, Aruba, F5, Riverbed, HP, etc.;
• Design and implement perimeter and data security solutions including firewalls, intrusion detection / prevention, VPN's, remote access and monitoring tools;
• Successfully manage the entire lifecycle of an implementation engagement from Plan to Close;
• Successfully work with a project team to implement a portion of an implementation engagement.

Risk Management

• Escalate issues to the Project Management Office and Director, Network/Security Services before they jeopardize the success or financial viability of an engagement;
• Participate in quarterly meetings with the Infrastructure team to discuss recent engagements, challenges and opportunities; incorporate improvements into the pre-sales process.

Communications

• Manage cross-functional interdependencies;
• Responsible for clear and timely communication to multiple stakeholder groups;
• Responsible for communicating the details of an opportunity / engagement to both the business and technical teams.

Miscellaneous

• Participate with the Project Management Office in project post mortems and collaborate on recommendations reports in order to identify successful and unsuccessful project elements;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a business or IT-related field is preferred but not required;
• CCNA Cisco certifications;
• PCNSE certification is a plus;
• Experience with Aruba wireless;
• Experience with Cisco ISE;
• Proficiency in MS Office (Including Word, Excel, Outlook, Project, PowerPoint, & Visio);
• Operational proficiency with the OSI Model;
• Ability to troubleshoot and configure end user network connectivity;
• Ability to troubleshoot and configure spanning tree;
• Ability to troubleshoot and configure routing protocols such as EIGRP and OSPF;
• Familiarity with SNMP;
• Familiarity with Voice over IP systems such as Cisco Call Manager;
• Eagerness to learn and obtain new IT certifications under a tight schedule;
• Strong critical thinking;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interface at varying and appropriate levels of management;
• Excellent customer relationship management skills;
• Ability to break down technical concepts into business terms;
• Strong team player with emphasis on soft skills and relationship building;
• Proven ability to solve technical challenges under stressful conditions;
• Well organized, thrive in a sense-of-urgency environment, leverage best practices, and innovate through any problem with a can-do attitude;
• Ability to handle multiple priorities and interruptions with minimal impact on productivity;
• Demonstrate a high level of independent judgment and initiative; self starter;
• Ability to maintain a flexible work schedule;
• Ability to obtain and maintain both pre- and post-sales technical certifications from manufacturers (e.g. Cisco, Juniper, HP, etc.).

Meridian Group International, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.