Senior Network Architect

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers worldwide, with leading practices in asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.

About the role

This position in the IT Department is responsible for the strategic design and architecture of the firm's data, wireless, video, and VOIP networks. Responsibilities include ensuring the stability, integrity, and performance of these network services through planning, designing, and developing local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), wireless networks, and security infrastructure across the organization. The Senior Network Architect will provide technical leadership, assist in network analysis and resolution, and support business continuity programs.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the strategic design and architecture of the firm's data network environment.
• Design, deploy, and maintain network systems and components including routers, switches, internet services, WAN services, wireless networks, VPNs, firewalls, video networks, VoIP infrastructure, security, and performance management systems.
• Participate in physical build planning and design for new spaces, including scoping, recommending, designing, planning, overseeing, and testing inter-rack and station cabling for office, MDF, IDF, and datacenter builds and refreshes.
• Configure networks to ensure smooth and reliable operation for fulfilling business objectives and processes.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend purchase, development, or enhancement of network hardware and software.
• Establish performance standards, processes, policies, and procedures.
• Provide senior-level technical support for network elements and systems.
• Design and monitor network performance, troubleshooting problem areas as needed.
• Collaborate with executive management and department leaders to assess near- and long-term network capacity needs.
• Create and maintain documentation related to network architecture and configuration.
• Ensure knowledge transfer for new systems.
• Coordinate with other firm members for the business continuance program.
• Perform other work-related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in the network field.
• Proven experience with planning, installing, and managing networks including LAN, MAN, WAN, Optical Networking, DWDM, Wi-Fi, Silverpeak SDWAN or Riverbed WAN Optimizers, F5 Load Balancers, F5 GTM Global Traffic Manager, Cisco Catalyst Center, and security infrastructure (firewalls, VPN, DMZ, IDS/IPS, WebProxy, content filter, FireEye, NAC, and Cisco TrustSec).
• Proven experience with network capacity planning, network security principles, and general network management best practices.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of LAN/WAN protocols and technologies including Carrier Ethernet, T1, DS3, optical, DWDM, NTP, Spanning Tree, VLANs, 802.1q, VFR, LFA, SMTP, SNMP v1-v3, OSPF, BGP, MPLS, VPLS, Ethernet, TCP/IP, SSL, SSH, SIP, H.323, QoS, Multicast, Anycast, 802.1x, Radius, NAC, DHCP, DNS, F5 Wide-IP, VRRP, HSRP, GLBP, PBR, VPC, LACP, SGT, SGACL, SXP, VxLAN, OTP, LISP, SPAN, WCCP, PfR, IPSLA, iWAN, VPN, IPSec, Wi-Fi 6, 6E, 7.
• Strong working knowledge of Cisco routers and switches (Nexus 9K, 7K, 5K, 2K, 1K; C9410, C9300, 3850, 4500, ISR-4451, 8300, FPR-1010) and Microsoft certificate servers.
• Experience with Infoblox/BloxONE DNS and DHCP, Ciena DWDM, 10 Gig optics, DNS Traffic Control, F5 iRules, Cisco ACI, SDN, network segmentation, Checkpoint firewall rule creation and administration, Cisco ISE, Cisco CLI, ACL management, SNMP MIBs, Cisco or Aruba wireless controllers and APs, SDWAN, and SSL certificate creation and management.
• Experience with network monitoring systems: Gigamon, APCON, Tufin, Netscout sniffers, UC Performance Management tools, Infoblox NetMRI, Cacti, MRTG, Solarwinds, SmokePing, NetFlow, Splunk, and syslog.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of DNS record management: A, CNAME, TXT, SRV, NS, PTR, SPF, DMARC, and DKIM.
• Experience with Data Center, server room, and IDF design; station cabling layout design and implementation; UPS management and monitoring.
• Preferred certifications (not required): CCNA/CCNP, CCDA, CCSP.

Skills

• Strong verbal and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Strong team and leadership skills.
• Strong project management skills.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality of the firm's internal and personnel affairs.
• Ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Self-starter who understands details within a broader context.
• Ability to work effectively in a culturally and educationally diverse environment.
• Ability to work in a teamwork/collaborative style and environment.
• Creative and flexible in responding to shifting demands and opportunities; ability to work under tight deadlines and handle multiple, detailed tasks.
• Team-oriented with the ability to share information, goals, opportunities, successes, and failures with appropriate parties.
• Ability to organize, plan, and carry out multiple related activities.
• Attention to detail and ability to follow up and follow through.
• Ability to work effectively in a multi-office environment.

Pay

The anticipated pay range for this role is $150,100 - $240,150 (Boston). In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications, experience, geographic location, education, external market data, and consideration of internal equity.

Schedule

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development, and effective collaboration with colleagues and management. Normal office environment. Incumbent is expected to work the hours necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the position. Travel to firm sites and vendor conferences may be required.

Benefits

Ropes & Gray offers a comprehensive Total Rewards package, including:

• Comprehensive health and well-being benefits.
• Personal and professional development opportunities.
• Career growth opportunities.
• A collegial and supportive culture.