Network Engineer

Network Engineer

Location: Chicago, IL – Hybrid (1-2x a month onsite)

Employment Type: Short-Term Contract with High Likelihood of Conversion

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Network Engineer to support the design, implementation, management, and maintenance of enterprise network infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments. This position is ideal for someone with strong hands-on networking experience who enjoys troubleshooting complex issues, improving network performance, and supporting highly available infrastructure.

The role is primarily remote but requires candidates to be local to the Chicago area and available onsite as needed, typically once or twice per month, for network infrastructure support, hardware maintenance, cabling, and equipment installation.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, implement, manage, and maintain enterprise network infrastructure
• Monitor, identify, diagnose, and resolve complex network and connectivity issues
• Support routing, switching, firewalls, ACLs, SD-WAN, wireless networking, DNS, and DHCP
• Support VOIP/SIP and enterprise telecommunications connectivity
• Maintain network infrastructure across on-premises, offsite, and cloud environments
• Design, test, and evaluate data communication systems
• Develop implementation plans, testing plans, and project timelines
• Perform network analysis, capacity planning, and performance monitoring
• Troubleshoot internet circuits and network performance issues
• Communicate infrastructure changes and potential service impacts to stakeholders
• Provide recommendations for network improvements and modernization
• Participate in an on-call rotation
• Perform hands-on hardware responsibilities, including cabling, racking, installation, and maintenance of network equipment

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional network engineering experience with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or 8+ years of relevant experience with equivalent certifications/education
• Strong experience with enterprise routing and switching
• Hands-on experience with firewalls, ACLs, and network security
• Experience with SD-WAN technologies
• Strong understanding of DNS and DHCP
• Experience supporting VOIP/SIP environments
• Wireless networking experience
• Experience supporting both on-premises and cloud network infrastructure
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
• Ability to independently diagnose and resolve complex network issues
• Comfortable participating in an on-call rotation
• Ability to perform hands-on cabling, equipment installation, racking, and hardware maintenance
• Must be available for occasional onsite work in Chicago

Preferred Qualifications

• CCNA, CCNP, Network+, or similar networking certification
• Experience supporting large enterprise network environments
• Experience with cloud networking and hybrid infrastructure
• Strong network monitoring, analysis, and capacity-planning experience

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on Network Engineer who combines strong routing, switching, firewall, SD-WAN, DNS/DHCP, wireless, and VOIP/SIP knowledge with the ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues. This person should be comfortable working independently, supporting both physical and cloud infrastructure, and taking ownership of network issues from diagnosis through resolution.