Network Engineer – Data Center Network / Cisco ACI & Nexus

Optiveum; United States; Remote; USD 56,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Optiveum is seeking an experienced Network Engineer for Data Center Network operations. You will manage Cisco ACI and Cisco Nexus environments, and participate in the planned Huawei CloudEngine rollout from 2028, working in a regulated banking sector environment.

This is a remote, full-time B2B contract with Poland-based work location, English fluency required, German a strong plus. You will handle incidents, firmware lifecycles, and runbooks, while contributing to automation with Ansible,

Qualifications

• Hands-on operations experience in data center environments.
• Solid knowledge of Cisco ACI including APIC, tenant concepts and L4-L7 integration.
• Solid knowledge of Cisco Nexus and NX-OS.
• CCNA Data Center or CCNP Data Center certification (CCNP Data Center preferred for senior candidates).
• Experience with Huawei data center / CloudEngine components or willingness to learn quickly.
• Experience handling major incidents in a regulated environment (banking).
• Understanding of ITIL processes in a regulated environment.
• Fluent English, spoken and written.
• Knowledge of network automation with Ansible and Python; experience with CheckMK.
• Huawei HCIP or HCIE Datacom certification.

Responsibilities

• Run and operate the Data Center Network product end to end on Cisco ACI and Cisco Nexus, and on Huawei components from 2028.
• Configure, administer and troubleshoot Cisco ACI, including APIC, tenant policies and L4-L7 service graphs.
• Configure and support Cisco Nexus switching with NX-OS, vPC, FEX and M-FC.
• Carry out ACI fabric upgrades and EPG changes in coordination with the Lead Network Engineer.
• Manage the firmware lifecycle for Nexus and ACI and handle licences with Cisco Smart Licensing.
• Prepare for the planned Huawei CloudEngine rollout.
• Analyse and resolve fabric outages, packet loss and multipath issues.
• Handle 2nd and 3rd-level incidents and support root cause analysis, known-error documentation and workarounds.
• Support the Lead Network Engineer and on-call lead during major incidents.
• Tune event monitoring in CheckMK and report on service availability.
• Investigate log anomalies flagged in Splunk and maintain standard syslog configurations.
• Run vulnerability management in line with ISMS requirements.
• Maintain the CMDB and track licences and asset lifecycle.
• Support internal and external audits and drive continual service improvement and automation.
• Share knowledge with stand-ins and contribute to runbooks, configuration standards and SOPs.

Skills

Cisco ACI

Cisco Nexus

APIC

NX-OS

CCNA Data Center

CCNP Data Center

Huawei CloudEngine

ITIL

Incident management

Python

Ansible

CheckMK

German language

Poland business registration

Tools

Splunk

CheckMK

Ansible

Job description

Network Engineer – Data Center Network / Cisco ACI & Nexus

We are looking for an experienced Network Engineer – Data Center Network to join the network operations team of the central IT services provider of one of Germany's largest banking groups. The client runs the core banking infrastructure for hundreds of regional savings banks across Germany, so you will work in a large, stable and highly regulated environment. The data center network is planned to move to Huawei components from 2028, so you will also have the chance to get involved in that transition. For this role, Optiveum is the recruitment and contracting party, which means you will sign the B2B cooperation agreement directly with us.

• Rate: 160–200 PLN/h net (B2B), depending on experience
• Contract: B2B with Optiveum, until the end of 2026 with a planned extension through 2027
• Work Model: 100% remote, full-time (5 days per week)
• Location: Remote from Poland
• Start: ASAP
• Languages: fluent English is required; German is a strong plus

Задачи

Run and operate the Data Center Network product end to end on Cisco ACI and Cisco Nexus (9k, 7k), and on Huawei components from 2028: from transitioning new infrastructure into operations, through changes and releases, to decommissioning

Configure, administer and troubleshoot Cisco ACI, including APIC, tenant policies and L4-L7 service graphs

Configure and support Cisco Nexus switching with NX-OS, vPC, FEX and M-FC

Carry out ACI fabric upgrades and EPG changes in coordination with the Lead Network Engineer

Manage the firmware lifecycle for Nexus and ACI and handle licences with Cisco Smart Licensing

Prepare for the planned Huawei CloudEngine rollout

Analyse and resolve fabric outages, packet loss and multipath issues

Handle 2nd and 3rd-level incidents and support root cause analysis, known-error documentation and workarounds

Support the Lead Network Engineer and on-call lead during major incidents (bridge calls, data collection, emergency changes)

Tune event monitoring in CheckMK and report on service availability (uptime, MTBF, MTTR) and capacity

Investigate log anomalies flagged in Splunk and maintain standard syslog configurations

Run vulnerability management (security patches, CVE tracking, remediation) in line with ISMS requirements

Maintain the CMDB (IP addresses, VLANs, VRFs, configuration items) and track licences and asset lifecycle

Support internal and external audits and drive continual service improvement and automation

Share knowledge with stand-ins and contribute to runbooks, configuration standards and SOPs

Требования

• Several years of hands‑on operations experience in data center environments
• Solid knowledge of Cisco ACI, including APIC, tenant concepts and L4-L7 integration
• Solid knowledge of Cisco Nexus and NX-OS
• Cisco CCNA or CCNP Data Center certification (or equivalent); CCNP Data Center preferred for senior candidates
• Some experience with Huawei data center / CloudEngine components, or willingness to learn them quickly
• Experience handling major incidents in a regulated (ideally banking) environment
• Solid understanding of ITIL processes in a regulated environment: Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Knowledge, Configuration, Event, Availability and Capacity Management
• Experience maintaining operational documentation
• Fluent English, spoken and written
• An existing 1-person company (działalność gospodarcza) registered in Poland
• German language skills
• Huawei HCIP or HCIE Datacom certification ITIL certification Network automation with Ansible and Python, and experience with CheckMK