Network Architect
Description
Location: Chicago, IL - Hybrid
Must- Have Skills: AzureCisco Data Center Network Automation Routing SwitchesWAN
Required Education -Bachelors Degree Preferred Certification -CCNP-level knowledge strongly preferred -Relevant Cisco certifications are a plus (e.g., CCNP, CCIE) -AZ 700
Required Skills -
Data Center Networking: Expert-level, hands-on experience implementing and troubleshooting enterprise routing and switching in Cisco Nexus and Catalyst environments
Routing/Switching Protocols: Strong understanding of BGP, OSPF, Layer 2/Layer 3 design, resiliency, segmentation, and production change execution
Industry Experience: 10+ years of hands-on experience deploying, migrating, managing, and supporting complex enterprise and data center networks across on-premises and colocation environments
SD-WAN & Enterprise WAN: Deep experience with design, deployment, migrations, routing integration, policy, branch connectivity, path selection, and production troubleshooting; Prisma SD-WAN strongly preferred
Cisco Data Center Platforms: Hands-on experience with Cisco Nexus, Catalyst, and data center fabric management; Cisco NDFC strongly preferred; Catalyst Center a plus
Cloud Connectivity: Practical experience with Azure ExpressRoute and/or AWS Direct Connect, including BGP routing, route advertisement, redundancy, and collaboration with cloud teams
Implementation Leadership: Ability to assess environments, develop implementation approaches, execute production work, validate results, and resolve issues with minimal direction
Complex Migrations: Experience planning and executing high-risk network migrations with dependency management, testing, change control, rollback planning, and post-implementation validation
Network Security & Adjacent Services (preferred): Enterprise firewalls, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, load balancing; Palo Alto and Infoblox particularly valuable; F5 a plus
Automation Awareness: Familiarity with Terraform, Ansible, Python, GitHub, GitHub Actions, IaC, and GitOps; must be willing to learn and collaborate with automation-focused engineers (advanced coding not required; creating automation code preferred)
Observability & Troubleshooting: Deep understanding of packet analysis, telemetry, monitoring, and observability tools across hybrid network environments
Communication: Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal skills; ability to collaborate across Architecture, Engineering, Operations, Cloud, Security, vendors, and globally distributed teams Senior hands-on engineer with deep expertise in data center routing and switching, enterprise WAN and SD-WAN, and hybrid cloud connectivity.