Senior Network Engineer

Vertiv; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertiv is seeking an experienced Senior Network Engineer to design, implement, and support complex enterprise networks across multiple sites. The role involves taking ownership from initial design through implementation, documentation, and ongoing support, including connectivity with Equinix Fabric and SD-WAN deployments.

Travel is required for office, campus, data center, and infrastructure deployments. The ideal candidate should have strong Cisco routing/switching experience and hands-on

Qualifications

• 10+ years of enterprise networking experience at senior levels such as Senior Network Engineer or Network Architect.
• Strong hands-on experience with Cisco networking equipment including routers and switches.
• Deep knowledge of dynamic routing protocols: BGP, OSPF, EIGRP.
• Proficiency with IP networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, VLANs, STP, HSRP/VRRP, DHCP, DNS, NAT.

Responsibilities

• Design, architect, implement, and support enterprise network infrastructure across offices and data centers.
• Lead network deployments for new offices and campus locations from the ground up.
• Develop network topology, IP addressing, routing, wireless, security, and connectivity designs.

Skills

BGP

OSPF

EIGRP

TCP/IP

WAN

Wireless

Network design

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE

Tools

Wireshark

SolarWinds

Grafana

Python

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Network Engineer to design, implement, support, and troubleshoot complex enterprise network infrastructure. This role is highly hands‑on and requires someone who can operate at both the architecture/design level and the implementation level.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience with enterprise routing and switching, SD‑WAN, wireless, data center connectivity, campus networks, and network architecture. This individual should be comfortable taking ownership of a network deployment from initial design and cabling requirements through implementation, troubleshooting, documentation, and ongoing support.

Travel is required for office, campus, data center, and infrastructure deployment projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, architect, implement, and support enterprise network infrastructure across offices, campuses, and data center environments.
• Lead network deployments for new offices, buildings, and campus locations from the ground up.
• Develop network architecture, topology, IP addressing, routing, switching, wireless, security, and connectivity designs.
• Configure, deploy, and troubleshoot Cisco routers, switches, wireless infrastructure, and SD‑WAN solutions.
• Design and manage complex routing environments using BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP, with particular emphasis on BGP.
• Develop and implement resilient network architectures with appropriate redundancy, high availability, and failover.
• Work with data center and colocation providers, including Equinix, to establish and manage connectivity.
• Configure and manage Equinix Fabric connections and related network connectivity.
• Evaluate and validate physical network infrastructure, including structured cabling, fiber, copper, patch panels, racks, and network demarcation points.
• Provide technical leadership during network moves, office openings, infrastructure upgrades, and network refresh projects.
• Troubleshoot complex network issues across Layer 1–Layer 3 and beyond, including routing, switching, wireless, WAN, SD‑WAN, and connectivity issues.
• Use packet‑analysis and troubleshooting tools such as Wireshark to identify and resolve complex network problems.
• Develop detailed network topology diagrams, architecture diagrams, implementation plans, and operational documentation.
• Establish and document network standards, procedures, and processes.
• Participate in network monitoring, performance analysis, capacity planning, and infrastructure optimization.
• Collaborate with security, systems, cloud, facilities, and other technology teams on infrastructure projects.
• Participate in after‑hours maintenance windows and provide escalation support when required.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years' enterprise networking experience in a Senior Network Engineer or Network Architect capacity.
• Strong hands‑on experience with Cisco networking equipment, including routers and switches.
• Extensive knowledge of dynamic routing protocols, particularly:
  • BGP
  • OSPF
  • EIGRP
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP, VLANs, STP, EtherChannel, HSRP/VRRP, DHCP, DNS, NAT, and other core networking technologies.
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise network architectures.
• Hands‑on experience with SD‑WAN technologies.
• Hands‑on experience designing, deploying, and troubleshooting enterprise Wi‑Fi/wireless networks.
• Experience designing and implementing networks for new offices, buildings, and campus environments from the ground up.
• Extensive knowledge of structured cabling, including fiber and copper, cable standards, patching, terminations, rack layouts, and physical network infrastructure.
• Experience working with Equinix and establishing/managing Equinix Fabric connections.
• Excellent network troubleshooting and analytical skills.
• Strong experience using Wireshark and other network diagnostic tools.
• Ability to create clear and accurate network topology and architecture diagrams.
• Strong technical documentation and communication skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Palo Alto firewalls and enterprise security architectures.
• Experience with Grafana, SolarWinds, or other network monitoring and observability platforms.
• Experience with network automation and infrastructure‑as‑code concepts.
• Programming or scripting experience, particularly Python, is a plus.
• Experience developing network automation scripts and tools.
• Experience integrating monitoring, alerting, and automation platforms.
• Experience with data center networking and interconnects.
• Experience with cloud networking and hybrid infrastructure.
• Relevant Cisco certifications such as CCNP or CCIE are highly desirable.

Technical Skills

The successful candidate should be comfortable working across multiple areas of enterprise infrastructure, including:

• Routing & Switching: BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, STP, HSRP/VRRP, Layer 2/Layer 3, WAN
• Network Infrastructure: Cisco routers/switches, SD‑WAN, enterprise Wi‑Fi, campus networks, data center networking
• Connectivity: Equinix, Equinix Fabric, Internet/WAN circuits, data center interconnects
• Security: Palo Alto firewalls, network segmentation, firewall routing and connectivity
• Physical Infrastructure: Fiber and copper cabling, structured cabling, patch panels, racks, demarcation, physical network design
• Monitoring & Automation: SolarWinds, Grafana, network monitoring/observability, Python/scripting, network automation
• Troubleshooting & Documentation: Wireshark, packet analysis, performance troubleshooting, network topology/architecture diagrams, technical documentation

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who can own a network project from beginning to end. This is not simply a configuration or support role.

The ideal engineer can walk into a new building, assess the physical infrastructure and cabling, determine network requirements, develop the architecture, design the topology, coordinate circuits and connectivity, configure the Cisco infrastructure, establish SD‑WAN and wireless, troubleshoot issues during deployment, and produce the documentation required to operate the environment afterward.

You should be equally comfortable designing the architecture on a whiteboard, configuring a Cisco switch, tracing a fiber connection, analyzing a Wireshark capture, troubleshooting BGP, and documenting the final topology.

Travel to offices, campuses, data centers, and other infrastructure locations will be required.