Senior Network Engineer

All staffing and recruiting services for this engagement are provided directly by Oxenham Group; unsolicited candidate submissions, proposals, or partnership inquiries from third-party recruiting vendors or agencies will not be considered, accepted, or compensated, and this policy is applied consistently in accordance with EEOC and DOL equal employment opportunity and fair hiring standards.

About the Opportunity

An established manufacturer of consumer products is adding a senior engineer to its corporate network group. The company runs production around the clock at multiple plants, and its network is partway through a large modernization effort. This hire will carry much of the daily operational load and serve as the go-to technical resource for wireless, so the rest of the team can keep major projects moving.

The team is small and experienced, and there is no time set aside for learning the fundamentals. We need someone who can get familiar with the environment quickly and start solving problems within the first few weeks.

What You Will Do

• Serve as the top escalation point for the toughest network and wireless problems, find what actually caused them, and put lasting fixes in place
• Own wireless across the plants, from site surveys and RF tuning to capacity planning and the follow-up adjustments needed when production floors get rearranged
• Configure and troubleshoot dynamic routing, with OSPF and BGP as the protocols the environment runs on
• Build and tune policy in Panorama and on Palo Alto firewalls in support of segmentation and secure design
• Work with security and OT teammates on segmentation and access control, including Cisco Client
• Keep the Meraki SD-WAN footprint and site-to-site connectivity healthy as it expands
• Use Ansible, Python, and Cisco Catalyst Center to automate configuration, patching, and compliance checks
• Coach less experienced engineers and help set consistent engineering practices for the group
• Watch performance and capacity data and act on it before users notice problems
• Write and update standards, design records, diagrams, and procedures
• Bring a network perspective to disaster recovery and continuity planning
• Manage vendor work and design reviews on assigned projects, and suggest new tools or approaches when they make sense
• Take a regular turn in the weekly on-call rotation

Projects Underway

• Company-wide move to SD-WAN
• Segmentation work to bring every location in line with corporate security requirements
• Replacement and upgrade of older network infrastructure at long-standing sites
• Network integration of newly acquired businesses
• Continued IT and OT convergence on the plant floor

Required Experience

• 8+ years in enterprise networking, including time spent supporting networks that span several sites
• Deep Cisco skills across routing, switching, and wireless
• Fluency with OSPF and BGP; an EIGRP-heavy background is fine if OSPF comes naturally
• Hands-on depth with Palo Alto, including Panorama (strong Fortinet or Cisco Firepower experience will also be considered)
• A track record designing and supporting wireless at scale, including RF work and site surveys in difficult physical spaces such as plants or warehouses
• Familiarity with SD-WAN, Cisco Client, and Cisco Catalyst Center (DNA Center)
• Real-world automation experience with Ansible, Python, or similar tools
• Sharp troubleshooting skills across wired, wireless, and WAN
• Comfort mixing break-fix and operational work with project tasks, and the ability to run with an assignment without close supervision
• Clear written documentation and good working relationships across IT, security, and operations
• Bachelor's in a technical field, or equivalent hands-on experience
• Willingness to support a 24/7 operation, including on-call weeks and occasional after-hours work

Nice to Have

• CCNP in Enterprise, Security, Wireless, or Automation; CCIE would stand out
• PCNSE or another Palo Alto certification
• Cloud networking in AWS and Azure (AWS VPC, Direct Connect, Azure VNet, ExpressRoute)
• Experience leading a wireless refresh using RF planning tools
• Network monitoring and observability tools
• OT networking or a manufacturing background
• VoIP and Microsoft Teams voice

Work Arrangement

This is a senior individual contributor position, not a people-management role. The schedule is hybrid, with Tuesday through Thursday in the Indianapolis office and Monday and Friday remote. Occasional travel to plant locations may be needed. On-call runs on a weekly rotation that will be shared across a team of four.