Infrastructure Network Engineer

The IT Network Engineer is responsible for the design, implementation, management, and optimization of the university’s enterprise-wide network infrastructure. This includes the configuration and support of wired and wireless networks, firewalls, VPNs, switches, routers, and network monitoring tools to ensure the availability, integrity, performance, and security of data communications across all campus locations.

Working under the Office of Information Technology (OIT), Network Engineer supports a mission-critical environment that enables teaching, learning, research, and administrative services. This role requires close collaboration with systems administrators, cybersecurity personnel, and other technology teams to proactively maintain network health, respond to incidents, and plan for future growth and modernization.

The ideal candidate is a highly analytical and detail-oriented professional with deep technical expertise in enterprise networking, strong troubleshooting skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced and evolving environment. Experience with network segmentation, Wi-Fi expansion, cloud networking (e.g., Azure or AWS), and higher education environments is preferred.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Network Engineering, Administration, Support & Collaboration - 20%

• Configure, maintain, and optimize Cisco routers, switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers.
• Design and support high-availability LAN/WAN and data center network topologies.
• Administer enterprise VPN, VLAN, QoS, and routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, MPLS).
• Apply and test IOS/firmware upgrades, patches, and security updates.
• Perform routine network monitoring, capacity planning, and health checks.
• Provide Tier 3 escalation support for complex network issues.
• Collaborate with systems, cloud, and storage teams to support end-to-end service delivery.
• Document network diagrams, configurations, and troubleshooting procedures.

Data Center Networking - 20%

• Oversee network infrastructure supporting virtualized and physical server environments.
• Implement redundancy, load balancing, and failover strategies to ensure up time.
• Monitor network traffic flows between data centers, cloud environments, and campuses.

Broadband & ISP Management - 20%

• Serve as primary liaison with ISP providers to manage SLAs, circuits, and escalations.
• Configure and test broadband redundancy/failover for business continuity.
• Monitor performance, packet loss, and latency across primary and backup links.

Troubleshooting & Performance Tuning - 20%

• Diagnoses and resolve advanced network, connectivity, and broadband issues.
• Perform root cause analysis for recurring outages or degraded performance.
• Utilize monitoring tools (Solar Winds, Cisco DNA Center, or equivalent) to optimize performance.

Security & Compliance - 20%

• Implement firewall policies, ACLs, and network segmentation for secure access.
• Support VPN and secure remote access solutions.
• Ensure compliance with NIST, ISO, and organizational security policies.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in enterprise network engineering, with emphasis on Cisco technologies.
• Demonstrated experience managing data center network infrastructure and ISP/broadband circuits.
• Strong background in routing/switching protocols, wireless, and firewall security.
• Experience with monitoring and troubleshooting tools for large-scale networks.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a closely related field.

Physical Requirements, Travel & Equipment Used

• Must be able to provide support on site as needed to 6 respective UDC Campuses in Washington DC, Beltsville, MD, and Arlington, VA.
• Must be able to reasonably lift and/or move infrastructure equipment.

Information to Applicant

Collective Bargaining Unit (Union):

This position is in the collective bargaining unit represented by AFSCME local 2087 and you may be required to pay an agency service fee through direct payroll deduction.

Employment Benefits:
Selectee will be eligible for health and life insurance, annual (vacation) and sick leave and will be covered under the University of the District of Columbia' s retirement plan (TIAA).

Equal…