Senior Network Patch Management Engineer

Job :
Kr-Pry-1b9GAo
60

FICqME=Job Code: VDart-2026-J5610

Reference: 100255

Location:

Jacksonville, FL, 32099, United States Salary: USD 95 - 100 (Yearly)
Job Type: Full Time Industry: Computer Software Contact:
Elankumaran V

Job Title:

Senior Network Patch Management Engineer

Location:

Jacksonville, FL Duration:
FulltimeROLE SUMMARY The L2 Senior Network Patch Management Engineer owns the firmware and software lifecycle across a multi-vendor network estate (LAN, WAN, data centre fabrics, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless). Responsibilities include risk assessment, automated patching workflows, vulnerability-led prioritisation, and cross-team co-ordination for zero-disruption maintenance. The role serves as an escalation point for L1 and leads continuous improvement of network patching practices.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Manage the firmware / software lifecycle for routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless controllers across multi-vendor environments (Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto, F5, Fortinet).Assess vendor advisories (Cisco PSIRT, Juniper JSA, Palo Alto Security Advisories) and map CVEs to required upgrades; prioritise based on business impact and CVSS score.

Develop and maintain device-specific patching runbooks including pre-check scripts, upgrade procedures, rollback steps, and post-validation checks.

Automate network patch workflows using Ansible, Netmiko, NAPALM, or vendor APIs (Cisco NSO / DNA Centre).Lead maintenance window planning: impact analysis, rollback testing, stakeholder communication, and CAB submission.

Oversee configuration backup integrity (RANCID / Oxidised / Cisco NSO) before every patching activity.

Conduct structured rollback for failed upgrades; perform root cause analysis and document findings.

Integrate network vulnerability data from Qualys / Tenable into the patch prioritisation workflow.

Monitor network stability post-patching using NMS/IPAM tools (Solar Winds, Net Brain, Infoblox).Act as L2 escalation for L1 patch-related issues and routing/connectivity incidents.

Produce patch compliance reports and present to network management and security teams.

Drive patching SLA adherence:
Critical vulnerabilities within 72 hours, High within 14 days.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGEExpert-level CLI skills:
Cisco IOS / IOS-XE / NX-OS, Juniper JunOS, Aruba AOS, Palo Alto PAN-OS.Deep understanding of network protocols: OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, MPLS, VRF, STP, HSRP/VRRP.

Experience with automated patching tool chains:
Ansible, Netmiko, NAPALM, Python (Paramiko).Vendor firmware lifecycle knowledge including feature releases, maintenance releases, and ED/MD trains (Cisco SMU, Juniper package management).Firewall firmware management:
Palo Alto, Fortinet FortiOS, Cisco ASA/FTD upgrade procedures.

Load balancer firmware: F5 BIG-IP or Citrix ADC upgrade methodology.

Network management platforms:
Cisco DNA Centre, Solar Winds NPM/NCM, Net Brain, Infoblox.

Vulnerability management: parsing Cisco PSIRT, Juniper JSA, and NVD CVE data.

ITSM integration:
Service Now change management, CMDB for network asset tracking.

SD-WAN patching exposure (Cisco Viptela, VMware Velo Cloud) is advantageous.

SOFT SKILLS & COMPETENCIES Strong risk assessment skills: balances urgency with network stability.

Excellent planning skills for complex, multi-device maintenance windows.

Clear communicator with NOC, application, and security teams.

Methodical documentation – detailed runbooks, RCAs, and change records.

Proactive – stays current with vendor EOL/EOS notices and security advisories.

PREFERRED CERTIFICATIONSCisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP Enterprise or Security)
Juniper Networks Certified Professional (JNCIP-ENT or JNCIP-SEC)
Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE)
CompTIA Security+ or CySA+ITIL 4 Foundation or Managing Professional Industry Computer  Software Duration Fulltime Skills Network , Patch