Optical Switch Engineer

• Company: Industry leading global technology company with network operations at a scale far beyond most companies
• Demonstrate a willingness to learn new systems tools and approaches as you will be working with proprietary automation configuration and monitoring platforms
• Experience with hyperscale data centers or the ability to design troubleshoot and optimize for tens of thousands of devices and exabytes of data is a plus
• Success requires working closely with hardware software operations and capacity planning teams
• Strong communication and collaboration skills are essential

High level:

• 5 years of experience in optical networking or transport engineering.
• Minimum 2 years of automating network operations and workflows (mandatory)
• Minimum 1 year of Data Center Network (DCN) Engineering experience (mandatory)
• Hands-on experience with Fiberspool PDUs switches and other core network products
• Hands-on Experience with IXIA Calient and/or Telescent optical switching platforms
• Repository management experience (e.g. Git or equivalent industry-standard tools for code/config management)
• Deployment automation experience (e.g. Ansible or equivalents)
• Proficiency in Python (object-oriented programming) or scripting language used for automation (preferably Go/ Bash)
• Knowledge of data center fabric architecture and telemetry systems
• Experience with gNMI-based monitoring technologies.
• Bachelors degree in electrical engineering Computer Engineering Telecommunications or equivalent experience.
• Vendor certifications or formal optical training (e.g. Ciena Infinera Nokia Juniper Cisco).

Detailed:

• Optical Switch platforms : Experience with IXIA Calient and/or Telescent optical switching platforms including configuration deployment and troubleshooting. Multi-vendor cabling and optics and should have a strong foundation in physical layer components testing and troubleshooting. Key skills include proficiency with fiber cleaning and inspection knowledge of cabling standards (TIA/EIA ISO/IEC) hands-on experience with optical test equipment (OTDR power meters) and understanding transceiver compatibility. Additionally
• Automation workflows : Extensive background in software automation with a demonstrated proficiency in implementing solutions for the above platforms (e.g. scripting API integration or workflow automation). Comfortable designing developing and deploying automation solutions for network infrastructure. Skilled in integrating APIs developing scripts and leveraging configuration management platforms to automate provisioning monitoring and troubleshooting of network and optical systems at scale
• Troubleshooting: Expertise in troubleshooting optical networks using OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer/ light meters) and related diagnostic tools. Must have hands-on experience with DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) and PON systems including fault isolation performance verification and maintenance of high-capacity optical links. Signal Integrity Troubleshooting: Analyzing optical signal loss high bit error rates (BER) and transceiver diagnostics (DOM/DDM data) via CLI.
• Installation and Configuration : Set up network devices with advanced protocols and features including DHCP and supporting both IPv4 and DHCPv6 for IPv6. Configure DNS for resolving domain names to both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Implement stateful and stateless firewalls in accordance with defined requirements to control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.
• Maintenance and Support : Use SNMP/NetFlow/sFlow/ICMP/IPSLA/RPM Probes/syslog for monitoring and managing network performance. Update firewall rules and configurations in accordance with defined requirements to protect against emerging threats. Monitor the old and new network to ensure stability and performance. Provide pre- and post-migration support for old and new network architectures. Troubleshoot to identify root causes and address any complex issues that arise.
• Performance Optimization : Apply protocols like QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize network traffic and ensure efficient bandwidth usage. Implement NAT/NAT64 (Network Address Translation) to conserve IPv4 addresses and facilitate secure communication between private and public networks.
• Disaster Recovery and Backup : Implement ECMP and other disaster recovery protocols to help ensure network continuity and redundancy. Configure backup systems and network failover mechanisms to maintain network availability in case of failure. Implement monitoring and recovery mechanisms that target reduced time to recovery
• Test Validation & Commissioning : Use IXIA platforms to validate optical and packet-optical performance including throughput latency loss and failover behavior. Execute pre-production acceptance and regression testing for new optical deployments and upgrades. Execute lab and production acceptance testing for new optical transport systems PON OLT/ONT platforms and fiber automation workflows.

Soft Requirements (preferred but not required):

• Proven ability to design and implement spine-leaf architectures in data center environments
• Familiarity with SLAAC for IPv6 and IPFIX/Netflow
• Strong understanding of server and switch architecture
• Network Design and Planning : Develop detailed network architecture plans incorporating IPv4 and IPv6 addressing schemes to accommodate current and future network requirements to meet organizational needs and future growth. Using protocols such as BGP/MP-BGP EVPN VXLAN and OSPF for efficient and scalable network routing.
• Assessment and Planning : Conduct thorough analysis of the existing networks. Develop detailed migration plans including timelines resource allocation and risk assessment. Create comprehensive documentation for both legacy and new networks. Configure new hardware and software according to the design specifications. Perform rigorous testing to ensure functionality performance and compatibility. Execute the migration plan with minimal disruption to ongoing operations. Coordinate with cross-functional teams to manage dependencies and resolve issues promptly.
• Security Management : Implement security protocols such as MACSEC and IPSec for secure network communications in both IPv4 and IPv6 environments. Employ RADIUS/Pi servers for centralized authentication. Use leading practices NIST guidelines and clients internal security partner guidance to help maintain secure network configurations and minimize threats on the network.