Network Support Engineer

Job#: 3015275

Job Description:

Title: Senior Network Escalation Engineer / Customer-Facing Network Support Engineer

Location: Hybrid - San Francisco/DC/New York City - may require occasional odd-hours or on-call support

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced network support engineer to act as a point of escalation for our B2B clients. In this role, you will be responsible for troubleshooting and resolving complex network issues (routing, firewall rules, port mapping, VPNs, NAT, etc.) - often live, on customer calls - and for diagnosing whether issues lie on the customer side, in configuration, or within our software stack. You will act as a trusted technical adviser to customers, guiding them through remediation steps or helping determine if an issue needs to be escalated to our internal engineering / product team.

Key Responsibilities

• Join live customer calls to diagnose and resolve complex networking and connectivity issues (routing, firewall, NAT/port-mapping, VPN, DNS, etc.).
• Determine root cause: customer environment, misconfiguration, or potential product limitation/bug. Clearly communicate findings.
• Coach and guide customers through configuration changes or remediation steps.
• Triage issues: decide when to escalate to internal product/engineering teams. Provide detailed diagnostics, logs/traces, and context when escalating.
• Maintain clear, professional communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders (customers, internal support, engineering).
• Document tickets, resolutions, and recurring problems in ticketing or CRM systems.
• Identify patterns or recurring issues, provide feedback to internal teams, and suggest possible improvements.
• Participate in on-call rotation (as needed) for urgent or after-hours customer escalations.
• Work closely with internal support, product, and engineering teams to coordinate resolution, bug reports, and feature requests.

Qualifications / Requirements

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering / support / operations (or equivalent).
• Deep knowledge of networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, OSI model, routing (static, dynamic), firewall/NAT, VPNs, DNS, port forwarding/NAT, subnetting, etc.
• Familiarity with common enterprise network and security equipment/configurations (firewalls, VPN gateways, NAT routers, load balancers).
• Experience troubleshooting in customer-facing or support context (not just internal), preferably for B2B or enterprise customers.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills - ability to explain complex technical issues clearly to customers.
• Comfortable working under pressure and managing ambiguous situations (e.g. unknown root causes, multiple stakeholders).
• Skill at gathering logs/traces, analyzing packet captures (Wireshark or similar), and summarizing findings.
• Good judgment to decide when to escalate vs. resolve.
• Self-motivated, customer-oriented, able to work independently and as part of cross-functional teams.
• (Preferred) Certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, or equivalent; experience with cloud-networking, hybrid enterprise setups, or multi-tenant B2B connectivity.

Contract / Engagement Model

• Contract / hourly or daily rate (specify desired)
• Flexible - may include on-call or irregular hours depending on customer need
• Remote or hybrid (if needed)
• Direct reporting to Support/Operations/Customer Success leadership

Nice-to-Haves (not mandatory)

• Experience with multi-tenant networks, SD-WAN, cloud networking (AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform)
• Familiarity with security, compliance, VPNs, or firewall configurations at enterprise scale
• Previous experience in a customer-facing support or escalation role
• Scripting or automation experience (e.g. to parse logs, automate diagnostics)

Apex Systems is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico. Apex uses a virtual recruiter as part of the application process. Click for more details.

Apex Benefits Overview: Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Apex team member can provide.