Data Center Network Engineer (onsite)

** Job is onsite in Ashburn, Virginia**

The Senior Data Center Network Engineer is responsible for the hands-on configuration, implementation, troubleshooting, maintenance, and lifecycle support of enterprise routing and switching infrastructure within an onsite Internet Data Center environment.

The position’s primary responsibility is network engineering: maintaining reliable Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity, implementing approved network changes, resolving complex incidents, supporting upgrades and migrations, and protecting network availability and performance. The engineer must be comfortable working directly with production routers, switches, interfaces, routing protocols, VLANs, trunks, circuits, and related network services.

The role operates and supports Data Center operations, including DCIM data accuracy, rack-level equipment installation, structured cabling, fiber and copper cross-connect coordination, carrier circuit turn-up, technical documentation, vendor coordination, and participation in scheduled maintenance windows.

This is a senior, hands-on position—not a primarily architectural, project-management, or remote-monitoring role.

Key Responsibilities

1. Routing and Switching Engineering — Primary Focus

• Configure, implement, operate, and troubleshoot enterprise routers and switches in a production IDC environment.
• Perform hands-on Layer 2 administration, including:
• VLAN creation and modification
• Access and trunk port configuration
• Switch-port activation and validation
• Spanning-tree and loop-prevention troubleshooting
• Link aggregation and redundant-link support
• Interface, transceiver, and physical-connectivity troubleshooting
• Perform hands-on Layer 3 administration, including:
• IP addressing and subnet implementation
• Static and dynamic routing
• BGP and OSPF configuration and troubleshooting
• Route-policy, redistribution, and path-selection troubleshooting
• Gateway, adjacency, reachability, and failover validation
• VRF and network-segmentation support, where applicable
• Analyze and resolve routing, switching, packet-loss, latency, reachability, convergence, interface, and circuit-related problems.
• Use command-line, monitoring, logging, and diagnostic tools to isolate faults across physical, data-link, network, and transport layers.
• Review existing configurations, identify operational risks or inconsistencies, and recommend practical corrective actions.
• Develop and execute pre-change checks, implementation steps, rollback procedures, and post-change validation.
• Support network moves, adds, changes, migrations, upgrades, hardware refreshes, and decommissioning activities.
• Install and validate software or firmware upgrades in accordance with approved change-management procedures.
• Monitor network availability, utilization, error conditions, and performance trends; proactively address conditions that could affect service.
• Support redundancy, resiliency, and failover testing for network paths and critical connectivity.
• Maintain current network diagrams, configuration records, interface assignments, IP-addressing information, and as-built documentation.

2. Incident, Problem, and Change Management

• Respond to network incidents and service degradations; perform technical triage, fault isolation, recovery, and escalation.
• Lead or meaningfully contribute to root-cause analysis for recurring or high-impact network issues.
• Document troubleshooting actions, technical findings, corrective measures, and final resolution details in the applicable ticketing system.
• Open, update, monitor, resolve, and close incident, problem, service-request, and change records.
• Prepare and execute network changes under established approval and change-control processes.
• Coordinate implementation schedules, technical dependencies, maintenance windows, validation activities, and rollback readiness.
• Participate in planned after-hours maintenance when changes cannot safely be performed during normal business hours.
• Work with internal engineering teams, operations personnel, service providers, carriers, and equipment vendors to resolve hardware, software, circuit, and interoperability issues.

3. Data Center and Physical Network Infrastructure

• Support onsite routers, switches, network-management appliances, and associated data-center connectivity.
• Install, rack, cable, power, label, and validate network equipment in accordance with approved designs and data-center procedures.
• Replace or upgrade line cards, supervisor modules, power supplies, optics, interface cards, and other field-replaceable network components.
• Support fiber and copper cross-connects between carrier demarcation points, meet-me rooms, patch panels, cabinets, and network devices.
• Coordinate circuit extensions, port assignments, optics, demarcation details, patching, and end-to-end connectivity testing.
• Verify cable type, source and destination, equipment port, labeling, signal condition, and physical path before service activation.
• Troubleshoot structured-cabling and patching issues and coordinate corrective work with IDC personnel or cabling vendors.
• Maintain orderly cable routing, grooming, labeling, and documentation consistent with IDC standards.
• Support equipment moves, adds, changes, rack relocations, hardware refreshes, and decommissioning activities.
• Coordinate onsite vendor access, equipment delivery, installation, replacement, return-material authorization, and technical service actions.

4. DCIM and Configuration Documentation

• Use the designated Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platform as an operational system of record—not solely as a reference tool.
• Create, validate, and update records for:
• Installed routers, switches, modules, and related network equipment
• Rack, cabinet, and rack-unit locations
• Asset identifiers and serial numbers
• Physical ports, patching, structured cabling, and cross-connects
• Equipment moves, additions, replacements, and removals
• Reconcile DCIM information with the physical environment and correct discrepancies.
• Update DCIM and related as-built records promptly following installations, changes, cable work, or decommissioning.
• Maintain network diagrams, rack elevations, cable schedules, port maps, circuit records, methods of procedure, test results, and operational runbooks.
• Ensure documentation accurately reflects the implemented production environment.

5. Operational Coordination and Support

• Work collaboratively with network, security, server, storage, application, facilities, carrier, and IDC operations teams.
• Communicate technical issues clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide status updates during incidents, maintenance events, circuit implementations, and infrastructure projects.
• Support technical planning and execution for network migrations, equipment refreshes, capacity changes, and data-center initiatives.
• Participate in an after-hours or on-call support rotation for critical incidents and scheduled maintenance, as required.
• Follow applicable security, access-control, safety, incident-management, change-management, and data-center operating procedures.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of hands-on routing and switching experience in enterprise, service-provider, government, or similarly complex production networks.
• Demonstrated experience independently configuring, implementing, maintaining, and troubleshooting production routers and switches.
• Strong knowledge of:
• TCP/IP and IPv4 networking
• Layer 2 switching, VLANs, trunking, and redundancy
• Layer 3 routing and route selection
• BGP and OSPF
• Network segmentation and resilient network design
• Network monitoring and diagnostic techniques
• Experience planning and executing production network changes, maintenance activities, upgrades, migrations, and cutovers.
• Experience troubleshooting complex connectivity and performance issues across network devices, carrier circuits, and physical infrastructure.
• At least three contiguous years of hands-on experience working in an IDC or comparable data-center environment.
• Practical experience with data-center physical infrastructure, including equipment installation, rack-level work, fiber and copper cabling, patch panels, transceivers, and cross-connects.
• Working experience with a DCIM platform, including validating and maintaining equipment, rack, port, cable, or asset records.
• Experience with incident, problem, and change-management processes and associated ticket documentation.
• Ability to produce accurate network diagrams, configuration records, implementation plans, rollback procedures, and as-built documentation.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, written-communication, and stakeholder-coordination skills.
• Ability to work independently onsite while collaborating effectively with distributed engineering and operations teams.
• U.S. citizenship.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.
• Ability and willingness to work onsite Monday through Friday in Ashburn, Virginia for the duration of the engagement.
• Ability to support scheduled evening, overnight, or weekend maintenance and participate in an on-call rotation when required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Relevant professional experience may substitute for the desired degree.
• Current or prior professional-level networking certification, including:
• Cisco Certified Network Professional — CCNP Enterprise
• Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
• Certified Data Center Design Professional — CDCDP
• Comparable advanced routing, switching, or data-center certification
• Cisco routing and switching experience, particularly in enterprise or data-center environments.
• Experience with data-center switching platforms, carrier circuits, data-center interconnects, out-of-band management, and redundant network architectures.
• Experience coordinating with telecommunications carriers, colocation providers, cabling vendors, and network-equipment manufacturers.
• Familiarity with firewalls, VPNs, access-control lists, network-management platforms, and data-center security controls.
• Experience supporting network refreshes, migrations, circuit turn-ups, failover exercises, and infrastructure modernization.

Work Environment and Physical Expectations

• Work is performed onsite within a secure Internet Data Center.
• The position requires routine access to equipment rooms, cages, racks, cabinets, patch panels, and telecommunications demarcation areas.
• The engineer must be able to safely perform rack-level installation, cabling, equipment inspection, and component-replacement activities, with reasonable accommodation where applicable.
• Work may require standing, bending, reaching within equipment racks, handling network cabling, and moving or positioning network components using approved safety practices.
• Periodic evening, overnight, weekend, or on-call support may be required for maintenance windows, production changes, equipment replacements, or critical incidents.