Senior Network Systems Engineer

Forterra • East Palo Alto, CA

3d

About The Position

Forterra is expanding its mission through Vektor, a next-generation, edge-deployed, software-defined communications and smart data-brokering layer built for disrupted, degraded, intermittent, and low bandwidth (DDIL) environments. Joining the Vektor team means helping shape how humans and autonomous systems stay connected when it matters most.
We are seeking a Senior Network Systems Engineer to deploy, operate, and troubleshoot Vektor's network infrastructure across field sites and cloud environments. You'll be hands-on with routers, switches, radios, and Linux-based appliances — configuring them, automating them, and making sure they perform under real-world constraints. This role requires approximately 50% travel to customer and field locations for site installations, maintenance, and support.

Requirements

• 5+ years of hands-on network engineering experience (vendor-agnostic routers and switches)
• Strong L2/L3 fundamentals — routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, or Babel), VLANs, trunking, QoS, NAT/PAT, multicast, IPv4 + IPv6
• Strong Linux systems experience — systemd, networkd, Netplan, iptables, SSH, Docker
• Experience with site-to-site and remote access VPN (IPsec / StrongSwan, WireGuard)
• Hands-on infrastructure automation (Ansible or Terraform) and scripting (Bash, Python, or Go)
• Working knowledge of cryptography fundamentals — PKI, IPsec, FIPS compliance requirements
• AWS experience — VPC design, EC2, Security Groups, Transit Gateway
• Willingness and ability to travel ~50% domestically to field and customer sites

Nice To Haves

• Experience with MANET radios and mesh networking in defense or tactical environments
• Familiarity with NIST/CMMC compliance frameworks
• Experience with VXLAN overlays
• Knowledge of IGMP/PIM for multicast routing
• Experience with DHCP/DNS infrastructure at scale
• Exposure to telemetry pipelines (InfluxDB, Telegraf, Grafana)

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain L2/L3 network infrastructure across Vektor's install base — routing, switching, VLANs, trunking, QoS, and VPN tunnels.
• Configure and operate Linux-based network appliances using systemd-networkd, Netplan, iptables, StrongSwan, and WireGuard.
• Build and maintain infrastructure-as-code (Ansible, Terraform) to automate provisioning and configuration of network and compute resources.
• Collect, analyze, and act on network telemetry using Grafana, Telegraf, and related tooling.
• Deploy and manage AWS GovCloud and Commercial infrastructure (EC2, VPC, Transit Gateway, Security Groups) that supports Vektor's cloud-side services.
• Travel to customer and field sites (~50%) for installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and ongoing support of deployed systems.
• Collaborate across engineering in design reviews and deployment planning, mentor teammates, and drive best practices for network operations and automation.

Benefits

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: Three plan options, including an HSA-eligible plan, with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for you and your dependents.
• Basic Life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance plans 100% covered by Forterra, plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents.
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a winter break in December.
• Competitive paid time off (PTO) offering 20 days accrued per year.
• A minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth/adoption.
• A $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend.
• Fully stocked beverage refrigerators with all the Celsius your little heart desires.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan, including traditional, Roth 401(k), and after-tax deferral with company match up to 4%.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed