Senior L3 NOC Engineer / Network Architect

Senior L3 NOC Engineer / Network Architect

Binghamton or Rochester, NY

14 Months Contract

Position Overview

Client is seeking a highly experienced Senior L3 NOC Engineer / Network Architect to provide hands-on Level 3 network operations and support for its Gas & Electric SCADA network infrastructure.

This is primarily an operations, maintenance, troubleshooting, and operational continuity role within an established utility network environment. The successful candidate will support an active infrastructure lifecycle migration, with a particular focus on the conversion of existing Cisco ASA firewalls to Check Point technology.

The role is not intended to be a greenfield network architecture or network redesign position. The immediate priority is to stabilize and operate the existing environment, preserve institutional knowledge, and execute defined lifecycle initiatives. As the environment reaches a stable operational footing, additional project and network engineering responsibilities may be introduced.

This position is particularly important during a period of significant team transition. The successful candidate will be expected to become independently effective within the first several weeks and help preserve critical operational knowledge as experienced team members transition out of the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide Level 3 operational support, troubleshooting, and maintenance for network infrastructure supporting utility Gas & Electric SCADA environments.
• Maintain network availability, reliability, and performance in accordance with established service levels and operational requirements.
• Diagnose existing Cisco ASA firewall environments and develop migration approaches for conversion to Check Point firewalls.
• Develop and execute detailed Methods of Procedure (MOPs), migration plans, and cutover procedures for ASA-to-Check Point conversions.
• Perform ongoing Check Point firewall administration, troubleshooting, lifecycle management, and upgrades, including experience with end-of-life (EOL) platform migrations.
• Troubleshoot and maintain data center switching and routing infrastructure, including Cisco Nexus and ACI spine/leaf architectures.
• Support Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, including routing protocols such as BGP, within the data center environment.
• Use Ansible for network automation and operational tasks.
• Review, validate, and utilize existing network documentation and MOPs to support operational continuity and preserve institutional knowledge.
• Contribute to an active review and audit of current-state and future-state network documentation.
• Work effectively within a live utility/critical-infrastructure environment where network changes require disciplined operational planning and execution.
• Participate in a quarterly on-call rotation focused on traffic management, ticket triage, and routing issues to the appropriate IT or Corporate team.
• Operate in accordance with NERC/CIP compliance requirements and applicable utility cybersecurity procedures.

Required Technical Qualifications

Candidates must possess demonstrated, hands-on experience in the following areas:

1. Cisco ASA-to-Check Point Firewall Migration

• Direct experience migrating production Cisco ASA firewall environments to Check Point.
• Ability to assess and diagnose an existing ASA environment prior to migration.
• Experience developing migration strategies, MOPs, testing procedures, and cutover plans.
• Experience must be practical and production-based; certification or theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient.

2. Check Point Firewall Administration

• Hands-on experience administering and troubleshooting Check Point firewall environments.
• Experience performing Check Point lifecycle management and EOL/platform upgrades.

3. Data Center Networking

• Strong hands-on experience with Cisco Nexus switching.
• Experience with Layer 2 and Layer 3 routing and switching.
• Working knowledge of BGP.
• Experience with Cisco ACI and spine/leaf data center architectures.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex data center networking issues across the infrastructure stack.

4. Network Automation

• Hands-on experience using Ansible for network automation and operational support.

5. Utility / Critical Infrastructure Networking

• Experience supporting network infrastructure within a utility, SCADA, industrial control, or other critical-infrastructure environment.
• Ability to operate safely and effectively within a live utility SCADA network rather than exclusively within a traditional enterprise IT environment.

Required Professional Capabilities

• Exceptional independent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to analyze complex network issues and determine appropriate corrective actions with limited supervision.
• Strong operational judgment and attention to detail.
• Ability to quickly understand an undocumented or partially documented environment.
• Ability to interpret existing technical documentation

Thanks,

Vinod,