Job ID: JOB_ID_10344
Job Title:
Senior Network Engineer
Location:
Plano, TX – Hybrid (Local Candidate needed)
Pay Rate:
$70/hr on C2C
Job Description:
Experienced Senior Network Engineer with hands-on experience in enterprise network infrastructure, data center networking, and hybrid cloud connectivity. The role requires strong expertise in Cisco Nexus switching and routing, enterprise firewall management (Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto), and hybrid connectivity solutions including Azure ExpressRoute. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, and supporting secure and highly available network environments across on-premises data centers and cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. The engineer will support critical infrastructure services, ensure secure network operations, troubleshoot complex connectivity issues, and maintain reliable routing for enterprise applications and database backup systems.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design, implement, and maintain enterprise data center network infrastructure including switching, routing, and segmentation.
- Configure and manage Cisco Nexus switches supporting Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, including VLANs, vPC, STP, and high availability architectures.
- Implement and troubleshoot routing protocols such as BGP and OSPF to ensure stable and optimized traffic routing.
- Manage and administer Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto firewalls, including security policies, NAT configuration, VPN connectivity, and traffic inspection.
- Support infrastructure-level network security, ensuring proper network segmentation, firewall enforcement, and secure access controls.
- Configure and maintain hybrid connectivity between on-premises data centers and Microsoft Azure using Azure ExpressRoute and VPN.
- Troubleshoot complex network, firewall, and cloud connectivity issues affecting servers, applications, and database systems.
- Support enterprise infrastructure services including SQL database connectivity, backup routing, and application traffic flows.
- Monitor network health and performance using network monitoring and observability tools, ensuring high availability and minimal downtime.
- Perform traffic path analysis, routing validation, firewall log analysis, and root cause analysis during production incidents.
- Collaborate with infrastructure, cloud, security, and system engineering teams to support enterprise IT operations.
Required Skills:
- Hands-on years of experience in enterprise networking and network engineering.
- Strong hands-on experience with Cisco Nexus switching platforms in data center environments.
- Fortinet, Fortigate, Enterprise Data Center / Azure Express Route Hybrid Cloud Environment.
- Deep understanding of Layer 2 / Layer 3 networking concepts including VLANs, trunking, routing, and network segmentation.
- Experience with routing protocols such as BGP and OSPF.
- Hands-on experience managing Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto firewall platforms.
- Experience configuring and supporting Azure networking services including Azure Virtual Networks and Azure ExpressRoute.
- Strong troubleshooting skills in hybrid network environments (on-premises + Azure cloud).
- Experience supporting enterprise infrastructure networks, server connectivity, and secure application traffic routing.
- Experience with data center high availability architecture and redundancy design.
- Experience with network monitoring tools and infrastructure observability platforms.
- Knowledge of enterprise security best practices and network segmentation strategies.
- Experience supporting critical enterprise systems including database and backup traffic routing.
Updated JD points:
- Expert-level configuration and administration of FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), Forti switch and Forti AP. This includes advanced SD-WAN implementation, High Availability (HA) clustering, and proficiency in Forti Manager for centralized orchestration and Forti Analyzer for threat logging and compliance.
- Deep understanding of Cisco Enterprise networking. Candidates must be fluent in managing Catalyst and Nexus switches, and proficient in routing protocols specifically BGP for edge connectivity and OSPF/EIGRP for internal segmentation.
- Proven experience designing and maintaining Microsoft Azure network infrastructure. Key skills include managing VNETs, Azure Virtual WAN, Network Security Groups (NSGs), and ensuring seamless hybrid connectivity via ExpressRoute or Site-to-Site VPNs.
- Hands-on experience with Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS. The candidate should understand App-ID, User-ID, and Global Protect VPN, with the ability to manage security policies across both Fortinet and Palo Alto environments during transition or co-existence phases.
- Ability to deploy and tune advanced security features including SSL/SSH Inspection, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), Anti-Malware, and Web Filtering to protect against sophisticated lateral movement and external threats.
- Familiarity with automation tools like Terraform, Ansible, or Python scripting to streamline repetitive tasks, such as bulk firewall policy updates or automated cloud resource provisioning.
Special Requirements
Local Candidate
Compensation & Location
Salary: $70 – $90 per hour
Location: Plano, TX
Recruiter / Company – Contact Information
Email: nueed.shaikh@varite.com
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