Lead Network Engineer

Cognizant•San Rafael, CA

2d•$99,000 - $116,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Lead Network Engineer, you will make an impact by designing and maintaining secure, scalable, and highly available network infrastructure that supports critical business services. You’ll shape the evolution of SD‑WAN, MPLS, VPN, and VRF architectures, ensuring strong performance, stability, and resilience. Your expertise in routing, switching, and traffic optimization will enhance connectivity and the end‑user experience across enterprise and service provider environments. You will be a valued member of the Cloud Infrastructure and Security team and work collaboratively with the Senior Manager. In this role, you will: • Design, deploy, and maintain MPLS, VPN, SD-WAN, VRF, and load-balanced network cores • Design and implement QoS strategies across enterprise and service provider networks • Deploy, support, and optimize Cisco SD-WAN and Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solutions • Configure, troubleshoot, and optimize EIGRP and BGP routing (eBGP, iBGP, route reflectors) • Apply advanced routing concepts including OSPF and Segment Routing (preferred) • Implement and support Layer 2 technologies including VLANs, VXLAN, STP, and MAC filtering • Configure, operate, and troubleshoot Cisco platforms including NX-OS, IOS, IOS-XE, and IOS-XR • Interpret and apply complex technical designs and operational documentation • Contribute to industry-standard network design, implementation, and best practices • Collaborate with infrastructure and security teams to support resilient network services Work model We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring 3 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in San Rafael, CA. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs. The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

Requirements

Strong Layer 3 routing and switching expertise
Hands-on experience with Cisco networking technologies
Experience with Cisco NX-OS, IOS, IOS-XE, and IOS-XR
In-depth knowledge of BGP and EIGRP
Experience designing and supporting SD-WAN, MPLS, VRF, and load-balanced environments
Solid understanding of Layer 2 networking fundamentals
Experience in enterprise or service provider network environments

Nice To Haves

Cisco Meraki SD-WAN and Meraki WiFi
Palo Alto firewalls
Network authentication and services: TACACS+, RADIUS, DNS, DHCP
Knowledge of security and communications networks
Exposure to end-user computing environments
Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)

Responsibilities

Design, deploy, and maintain MPLS, VPN, SD-WAN, VRF, and load-balanced network cores
Design and implement QoS strategies across enterprise and service provider networks
Deploy, support, and optimize Cisco SD-WAN and Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solutions
Configure, troubleshoot, and optimize EIGRP and BGP routing (eBGP, iBGP, route reflectors)
Apply advanced routing concepts including OSPF and Segment Routing (preferred)
Implement and support Layer 2 technologies including VLANs, VXLAN, STP, and MAC filtering
Configure, operate, and troubleshoot Cisco platforms including NX-OS, IOS, IOS-XE, and IOS-XR
Interpret and apply complex technical designs and operational documentation
Contribute to industry-standard network design, implementation, and best practices
Collaborate with infrastructure and security teams to support resilient network services