Senior Network Test Engineer

About the role

SGA is searching for a Senior Network Test Engineer for a CONTRACT assignment with one of our premier Financial Services clients in New York, NY. This role is crucial for maintaining the integrity and efficiency of the organization's network infrastructure. The position requires on-site presence 3–4 days weekly.

Responsibilities

• Test and certify network hardware to ensure optimal performance, reliability, and compliance
• Perform performance tests to evaluate the functionality, speed, and reliability of network hardware
• Identify and diagnose hardware malfunctions, performance issues, or compatibility problems during testing
• Identify automation opportunities and develop automated test solutions
• Develop and maintain test automation workflows using Python, Ansible, APIs, and Infrastructure-as-Code techniques
• Design, test, automate, and operate modern enterprise and cloud-native network infrastructures at scale
• Evaluate vulnerabilities, assess operational and business risk, and support remediation, patch certification, and security validation activities across enterprise network platforms
• Focus on lab testing and certifications for campus/branch/WAN-MAN/Data Center/Low latency environments
• Perform rapid certification of patches/SMU/codes, particularly for risk/CVE-driven events
• Test interoperability with network appliances (firewalls/load balancers) including F5, A10, Fortinet, and SRX
• Document and present recommendations, testing results, and certifications to wider teams
• Create and update engineering standards, configuration templates, and best practice network documentation
• Evaluate vendor offerings and collaborate with internal and external peers toward innovation
• Manage software and hardware testing of all future code releases and drive testing improvements
• Track bugs and vulnerabilities and provide expert-level support of the production environment
• Engage with vendors to research, understand, and communicate industry trends and upcoming products

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience with extensive LAN/WAN network design, engineering, and code/feature certification/validation
• Senior-level experience—can lead projects and work independently
• CCIE or minimum CCNP-level experience
• Hands-on experience in functional testing
• Mid-level Python and Ansible skills for creating, maintaining, and enhancing test automation workflows
• Linux proficiency and networking expertise
• Kubernetes operations experience (architecture, container networking/CNI, kubectl)
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity principles, CVE analysis, and network risk assessment
• Proficiency with tcpdump, Wireshark, and Git
• Experience with testing design and certification of products in lab environments
• Working knowledge of protocols: OSPF, BGP, IGMP, and PIM
• Experience with Cisco Platforms: Catalyst and Nexus
• Knowledge of certification of new code and bug scrubs on IOS/XE/NXOS/and limited XR
• Good foundation in Linux administration, networking, and automation
• Experience with Arista Platforms such as 7280, 7504, 7060
• Experience developing strategies with multiple vendors
• Experience with IXIA and/or Spirent for testing and certification
• Excellent knowledge of IP Routing, BGP, OSPF, and Layer 2 protocols like Spanning-tree
• Strong knowledge of Switching and Switching mechanisms like CEF, TCAM
• Experience with network platforms: ISR4k, ASR1K, Catalyst, and Cisco/Arista switching platforms
• Multicast: IGMPv2/3, PIM-SM, Static RP, RP-Anycast, MSDP
• Ability to manage vendors, coordinate testing, and evaluate PoC
• Ability to quickly and effectively interpret data
• Ability to perform complex implementations with little or no guidance from a project manager
• Ability to work independently and within a global testing team environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with strong business writing and presentation skills
• Ability to prioritize effectively with good time management skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with strong logical and analytical abilities
• Deep sense of ownership/accountability—must think as an owner and be proactive
• Ability to move quickly and multitask in a fast-paced environment
• Stakeholder management and providing reports to both technical and non-technical senior management

Preferred Skills

• MAB/Port Security/NAC/802.1x/QoS/IPSec experience
• Understanding of new protocols being deployed intra and inter Data Center
• AWS or Azure cloud equivalent
• Data Center power and cooling, cabling 10/25G/40G/50G/100G
• Cloud computing and virtualization industry standards and trends, server technologies
• Router hardening technologies, DDoS mitigation, routing protocol encryption, SSH implementation, out-of-band network design
• L2 and L3 QoS
• Ansible playbook authoring and integration with ROBOT framework
• ROBOT Framework proficiency
• eBPF-based networking and security, particularly Cilium (policy enforcement, observability, service load balancing, BGP integration, troubleshooting using eBPF maps and kernel-level telemetry)
• Interoperability with IP appliances (MAB/802.1x, firewall & load balancers experience is a plus)