Cisco Catalyst Specialist

Piper Companies; Norfolk (VA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401k Plan

Holidays

PTO

Job summary

Zachary Piper Solutions seeks a Cisco Catalyst Specialist to support a long-term DoD program in Norfolk, VA. You will design, deploy, and optimize Network Management Systems centered on Cisco Catalyst, DNA Center, and SD-WAN to improve visibility, reliability, and lifecycle management across a large enterprise environment.

Responsibilities include configuring NMS, integrating with ISE for RBAC, and developing automation workflows using Python and Ansible.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise network engineering or related infrastructure
• 3–5+ years supporting enterprise Network Management Systems (NMS)
• Strong hands-on experience with Cisco Catalyst Center / DNA Center
• Experience with Catalyst switches/routers and IOS-XE
• Experience with Catalyst SD-WAN and modern Cisco architectures
• Solid understanding of OSPF/EIGRP/BGP, VLANs, L2/L3 networking
• Active Secret clearance and relevant certifications preferred

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and optimize enterprise NMS for large Cisco environments
• Implement Catalyst Center / DNA Center and related management platforms
• Design highly available NMS with HA, DR, backup, and resiliency
• Configure SNMP, Syslog, NetFlow/IPFIX, and telemetry for monitoring
• Integrate NMS with Cisco ISE for RBAC and secure admin access
• Manage lifecycle of Catalyst switches/routers, provisioning and upgrades
• Develop templates, blueprints, and automated workflows in Catalyst Center
• Use SWIM for OS upgrades and patch compliance across devices
• Create migration plans and runbooks for legacy to Catalyst environments
• Monitor health with NMS dashboards, telemetry, and alerts
• Analyze network performance and root causes; support troubleshooting
• Collaborate with engineering, cybersecurity, and operations teams
• Produce technical docs, standards, migration procedures, and runbooks

Skills

Enterprise networking

Network design & optimization

NMS concepts

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or related field

Tools

Cisco Catalyst Center / DNA Center

IOS-XE

SNMP v2c/v3

RMON

Syslog

NetFlow/IPFIX

REST APIs

Python scripting

Ansible

SWIM

Catalyst Center API

PnP / ZTP

ServiceNow integration

Splunk / SIEM

Wireshark

Job description

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Cisco Catalyst Specialist to support a long-term DOD program focused on enterprise network management, automation, and reliability. This position is 100% onsite in Norfolk, VA. The Cisco Catalyst Specialist will support large-scale enterprise networks by designing, deploying, and optimizing Network Management Systems (NMS), with a primary focus on the Cisco Catalyst platform, Catalyst Center/DNA Center, Catalyst SD-WAN, and IOS-XE. This role bridges traditional network engineering with network automation to improve visibility, reliability, lifecycle management, and operational efficiency across a large enterprise environment.

Responsibilities of the Cisco Catalyst Specialist include:

• Design, deploy, configure, and optimize enterprise Network Management Systems (NMS) supporting large-scale Cisco network environments
• Implement and maintain Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) and associated network management and orchestration platforms
• Design highly available NMS environments, including HA, disaster recovery, backup, and platform resiliency
• Configure and optimize SNMP, Syslog, NetFlow, IPFIX, RMON, and streaming gRPC telemetry for enterprise network monitoring and visibility
• Integrate NMS platforms with Cisco ISE for role-based access control (RBAC) and secure network administration
• Support the full lifecycle of Cisco Catalyst switches and routers, including provisioning, configuration, stacking, upgrades, patching, and migrations
• Develop and maintain configuration templates, blueprints, and automated workflows within Cisco Catalyst Center for enterprise LAN/WLAN environments
• Utilize Software Image Management (SWIM) capabilities to support operating system upgrades and patch compliance across large device populations
• Develop migration plans and runbooks for transitioning legacy network infrastructure to modern Cisco Catalyst environments
• Monitor network health and performance through NMS dashboards, alerts, telemetry, and assurance capabilities
• Analyze network anomalies, client health, device performance, and connectivity issues to support root cause analysis and resolution
• Monitor key network metrics including link utilization, memory, temperature, PoE, device health, and availability
• Integrate network monitoring and telemetry with platforms such as ServiceNow and Splunk/SIEM
• Troubleshoot complex network issues using NMS packet capture, telemetry data, sensor information, and Wireshark
• Develop network automation workflows using Python, Ansible, and REST APIs
• Leverage Cisco Catalyst Center APIs to automate bulk network configuration, provisioning, monitoring, and operational workflows
• Implement Cisco Plug and Play (PnP) and Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) capabilities
• Support enterprise network configuration validation, change management, troubleshooting, and lifecycle activities
• Collaborate with network engineering, systems, cybersecurity, and operations teams to improve network reliability and automation
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, configuration standards, migration procedures, and operational runbooks

Qualifications of the Cisco Catalyst Specialist include:

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise network engineering, network management, or related infrastructure engineering
• 3–5+ years of dedicated experience supporting enterprise Network Management Systems (NMS)
• Strong hands-on experience with Cisco Catalyst Center / DNA Center
• Experience with Cisco Catalyst switches, routers, and IOS-XE
• Experience with Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
• Strong understanding of enterprise networking concepts including OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, VLANs, STP, Layer 2/Layer 3 networking, and routing/switching
• Experience with modern Cisco architectures including SD-Access, VXLAN, and TrustSec
• Strong knowledge of network monitoring and telemetry technologies including SNMP v2c/v3, RMON, Syslog, NetFlow/IPFIX, and REST APIs
• Experience developing or implementing network automation using Python and/or Ansible
• Experience working with network APIs and automated configuration workflows
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered
• Active Secret clearance

Preferred Qualifications of the Cisco Catalyst Specialist include:

• CCNP Enterprise certification
• CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification
• Cisco automation, Catalyst, or network management certifications
• Experience with Cisco ISE, RBAC, TrustSec, and SD-Access
• Experience integrating NMS platforms with ServiceNow, Splunk, or SIEM platforms
• Experience with Cisco PnP/ZTP and large-scale automated provisioning
• Experience with Catalyst Center SWIM and enterprise-wide IOS-XE upgrades
• Experience with network assurance, telemetry, and performance monitoring at enterprise scale
• Experience with Wireshark and advanced network troubleshooting
• Experience with REST API development and integration
• Experience developing automated network migration and deployment runbooks

Compensation for the Cisco Catalyst Specialist includes:

• Salary: $95,000-$100,000 depending on experience
• Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k Plan, Holidays, PTO, sick leave as required by law

Keywords: Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Catalyst Center, Cisco DNA Center, Cisco DNA, Cisco DNAC, Cisco SD-WAN, Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco vManage, Cisco IOS, Cisco IOS-XE, Cisco IOS XE, Cisco Catalyst switches, Cisco Catalyst routers, Cisco network engineer, Cisco network engineering, Cisco network automation, Cisco automation, Cisco network management, Cisco NMS, Network Management Systems, NMS Engineer, NMS Engineering, Network Management Engineer, Network Operations, Network Operations Engineer, NetDevOps, NetDevOps Engineer, Network SRE, Site Reliability Engineering, Network Reliability, Network Assurance, Network Monitoring, Network Observability, Network Telemetry, Network Performance Monitoring, Network Configuration Management, Network Provisioning, Network Lifecycle Management, Network Device Management, Network Operations Center, NOC, enterprise networking, enterprise network infrastructure, enterprise network management, enterprise network automation, LAN, WAN, WLAN, campus networking, data center networking, routing, switching, Layer 2, Layer 3, L2, L3, TCP/IP, IPv4, IPv6, Ethernet, VLAN, VLANs, trunking, 802.1Q, STP, RSTP, MSTP, EtherChannel, LACP, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, static routing, dynamic routing, multicast, PIM, VRF, ACL, QoS, SDN, SD-Access, Cisco SD-Access, Software Defined Access, SDA, VXLAN, VXLAN EVPN, TrustSec, Cisco TrustSec, SGT, Security Group Tags, Cisco ISE, Identity Services Engine, RBAC, role-based access control, AAA, TACACS+, RADIUS, network security, network segmentation, network access control, NAC, Cisco Prime, Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco APIC, Cisco Meraki, Cisco Wireless, Cisco WLC, wireless LAN, WLAN controllers, network controllers, network orchestration platforms, network automation platforms, network management platforms, network assurance platforms, network analytics, network analytics platforms, AI network assurance, network health, client health, device health, network visibility, root cause analysis, RCA, fault isolation, network troubleshooting, performance troubleshooting, packet capture, Wireshark, SPAN, ERSPAN, SNMP, SNMPv2c, SNMPv3, RMON, Syslog, Syslog-ng, NetFlow, Flexible NetFlow, FNF, IPFIX, telemetry, streaming telemetry, gRPC, gRPC telemetry, model-driven telemetry, YANG, NETCONF, RESTCONF, REST API, APIs, API integration, Cisco APIs, Catalyst Center API, DNA Center API, network programmability, programmable networks, Python, Python scripting, Ansible, Ansible Playbooks, YAML, Jinja2, automation scripting, infrastructure as code, IaC, configuration automation, automated provisioning, automated configuration, configuration templates, configuration compliance, configuration validation, configuration drift, policy automation, policy enforcement, bulk configuration, mass configuration, zero-touch provisioning, ZTP, Zero Touch Provisioning, Cisco PnP, Plug and Play, automated device onboarding, device onboarding, network deployment automation, network migration, network migration planning, migration runbooks, network upgrade automation, network patching, software image management, SWIM, Cisco SWIM, IOS-XE upgrades, firmware upgrades, patch management, lifecycle management, hardware lifecycle, device lifecycle, switch upgrades, router upgrades, switch stacking, StackWise, StackWise Virtual, high availability, HA, disaster recovery, DR, NMS HA, NMS DR, backup and recovery, redundancy, enterprise monitoring, alerting, dashboards, network dashboards, network alerts, threshold monitoring, event management, fault management, capacity management, link utilization, bandwidth monitoring, interface monitoring, CPU monitoring, memory monitoring, temperature monitoring, PoE monitoring, network sensors, ServiceNow integration, ServiceNow APIs, Splunk integration, Splunk SIEM, SIEM integration, security monitoring, log management, event correlation, incident management, ITSM, ITIL, change management, configuration management, change control, change validation, release management, operational runbooks, technical documentation, network architecture, network design, network deployment, network implementation, network operations, Tier III support, Tier 3 support, escalation support, advanced troubleshooting, enterprise support, DOD networks, Department of Defense, DoD, Department of Defense networking, Navy networks, U.S. Navy, NMCI, NGEN, NGEN-NMCI, Navy Marine Corps Intranet, government networking, federal networking, cleared networking, Secret clearance, DoD Secret, Active Secret, security clearance, CCNA, CCNP, CCNP Enterprise, CCIE, CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, Cisco Certified Network Associate, Cisco Certified Network Professional, Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, Norfolk, Norfolk VA, Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, enterprise Cisco, Cisco enterprise infrastructure

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