Network Engineer

About the role

IPAC at Caltech is seeking a Network Engineer to support the design, optimization, and operation of the high-performance network infrastructure powering world-class NASA, NSF, and privately funded ground and spaceborne observatories.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on Architecture & Automation: Partner with team members and project engineers to develop and maintain the overall IPAC network architecture, helping to introduce and expand modern network automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) methodologies.
• Streamline Data Movement: Design and implement improvements to internal network and software architectures to optimize both massive, bursty data transfers and frequent updates to our curated science archives—spanning environments within IPAC, external global mission partners, and the general science community.
• Optimize Performance: Conduct proactive network performance analysis, optimization, and capacity planning to support high-performance computing (HPC) and research archive workloads.
• Consult & Coordinate: Evaluate upcoming scientific project networking requirements in tandem with project engineers, IPAC systems staff, and peer research institutions.
• Share Infrastructure & Security Duties: Co-manage firewalls and security policies in close collaboration with infrastructure and security staff, implement network monitoring tools, and share responsibility for data center physical layout and cabling plant operations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field, plus 5+ years of relevant experience (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Extensive experience with Arista, Cisco, or similar networking hardware (switches, routers).
• Core data center and wide-area networking (WAN) experience, with strong proficiency with LAN/WAN configuration and routing protocols, including IPv4, IPv6, dynamic routing, port aggregation.
• Strong Linux systems experience (Red Hat or Debian preferred).
• Experience managing enterprise security perimeters using Palo Alto or comparable enterprise firewalls, with practical experience in security zoning, VPN configuration, and application control and threat prevention.
• Experience with enterprise network and data center management platforms (e.g. Arista CloudVision or similar).

Qualifications

• Qualify as a US PERSON as defined by ITAR regulations: A US person is a citizen of the United States, a lawful permanent resident alien of the US (“Green Card” holder), or an individual granted refugee or asylee status under US law.

Preferred Qualifications

• Network Automation: Experience or a strong interest in helping a team transition toward network automation using Python, Ansible, Terraform, or related tooling.
• Infrastructure Services: Experience managing RADIUS authentication and access control servers. Knowledge of X.500 directory service models.
• High-Performance Networking: Experience supporting High Performance Computing (HPC) environments or large-scale storage/archive systems.
• Cloud Environments: Experience integrating on-premises networks with public cloud environments (e.g., AWS).
• Mission Alignment: A genuine interest in science, astronomy, or space exploration. Understanding mission objectives helps us build better systems for the scientists and staff we support.
• Teamwork & Collaboration: A strong collaborative mindset, a willingness to share operational duties, and the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly within a multidisciplinary team and across administrative boundaries.