Network Specialist

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

22h•Hybrid

About The Position

This position exists to provide first-line, ITIL-aligned Network Operations Center (NOC) support for the University’s enterprise network services. The NS8 NOC Analyst monitors network events, restores service during incidents, fulfills standard network service requests, and escalates complex issues to engineering and other resolver groups. The role supports the unit’s overall operations by ensuring consistent day-to-day operational coverage (9–5, M–F), maintaining accurate ITSM records/communications, and participating in a rotating on-call function to help sustain service availability beyond business hours. The most demanding aspects of the position include quickly assessing and prioritizing multiple simultaneous alerts/incidents, determining service impact with incomplete information, and coordinating timely escalation while maintaining clear customer communications. The role requires disciplined adherence to ITIL practices (event vs. incident vs. request), change controls, and documentation standards while troubleshooting Cisco and Juniper environments under time pressure. Additional complexity comes from balancing hybrid work expectations with operational needs, executing repeatable procedures precisely, and supporting after-hours restoration activities during on-call rotations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), Information Systems, Informatics, Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) or a related field or experience.
Minimum 1 year experience (professional, internship, student, or lab) performing network operations tasks aligned to structured processes (ticketing, runbooks, escalation).
Hands-on exposure to Cisco and Juniper devices: ability to navigate CLI, collect “show” outputs, interpret interface counters, and support basic troubleshooting.
Understanding of core networking concepts: TCP/IP, subnetting, VLANs/trunking, STP basics, routing fundamentals (OSPF/BGP concepts), DNS/DHCP concepts.
Experience supporting Incident Management behaviors: prioritization by impact/urgency, clear documentation, timely escalation, and restoration validation.
Experience working in a service-oriented environment with customer communications and adherence to defined procedures.

Nice To Haves

ITIL-aligned operational practices: Event Management, Incident Management, Service Request Management, Change Enablement (standard changes), and support for Problem Management.
Strong customer service skills.
Clear written communication skills.
Attention to detail.
Ability to remain calm and methodical during outages.

Responsibilities

Monitor network health using approved monitoring/observability platforms (alerts, dashboards, syslog/SNMP/telemetry).
Perform event correlation and initial impact assessment; distinguish events from incidents and service requests using defined criteria.
Acknowledge, categorize, prioritize, and document events; trigger incident records when service impact is suspected/confirmed.
Maintain situational awareness during active events and ensure timely handoffs between shifts.
Serve as first-line responder for network incidents; restore service as quickly as possible following runbooks/standard operating procedures.
Perform initial diagnosis on Cisco and Juniper devices (interface status/errors, VLAN/trunk checks, routing adjacency checks, log review, reachability tests).
Escalate to Network Engineering/Security/Telecom/vendors per escalation matrix; provide clear technical notes, timestamps, and collected evidence.
Provide customer-facing status updates and maintain incident records through resolution and closure, including restoration validation.
Process network-related service requests (e.g., port activations, VLAN assignments, access changes) according to catalog/work instructions.
Execute pre-approved standard changes using templates and peer-reviewed procedures; ensure required approvals/records are in place.
Validate outcomes, update documentation/CMDB fields as directed, and close requests with complete work notes.
Identify recurring incidents and trends; flag candidates for problem records and contribute supporting data (logs, timelines, symptoms, affected services).
Participate in post-incident activities (incident review inputs, known error documentation, workaround capture).
Suggest monitoring/runbook improvements to reduce repeat incidents and improve mean time to restore service.
Maintain accurate device/service records as assigned (inventory attributes, location, ownership, support group, maintenance windows).
Create and update knowledge articles/runbooks (troubleshooting steps, escalation paths, standard change procedures).
Ensure documentation reflects current operational practice and supports consistent service delivery.
Coordinate with internal teams during incidents/changes; ensure timely, consistent communications using approved channels.
Participate in shift handoffs and continual improvement activities (metrics review, process feedback, training).