Senior SD-WAN & Networking Architect (Remote)

Cognizant; Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 99,000 - 114,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays and PTO

401(k) plan and contributions

Disability insurance

Paid parental leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Senior Network Engineer specializing in Cisco SD-WAN, Meraki, and Viptela. You will architect scalable, secure networks to support hybrid work and global operations across distributed environments.

You will lead design, implementation, and optimization of SD-WAN, routing, and switching, collaborating with security, cloud, and delivery teams to ensure high availability and performance while minimizing business disruption.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in enterprise routing and switching.
• 10+ years designing/implementing SD-WAN in complex environments.
• 5+ years with Cisco Meraki SD-WAN architecture and branch connectivity.
• 5+ years with Juniper technologies in enterprise networks.
• Hands-on with Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Viptela components.
• Strong security fundamentals and policy integration with cloud connectivity.

Responsibilities

• Design scalable SD-WAN solutions across branch and enterprise locations.
• Architect Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Viptela for application-aware routing.
• Define end-to-end network architectures supporting hybrid work and services.
• Design and optimize routing and switching for campus, branch, and data center.
• Review and optimize existing topologies to reduce incidents and improve WAN utilization.
• Create architecture diagrams, configuration standards, migration plans, and guidelines.
• Collaborate with security, cloud, application, and operations teams to align with policies.
• Provide guidance during complex incidents related to SD-WAN, routing, and network performance.
• Conduct capacity planning and performance analysis for bandwidth needs.
• Mentor teams on SD-WAN design, configuration, and troubleshooting.

Skills

SD-WAN

Cisco routing & switching

Hybrid work support

Network security fundamentals

Troubleshooting & diagnostics

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Cisco Meraki

Viptela

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Juniper

Job description

Cognizant is seeking a Senior Network Engineer specializing in Cisco SD-WAN, Meraki, and Viptela. You will architect scalable, secure networks to support hybrid work and global operations across distributed environments.

You will lead design, implementation, and optimization of SD-WAN, routing, and switching, collaborating with security, cloud, and delivery teams to ensure high availability and performance while minimizing business disruption.