What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. L4 Network Engineer/Architect position at Cloud Destinations LLC?
Key Responsibilities
Cisco SD-WAN Architecture and Solution Definition
- Lead the design and definition of Cisco SD-WAN solutions for enterprise and mission-critical environments.
- Develop SD-WAN architectures using MPLS, Internet, broadband, LTE/5G, private-line, and hybrid WAN transport models.
- Define how Cisco SD-WAN overlays will operate across existing and future WAN underlays.
- Design SD-WAN control, data, and management plane architecture using Cisco SD-WAN components such as vManage, vBond, vSmart, and Cisco WAN Edge routers.
- Build and validate SD-WAN policies for application-aware routing, traffic steering, segmentation, path preference, SLA-based forwarding, failover, and resiliency.
- Define transport-side and service-side VPN designs, including how WAN edge devices connect into LAN, firewall, data center, and cloud environments.
- Lead SD-WAN migration planning from legacy WAN or MPLS-centric environments to modern Cisco SD-WAN architectures.
- Establish SD-WAN design standards, implementation templates, validation methods, and operational handoff documentation.
Cisco SD-WAN Deployment and Operations
- Configure, deploy, troubleshoot, and support Cisco SD-WAN environments using centralized templates, policies, and device-level configurations.
- Support Cisco SD-WAN edge platforms, including Cisco Catalyst 8000/8500, ISR, ASR, and other IOS-XE SD-WAN-capable platforms.
- Troubleshoot SD-WAN control connections, tunnel formation, BFD behavior, policy application, routing advertisements, NAT traversal, certificate issues, and overlay reachability.
- Validate application performance across multiple WAN transports using routing, SLA, QoS, and performance monitoring tools.
- Support high-risk SD-WAN cutovers, site migrations, circuit transitions, and production troubleshooting events.
- Partner with security, LAN, cloud, voice, application, and carrier teams to ensure SD-WAN designs meet business and technical requirements.
WAN, MPLS, and Routing Integration
- Design and support WAN environments that include MPLS, carrier Ethernet, Internet, broadband, private fiber, and hybrid transport models.
- Understand how Cisco SD-WAN operates over MPLS underlays, including transport VPN design, routing exchange, path selection, QoS treatment, and failover behavior.
- Support MPLS-related routing requirements, including L3VPN, L2VPN, VRF segmentation, PE/CE routing, route targets, route distinguishers, and carrier handoff models.
- Configure and troubleshoot advanced routing using BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, route redistribution, route filtering, prefix lists, route maps, communities, and routing policies.
- Work with carriers and service providers to validate circuit delivery, MPLS routing handoffs, CE/PE demarcation, SLA performance, and escalation of provider-side issues.
- Ensure WAN routing designs support SD-WAN overlay requirements, application performance, segmentation, and resiliency objectives.
WAN/LAN Edge and Physical Handoff Integration
- Define how WAN services terminate into customer environments, including routers, switches, firewalls, optical handoffs, and LAN aggregation points.
- Validate WAN/LAN interface designs involving routed handoffs, VLAN tagging, trunking, port channels, VRFs, firewall zones, and segmentation boundaries.
- Understand how fiber-based services are delivered into a site, including carrier demarcation, cross-connects, patching, optics, transceivers, and handoff types.
- Work with field teams and providers to validate fiber paths, patch schedules, port assignments, light levels, media types, and physical connectivity.
- Troubleshoot physical and Layer 1/Layer 2 issues involving fiber, optics, dirty connectors, incorrect transceivers, speed/duplex mismatches, VLAN tagging, port configuration, and cabling errors.
- Ensure SD-WAN edge devices are properly integrated with upstream carrier services and downstream LAN, firewall, and data center infrastructure.
High Availability, Resiliency, and Performance
- Design resilient SD-WAN and WAN architectures using dual circuits, diverse carriers, redundant WAN edge devices, diverse fiber paths, HA designs, and multiple transport types.
- Define failover and traffic-steering behavior between MPLS, Internet, broadband, LTE/5G, and private transport options.
- Implement and validate QoS strategies across SD-WAN, MPLS, and LAN/WAN handoff points.
- Support voice, video, business-critical applications, operational technology, cloud services, and venue-specific traffic requirements.
- Validate latency, jitter, packet loss, throughput, convergence, tunnel stability, and application performance across the WAN.
- Use Cisco SD-WAN analytics, packet captures, flow data, SNMP/telemetry, ThousandEyes, router diagnostics, provider test results, and optical test data to isolate and resolve issues.
Senior L4 Escalation and Technical Leadership
- Serve as the senior escalation point for complex Cisco SD-WAN, WAN routing, MPLS integration, carrier handoff, and WAN/LAN edge issues.
- Lead root-cause analysis for high-impact or recurring network incidents.
- Provide technical direction to L1 L3 engineers, field teams, project managers, vendors, and client stakeholders.
- Review proposed designs and changes for technical accuracy, risk, resiliency, operational impact, and alignment with architecture standards.
- Lead technical bridges during major incidents, circuit turn-ups, SD-WAN migrations, maintenance windows, and cutover events.
- Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences, including client leadership and executive stakeholders.
Documentation, Standards, and Governance
- Produce and maintain high-quality technical documentation, including HLDs, LLDs, SD-WAN design documents, routing diagrams, WAN topology diagrams, IP addressing plans, implementation plans, test plans, and as-built documentation.
- Document Cisco SD-WAN policies, templates, device roles, transport mappings, VPN designs, routing behavior, and failover logic.
- Document WAN/LAN handoffs, carrier demarcation points, fiber cross-connects, optics, port assignments, circuit IDs, and provider escalation information.
- Create repeatable standards for SD-WAN deployment, WAN edge integration, circuit validation, migration planning, and operational readiness.
- Support change management, risk reviews, technical governance, and knowledge transfer activities.
Required Qualifications
- 10 years of enterprise or service provider network engineering experience, with significant hands-on responsibility for WAN, routing, and production network environments.
- Strong hands-on experience designing, deploying, and troubleshooting Cisco SD-WAN solutions.
- Strong understanding of Cisco SD-WAN architecture, including overlay/underlay design, vManage, vBond, vSmart, WAN edge routing, templates, policies, and centralized management.
- Experience building Cisco SD-WAN solutions over MPLS, Internet, broadband, LTE/5G, and hybrid WAN transports.
- Strong routing expertise with BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, route redistribution, route filtering, route maps, prefix lists, communities, and policy-based routing.
- Working knowledge of MPLS services, including L3VPN, L2VPN, VRFs, PE/CE routing, QoS, and carrier handoff models.
- Hands-on experience with Cisco WAN edge and routing platforms such as Cisco Catalyst 8000/8500, ASR, ISR, or equivalent enterprise/service provider platforms.
- Strong understanding of how WAN circuits physically terminate into customer environments, including carrier handoffs, fiber, optics, routers, switches, firewalls, and LAN aggregation devices.
- Ability to troubleshoot across multiple layers, including physical fiber, carrier services, routing, SD-WAN overlays, QoS, firewall integration, and application performance.
- Experience leading technical cutovers, site migrations, WAN transformations, circuit turn-ups, and high-risk maintenance windows.
- Ability to create clear technical documentation, diagrams, implementation plans, validation plans, and operational handoff materials.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain Cisco SD-WAN, WAN, routing, and fiber concepts to technical teams, project teams, and client stakeholders.
Salary : $70 - $80