Network SME Routing/Switching (LAN/WAN)

Job Brief: Routing/Switching/LAN/WAN Network SME

Role: Network SME Routing/Switching (LAN/WAN)

Location: United States & Mexico (onsite/hybrid/remote; specify city)

Type: Full-time or long-term contract

Hours: U.S. time zones; on-call rotation for critical incidents

Summary

We re seeking a hands-on Network SME to design, implement, and operate large-scale enterprise LAN/WAN networks. You ll be the escalation point for L2 incidents (and L3 where applicable), own complex changes and migrations, and drive reliability, performance, and security across campus, branch, warehouse, and data center environments.

What you ll do

• Operate & Troubleshoot: Own L2/L3 escalations; deep-dive packet analysis; reduce MTTR and drive permanent fixes.
• Design & Implementation: Produce HLD/LLD, runbooks, and MOPs; execute changes/migrations during maintenance windows.
• Core Networking: BGP, OSPF, route-maps/communities, HSRP/VRRP/GLBP, VLANs/802.1Q, STP/MST, EtherChannel/LACP, QoS, multicast (PIM).
• WAN & SD-WAN: MPLS, Internet/VPN, DMVPN/IPsec/GRE; SD-WAN (e.g., Cisco Viptela/Meraki or similar).
• Visibility & SRE: SNMP/NetFlow/Telemetry, NMS (e.g., SolarWinds/ThousandEyes), capacity planning, change success rate.
• Security & Access: 802.1X/NAC (Cisco ISE), ACLs, TACACS+/RADIUS, segmentation, basic firewall policy coordination.
• Cloud & DC (Nice-to-Have): AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform networking, Direct Connect/ExpressRoute, EVPN/VXLAN, load balancers (F5).
• Governance: ITIL incident/change/problem, RCA authoring, compliance documentation.
• Collaboration: Partner with apps/infra/security teams; mentor L1/L2 engineers; clear stakeholder communications.

Minimum Qualifications (L2)

• Experience: 4 6 years in enterprise networking across multi-site environments.
• Platforms: Strong CLI on Cisco IOS/NX-OS (Juniper/Arista a plus).
• Skills: BGP/OSPF, VLAN/STP, EtherChannel, HSRP/VRRP, NAT, DHCP/DNS fundamentals, IPsec, QoS, SD-WAN hands-on.
• Tooling: Wireshark/tcpdump, SNMP/NMS, ITSM (ServiceNow or similar).
• Certs: CCNA required; CCNP strongly preferred (or equivalent skills).
• Soft Skills: Crisp written/verbal communication; documentation discipline; calm under pressure.

Preferred Qualifications (L3)

• Experience: 7 10+ years; leads designs, complex migrations, and major incident bridges.
• Depth: BGP policy design, MPLS L3VPN, multicast, EVPN/VXLAN, HA/DR architectures.
• Automation: Ansible/Python, Git-based configuration workflows, IaC practices.
• Certs: CCNP Enterprise required; CCIE (Enterprise Infrastructure/R&S) a strong plus.

Work Model & Travel

• U.S. time-zone coverage, periodic after-hours changes, and an on-call rotation.
• Travel up to 10 25% to data centers/field sites (customizable per location).

Disclaimer

HCL is an equal opportunity employer, committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees regardless of race, religion, sex, color, age, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, physical disability or genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with federal, state, and/or local law. Should any applicant have concerns about discrimination in the hiring process, they should provide a detailed report of those concerns to for investigation.

Compensation and Benefits

A candidate s pay within the range will depend on their skills, experience, education, and other factors permitted by law. This role may also be eligible for performance-based bonuses subject to company policies. In addition, this role is eligible for the following benefits subject to company policies: medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, life, accidental death & dismemberment, and disability insurance; employee assistance program; 401(k) retirement plan; 10 days of paid time off per year (some positions are eligible for need-based leave with no designated number of leave days per year); and 10 paid holidays per year