Senior SD-WAN & Networking Architect

Cognizant; Jackson (MS); Remote; USD 99,000 - 114,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Senior Network Engineer specializing in Cisco SD-WAN, Meraki, and Viptela to design secure, scalable enterprise networks for global operations. You will work with security, cloud, and delivery teams to implement resilient network solutions supporting hybrid work.

Responsibilities include architecture design, capacity planning, and incident guidance. Strong focus on security, routing, switching, and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience with enterprise routing and switching, including Cisco switching and QoS.
• 10+ years designing, implementing, or optimizing SD-WAN technologies in complex enterprise environments.
• 5 to 10 years of experience with Cisco Meraki, including SD-WAN architecture, policy design, and branch connectivity.
• 5+ years of experience with Juniper technologies in enterprise network environments.
• Hands-on experience with Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Viptela, including control, data, and management plane components.
• Strong understanding of network security fundamentals, including segmentation and secure tunneling.
• Experience supporting hybrid work, branch connectivity, and cloud access scenarios while maintaining reliable user experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with logs, packet analysis, performance data, and monitoring tools.
• Strong communication skills to present designs and collaborate with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design scalable SD-WAN solutions using Cisco Meraki for secure, resilient connectivity across locations.
• Architect Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Viptela solutions for application-aware routing and multiple transport links.
• Define end-to-end network architectures that integrate SD-WAN, switching, routing, and security requirements.
• Design and optimize Cisco routing and switching for campus, branch, and data center environments.
• Review existing topologies and traffic to improve availability and WAN utilization.
• Create high- and low-level network design documentation and migration plans.
• Collaborate with security, cloud, application, and operations teams to align with policies and cloud patterns.
• Provide guidance during complex incidents related to SD-WAN, routing, switching, and performance.
• Conduct capacity planning and performance analysis to validate bandwidth needs.

Skills

SD-WAN

Cisco Meraki

Viptela

Routing

Switching

Network security

Problem solving

Communication

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

CCNP Enterprise

Cisco Specialist Enterprise SD-WAN Implementation

Tools

Cisco Meraki

Viptela

Job description

Cognizant is seeking a Senior Network Engineer specializing in Cisco SD-WAN, Meraki, and Viptela to design secure, scalable enterprise networks for global operations. You will work with security, cloud, and delivery teams to implement resilient network solutions supporting hybrid work.

Responsibilities include architecture design, capacity planning, and incident guidance. Strong focus on security, routing, switching, and cross-functional collaboration.