Network Engineer

California Institute of Technology; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 136,823,232 - 178,371,648; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision insurance

Competitive compensation

Retirement savings plans

Generous paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Caltech is seeking a Network Engineer for IPAC to design, optimize, and operate the high‑performance network infrastructure connecting NASA, NSF, and mission partners. You will join the IPAC Support Group, collaborating with network, systems, and database engineers to maintain pipelines that move scientific data across global archives.

Role involves architecture, security, and data center responsibilities, with exposure to mission‑driven environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field plus 5+ years of experience.
• Extensive experience with Arista, Cisco, or similar networking hardware.
• Core data center and WAN experience with IPv4/IPv6 and routing protocols.
• Strong Linux systems experience (Red Hat or Debian preferred).
• Experience managing enterprise security perimeters with Palo Alto or similar.
• Experience with enterprise network and data center management platforms (e.g., Arista CloudVision).
• Must qualify as a US PERSON per ITAR regulations.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on Architecture & Automation to maintain IPAC network architecture and IaC practices.
• Streamline data movement and optimize data transfers to science archives and partners.
• Optimize performance through proactive analysis for HPC and archive workloads.
• Consult with project engineers and IPAC staff on networking requirements.
• Co-manage firewalls and security policies and implement monitoring tools.
• Share responsibility for data center cabling layout and physical layout.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Networking hardware

WAN/LAN configuration

Linux systems

Firewall management

CloudVision / network management

US PERSON ITAR requirement

Network automation interest

RADIUS / access control

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related

Tools

Arista CloudVision

Palo Alto Firewalls

IPv4/IPv6 routing tools

Job description

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

Job Summary

IPAC at Caltech is seeking a Network Engineer to support the design, optimization, and operation of the high-performance network infrastructure powering world‑class NASA, NSF, and privately funded ground and spaceborne observatories. As a member of the IPAC Support Group (ISG) Data Center Engineering team, you will work alongside other network, systems, and database engineers to build and maintain the vital pipelines that connect the global astronomical community to invaluable scientific data.

IPAC, situated within the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy at Caltech (www.caltech.edu), provides science operations, pipeline processing, user support, and data services for high-profile missions including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, SPHEREx, Euclid, the Near‑Earth Object Surveyor, and the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). Our diverse portfolio of research archives includes multi‑petabyte datasets like the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA), alongside highly curated reference repositories like the NASA Extragalactic Database (NED) and the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which are key research references for modern astrophysics and exoplanet science.

This role offers a rare combination of mission‑driven work, technical variety, and collaborative engineering. As part of a close‑knit team of about ten engineers, you will have broad visibility across IPAC's infrastructure, contribute directly to project architecture and design, and advance the technologies that support IPAC's scientific mission.

Essential Job Duties

As an IPAC Network Engineer, your role will be to:

• Collaborate on Architecture & Automation: Partner with team members and project engineers to develop and maintain the overall IPAC network architecture, helping to introduce and expand modern network automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) methodologies.
• Streamline Data Movement: Design and implement improvements to internal network and software architectures to optimize both massive, bursty data transfers and frequent updates to our curated science archives‑spanning environments within IPAC, external global mission partners, and the general science community.
• Optimize Performance: Conduct proactive network performance analysis, optimization, and capacity planning to support high-performance computing (HPC) and research archive workloads.
• Consult & Coordinate: Evaluate upcoming scientific project networking requirements in tandem with project engineers, IPAC systems staff, and peer research institutions.
• Share Infrastructure & Security Duties: Co‑manage firewalls and security policies in close collaboration with infrastructure and security staff, implement network monitoring tools, and share responsibility for data center physical layout and cabling plant operations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field, plus 5+ years of relevant experience (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Extensive experience with Arista, Cisco, or similar networking hardware (switches, routers).
• Core data center and wide‑area networking (WAN) experience, with strong proficiency with LAN/WAN configuration and routing protocols, including IPv4, IPv6, dynamic routing, port aggregation.
• Strong Linux systems experience (Red Hat or Debian preferred).
• Experience managing enterprise security perimeters using Palo Alto or comparable enterprise firewalls, with practical experience in security zoning, VPN configuration, and application control and threat prevention.
• Experience with enterprise network and data center management platforms (e.g. Arista CloudVision or similar).
• Qualify as a US PERSON as defined by ITAR regulations: A US person is a citizen of the United States, a lawful permanent resident alien of the US ("Green Card" holder), or an individual granted refugee or asylee status under US law.

Preferred Qualifications

Beyond these basic qualifications, there are skills and experiences which will give you a head start here. We are a specialized environment looking for a well‑rounded engineer who thrives in a shared‑responsibility model. If you have experience in a few of these areas, you will hit the ground running, but even if these don't yet describe you and your experience, we would still like to hear from you:

• Network Automation: Experience or a strong interest in helping a team transition toward network automation using Python, Ansible, Terraform, or related tooling.
• Infrastructure Services: Experience managing RADIUS authentication and access control servers. Knowledge of X.500 directory service models.
• High‑Performance Networking: Experience supporting High Performance Computing (HPC) environments or large‑scale storage/archive systems.
• Cloud Environments: Experience integrating on‑premises networks with public cloud environments (e.g., AWS).
• Mission Alignment: A genuine interest in science, astronomy, or space exploration. Understanding mission objectives helps us build better systems for the scientists and staff we support.
• Teamwork & Collaboration: A strong collaborative mindset, a willingness to share operational duties, and the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly within a multidisciplinary team and across administrative boundaries.

Life at IPAC

People choose to work at IPAC for many reasons, and our casual, employee‑centric culture often leads to fulfilling, long‑term careers and positive relationships. Whether in science, engineering, or administration, IPAC staff share a unique sense of pride in knowing their individual talents support human discovery.

Unlike traditional corporate tech, IPAC emphasizes sustainable workloads and a healthy work‑life balance: after‑hours work is rare, shared across the operations team, and typically limited to exceptional situations. We actively support ongoing professional development, including training, conferences, and skill development aligned with your career goals. Caltech's benefits program offers a highly competitive benefits package, an exceptional 403(b) defined contribution plan, and access to campus facilities including the athletic center, libraries, on‑site daycare, and Athenaeum club membership.

Hiring Range

$47.75 - 62.25 Per Hour

The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.

• competitive compensation
• health, dental, and vision insurance
• retirement savings plans
• generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.)
• tuition reimbursement

Non‑benefit eligible employees will have access to some benefits such as onsite counseling and sick time. Learn more about our benefits and staff perks.

Caltech is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

Equal Opportunity/EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Caltech is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

To read more Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) go to eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf.

Disability Accommodations

Caltech complies with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We consider reasonable accommodation measures that may be necessary for eligible applicants and employees to perform the essential functions of a position.

If you would like to request an accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please contact Caltech Recruiting at [e-mail].

Additionally, if you do not meet the basic qualifications of a role but believe you can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodation, please reach out to Caltech Recruiting at [e-mail].