What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Network Patch Management Engineer position at VDart, Inc.?
Job Title: Senior Network Patch Management Engineer
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Duration: Fulltime
ROLE 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 (SolarWinds, NetBrain, 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 & KNOWLEDGE
- Expert-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 toolchains: 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, SolarWinds NPM/NCM, NetBrain, Infoblox.
- Vulnerability management: parsing Cisco PSIRT, Juniper JSA, and NVD CVE data.
- ITSM integration: ServiceNow change management, CMDB for network asset tracking.
- SD-WAN patching exposure (Cisco Viptela, VMware VeloCloud) 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 CERTIFICATIONS
- Cisco 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