Network Architect

HonorVet Technologies is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned IT staffing firm, ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified, working with federal agencies, state governments, and Fortune 500 enterprise clients across the US.

About the role

This position will act as a primary technical principal and is responsible for delivery of network solutions at an enterprise level. The Network Architect will oversee planning, design, implementation, and operation of network infrastructure projects, ensuring alignment with business requirements and industry best practices. Ideal candidates will have Data Center experience and must be able to contribute immediately, bringing hands-on expertise to streamline project deployments.

Location: Vacaville, CA (local to the Bay Area). Travel will be as needed, depending on projects and/or issues. Duration: 6 months.

Responsibilities

• Oversee planning, design, implementation, and operation of network infrastructure projects; participate in the specification of business requirements and implementation plans for advanced internetworking solutions.
• Manage implementation of network infrastructure projects from both technical and communication aspects.
• Review network design for security and other risks during projects.
• Serve as a liaison to vendors and/or third-party providers as assigned.
• Provide on-site and remote technical assistance to other resources and customers.
• Build and document new infrastructure environments following industry best practices and internal security policies and standards.
• Provide infrastructure design, implementation planning, deployment support, software strategy, system troubleshooting, performance engineering and optimization, and maintenance strategy.
• Provide technical guidance, knowledge transfer, and mentorship to internal engineering peers; lead technical staff responsibilities.
• Establish networking environment by designing system configuration; directing system installation; defining, documenting, and enforcing system standards.
• Maximize network performance by monitoring performance; troubleshoot network problems and outages; schedule upgrades; collaborate on network optimization.
• Secure network and server systems by establishing and enforcing policies; define and monitor access.
• Provide 24/7 support as required.
• Report network operational status by gathering and prioritizing information.
• Participate in capacity planning, demand forecasting, software performance analysis, and network tuning.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure timely delivery of solutions driving successful business outcomes.

Core Competencies

• Act with integrity
• Use sound judgement
• Commitment to quality
• Demonstrate adaptability
• Innovate
• Think strategically
• Communicate effectively and influence others
• Work well both independently and as part of a team

Technical Knowledge and Skills

• Expert knowledge of Palo Alto Network Firewall, CloudFlare, Prisma Cloud, and Cisco ASA.
• Expert knowledge of F5 Load Balancers (LTM, GTM, WAF) and AWS ELB.
• Advanced OSI layer 2 knowledge and practical experience, including STP, ARP, QoS, etc.
• Comprehensive knowledge of OSI layer 3 networks and protocols, including broadcast, multicast, anycast, routing, etc.
• Expert knowledge of routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP) and multi-homing Internet circuit configuration.
• Proficient knowledge of network security methodologies, including ACLs, stateful firewalls, VPNs (tunneling, IPsec, SSL, etc.).
• Fluency with network admin and monitoring tools such as Rancid, OpenNMS, Nagios, OpManager, Wireshark, Nmap, Nessus, Netflow, Sflow, etc.
• Administrative scripting skills (Perl, UNIX shell scripting).
• Advanced knowledge of Cisco IOS, NX-OS, Cisco Nexus (1K, 2K, 5K, 7K, 9K), non-Nexus series switches, Cisco routers, and other Cisco networking gear.
• Working knowledge of data center technology and collocation environments.
• Advanced knowledge of MPLS networks.
• Working knowledge of Nexus 9K and VPC.
• Advanced knowledge of Forcepoint configuration.
• Advanced knowledge and experience with routing protocols (BGP, RIP, OSPF, etc.).
• Working knowledge of Palo Alto Global Protect VPN.
• Advanced knowledge and hands-on experience with Cisco Network Devices automation.
• Working knowledge of Ansible or Python scripting for network automation.
• Deep domain expertise in networking, network security, and public/private clouds.
• Working knowledge of deploying and maintaining wireless networks.
• Expert knowledge of AWS services (EC2, ELB, RDS, S3, Route53, VPC, CloudFormation, SSM, Transit Gateway).
• Working knowledge of deploying and maintaining Microsoft Teams PBX VoIP (network side), SIP Trunking, and Five9 Contact Center.

Preferred Skills

• Advanced hands-on experience with Palo Alto firewall, F5 LTM, GTM, and WAF.
• Advanced hands-on experience in AWS cloud.
• Extensive hands-on experience in automation with Ansible, CloudFormation, or Terraform.
• AWS Solution Architect certification and CCNP certification (required).
• Deep knowledge of Forcepoint.

Professional Skills

• Project management skills.
• Ability to think and operate as a team player.
• Extremely strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to operate independently or as part of a collaborative effort.
• Strong project leadership and ability to develop working relationships with customer technical personnel.
• Strong troubleshooting skills and ability to apply them during business-impacting incidents.
• Ability to mentor others and lead by example.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field (e.g., Computer Science, IT, or similar disciplines). Equivalent work experience implementing and operating enterprise-level data center and/or office networks may substitute.
• Experience operating in a modern cloud environment (AWS, GCP, or Azure) or large-scale data centers is a plus.
• CCNP is the minimum requirement; CCIE R&S or CCIE Data Center certifications and AWS Certified Solutions Architect are a big plus.