Role: Network Engineer II Cisco Campus & Wireless
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Employment Type: Contract
- Primary worksite: Costa Mesa, CA 92626
- Coverage area: Client location throughout Orange County
- Work model: Daily on-site presence; travel between sites is required
- Initial term: Minimum three months, with a strong likelihood of extension
- Schedule: Monday Friday, typically 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.; occasional maintenance-window or after-hours support may be required
Position Overview
We are seeking a hands-on Level 2 Network Engineer with Cisco wired and wireless experience to support a campus environment spanning multiple buildings. This person will provide on-site network administration, incident troubleshooting, packet analysis, and physical infrastructure support.
The engineer will serve as an escalation point for Level 1 support and NOC teams, independently resolve moderately complex network issues, and execute approved configuration changes. This role requires practical experience administering Cisco switches, wireless LAN controllers, and access points, along with the ability to physically investigate and resolve issues across the campus.
Key Responsibilities
Cisco Campus Network Support
- Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Cisco Catalyst switches and campus network connectivity.
- Administer VLANs, access and trunk ports, inter-VLAN routing, IP addressing, and DHCP relay.
- Troubleshoot spanning tree, EtherChannel, PoE, interface errors, and fiber uplinks.
- Investigate routing and reachability issues, including static routing and OSPF.
- Support connectivity for users, phones, printers, cameras, access control systems, and other campus devices.
- Perform approved software upgrades, configuration backups, and network changes with documented validation and rollback procedures.
Cisco Wireless Administration and Troubleshooting
- Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Cisco wireless LAN controllers and access points.
- Administer WLANs/SSIDs, VLAN mappings, authentication settings, and wireless policies.
- Troubleshoot client association, authentication, DHCP assignment, roaming, and intermittent connectivity.
- Diagnose RF issues involving coverage, interference, channel utilization, signal strength, and signal-to-noise ratio.
- Investigate access point registration, controller connectivity, PoE, and switch-port issues.
- Use controller diagnostics, client traces, and packet captures to isolate wireless problems.
- Perform on-site wireless validation and assist senior engineers with surveys, access point placement, and RF tuning.
- Coordinate 802.1X and RADIUS troubleshooting with security and identity teams.
Level 2 Incident Troubleshooting and Packet Analysis
- Own escalated wired and wireless incidents through resolution or handoff to senior engineering.
- Capture and analyze traffic using Wireshark, tcpdump, and Cisco diagnostic tools.
- Investigate packet loss, latency, retransmissions, connection resets, DNS failures, and application connectivity issues.
- Configure approved SPAN sessions and collect diagnostic traffic in accordance with security procedures.
- Correlate packet captures with switch and controller logs, interface counters, authentication records, and monitoring alerts.
- Escalate complex issues to Level 3 engineers or Cisco TAC with clear findings and supporting evidence.
On-Site Infrastructure Support
- Provide boots-on-the-ground support across campus buildings, MDFs/IDFs, and data center spaces.
- Install, replace, rack, cable, and commission switches, access points, and related equipment.
- Trace and troubleshoot copper and fiber connections, patch panels, transceivers, and building uplinks.
- Maintain rack organization, equipment labeling, port maps, and asset records.
- Coordinate cabling installations and wireless access point mounting with qualified contractors.
- Provide remote-hands support, including console access, physical inspections, and authorized hardware replacements.
Operations and Documentation
- Respond to NOC alerts, assess business impact, and prioritize service restoration.
- Communicate incident progress to technical teams and campus stakeholders.
- Support maintenance windows, equipment refreshes, campus expansions, and user moves.
- Maintain wired and wireless diagrams, controller and switch configuration records, inventories, and troubleshooting runbooks.
- Participate in root-cause reviews and recommend improvements to reduce recurring incidents.
- Guide Level 1 technicians on initial diagnostics and escalation requirements.
Required Qualifications
- Typically, three to five years of enterprise networking experience, including hands-on Level 2 support.
- Demonstrated experience supporting both Cisco wired networks and Cisco enterprise wireless environments.
- Hands-on administration and troubleshooting of Cisco Catalyst switches, wireless LAN controllers, and access points.
- Strong working knowledge of TCP/IP, subnetting, VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, EtherChannel, routing fundamentals, DNS, DHCP, ARP, and PoE.
- Practical understanding of wireless RF fundamentals, channel selection, interference, signal quality, and roaming.
- Experience troubleshooting wireless association, authentication, and client connectivity.
- Working knowledge of 802.1X, RADIUS, and enterprise wireless security.
- Demonstrated packet capture and analysis skills using Wireshark or equivalent tools.
- Experience troubleshooting copper, fiber, transceiver, and physical interface faults.
- Ability to resolve moderately complex incidents independently and execute changes within approved standards.
- Strong communication, documentation, and customer service skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- CCNA certification or equivalent demonstrated proficiency; CCNP-level knowledge is desirable.
- Experience with Cisco Catalyst 9800 wireless controllers and Cisco Catalyst access points.
- Familiarity with Cisco Catalyst Center for monitoring, assurance, and troubleshooting.
- Experience with Cisco ISE for wired and wireless network access control.
- Familiarity with Ekahau or comparable wireless survey and diagnostic tools.
- Experience coordinating technical cases with Cisco TAC.
- Basic scripting or automation skills using Python, PowerShell, or Ansible.
Work Environment and Schedule
- Daily on-site presence with movement between campus buildings.
- Participation in scheduled maintenance windows and assigned after-hours or on-call coverage.
- Ability to safely perform essential equipment installation and physical troubleshooting tasks, with reasonable accommodation.
- Compliance with campus safety, physical security, and change management procedures.
Success Measures
- Reliable Cisco wired and wireless connectivity throughout the campus.
- Timely resolution of Level 2 incidents and effective escalation of complex issues.
- Successful execution and validation of approved changes.
- Accurate documentation and well-maintained network infrastructure.
- Reduced recurring incidents and a positive support experience for campus users.
