Network Infrastructure Engineer

Network Infrastructure Engineer

Job Overview

Location: Clinton, Mississippi - 100% onsite; local candidates required; no remote option

Employment Type: W2, Full-Time, 1099

Candidate Pay Rate: $62.06/hour

Experience: 15+ years of experience working with Cisco networking; 5-7+ years preferred for ACI, SDA, ISE, observability, Palo Alto, routing and switching, documentation, and related capabilities

About the Role

• The Mississippi State Department of Revenue's Office of Information Technology is seeking a Network Infrastructure Engineer to support and modernize its enterprise data center, campus, and statewide network infrastructure.
• This hands-on SME role will design, deploy, secure, troubleshoot, and operate Cisco ACI, SDA, ISE, Catalyst, Palo Alto, and network observability environments supporting mission-critical state operations.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, administer, and maintain Cisco Nexus platforms operating in ACI mode, including VRFs, Bridge Domains, EPGs, ESGs, L3Outs, contracts, fabric policies, multi-tenant segmentation, and fabric health.
• Integrate Cisco ACI with Red Hat OpenShift VMM and Isovalent/Cilium container networking platforms.
• Configure and optimize RoCEv2 within the ACI fabric for high-performance and low-latency workloads.
• Troubleshoot ACI faults, endpoint learning, contracts, fabric health, and multi-tenant segmentation issues.
• Develop and maintain Cisco ACI documentation, standards, architecture diagrams, runbooks, and operational procedures.
• Deploy, configure, support, and optimize Cisco Catalyst platforms in campus network environments.
• Design and maintain Cisco Software-Defined Access architectures, including SDA wired fabric and fabric-enabled wireless.
• Manage SDA underlay and overlay networks, policy mapping, authentication integrations, and assurance operations.
• Collaborate with wireless engineers to improve wireless coverage, performance, telemetry, and policy enforcement across SDA environments.
• Configure and administer Cisco Identity Services Engine for TACACS+ device administration, authentication and authorization policy sets, endpoint profiling, and policy-based network access control.
• Integrate Cisco Cyber Vision intelligence into device profiling, segmentation, and access-control workflows.
• Support Zero Trust initiatives through identity-centric segmentation and policy integration across ACI and SDA fabrics.
• Deploy and manage ThousandEyes for end-to-end visibility, routing-path analysis, and performance monitoring.
• Implement and support Cisco Cyber Vision for OT/IoT asset visibility, device classification, and behavior analysis.
• Manage DNA Spaces for location analytics, telemetry ingestion, device behavior monitoring, and wireless intelligence.
• Analyze observability data and provide meaningful network performance and security insights to leadership.
• Troubleshoot complex Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking issues involving VLANs, OSPF, BGP, STP, multicast, TCP/IP, routing, switching, QoS, and network security.
• Design, implement, administer, and troubleshoot Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewall security solutions, including policies and security profiles.
• Create and maintain architecture diagrams, network standards, runbooks, asset inventories, and other technical documentation.
• Support network modernization planning, platform upgrades, procurement activities, lifecycle planning, and statewide technology initiatives.
• Provide ongoing support for highly available, enterprise-scale, mission-critical network services across data centers and statewide operations.
• Travel occasionally in and out of state and work occasional overtime as required.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 15 years of professional experience working with Cisco networking.
• Hands-on production experience with Cisco ACI and Cisco Nexus platforms.
• Deep knowledge of Cisco ACI constructs, including VRF, Bridge Domain, EPG, ESG, L3Out, contracts, fabric policies, and multi-tenant segmentation.
• Experience integrating Cisco ACI with Red Hat OpenShift VMM and Isovalent/Cilium.
• Proficiency with Cisco Catalyst platforms and Cisco SDA campus architectures, including wired and wireless fabrics.
• Experience administering Cisco ISE, including TACACS+, authentication and authorization policy sets, endpoint profiling, and NAC.
• Strong understanding of ThousandEyes, Cisco Cyber Vision, and DNA Spaces or comparable observability and analytics tools.
• Strong Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking skills, including TCP/IP, VLANs, OSPF, BGP, STP, multicast, routing, switching, QoS, and network security fundamentals.
• Palo Alto firewall administration experience, including next-generation firewall configuration, security policies, security profiles, and troubleshooting.
• Ability to support high-availability, enterprise-scale infrastructure in fast-paced, mission-critical environments.
• Ability to create clear network diagrams, architecture documentation, standards, runbooks, asset inventories, and other technical artifacts.
• Strong analytical, communication, collaboration, and advanced troubleshooting skills.
• High school education level or equivalent.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in Clinton, Mississippi; remote candidates will not be considered.

Preferred Qualifications

• CCNA certification.
• CCNP Data Center, CCNP Enterprise, CCIE, Cisco Specialist-ACl, Cisco Specialist-SDA, or Cisco Specialist-ISE certification.
• PCNSA, PCNSE, or PCCSA certification from Palo Alto Networks.
• ThousandEyes, Cisco Cyber Vision, or related platform training.
• Hands-on experience with container networking, virtualization integrations, Red Hat OpenShift VMM, and Cilium/Isovalent.
• Familiarity with NIST frameworks and state-level cybersecurity requirements.
• Experience with network automation tools and technologies, including Python, Ansible, and REST APIs.
• Prior experience in state government or large enterprise network environments.
• Experience with NoSQL databases and healthcare integration engines.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps practices.
• Experience managing migrations from on-premises data centers to cloud environments.
• Project Management Professional certification or similar credential.
• Master's degree in technology, management, or a related discipline.
• Experience with HIPAA Security Rule compliance and CMS ARC AMPE security requirements.
• Knowledge of Palo Alto NGFW fundamentals, threats, App-ID, NAT, URL filtering, WildFire, security profiles, and policy development.

Required Skills & Technologies

Primary Skills

• Cisco ACI
• Cisco Nexus
• Multi-tenant segmentation
• Software-Defined Access
• Cisco ISE
• NAC
• Palo Alto Networks
• Cisco Catalyst
• ThousandEyes
• Cisco Cyber Vision
• DNA Spaces
• L2/L3 routing
• Switching
• TCP/IP
• QoS
• Network security
• Red Hat OpenShift VMM
• Cilium
• TACACS+

Secondary Skills

• CCNA
• CCNP Data Center
• CCNP Enterprise
• CCIE
• PCNSA
• PCNSE
• PCCSA
• NIST
• Python
• Ansible
• REST APIs
• Container networking
• Virtualization
• Network automation
• State-level cybersecurity requirements
• NoSQL
• Healthcare integration engines
• Infrastructure as Code
• CI/CD
• DevOps
• Cloud migration
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• HIPAA Security Rule
• CMS ARC AMPE security requirements
• WildFire
• App-ID
• URL filtering
• NAT

How to Apply

To apply for this exciting opportunity, please contact:

Recruiter Contact: Show email

1. Update Your Resume: Please add any missing skills or certifications that align with the role.
2. Apply Online: Click the "Apply" button at the end of the job description and complete the required details. and upload the below matrix
3. Submit Supporting Documents: Upload a photo ID. If you are not a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder (GC-EAD), please include your work authorization details.
4. Confirmation: Once submitted, reply to this email to let me know. I'll review your updated materials and, if there's a match, schedule a video interview to discuss further.

Matrix 

# of Required Years

We appreciate your time and interest in this opportunity. Our team will review your application carefully and respond promptly.