Network Engineer

Network Engineer

1 year contract (eta)

Round Rock, TX (ONSITE) - Candidates MUST do an ONSITE interview!

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

1. Senior Network Engineering Background

• The strongest must-have is deep, hands-on network engineering experience. Manager specifically said Dell wants someone who is a network engineer first and has operated at a CCNP-level. He described this as someone who understands infrastructure, security, and how to design data center environments.
• Recruiter guidance: Do not lead with pure automation engineers, DevOps engineers, or software developers unless they have a legitimate network engineering foundation. Candidates should have spent years supporting, designing, or implementing enterprise network infrastructure.

2. CCNP-Level Knowledge, Can get away with CCNA Preferably Certification

• Manager called out CCNP-level knowledge as the first key requirement. He said a CCNP certification is preferred because it signals that the candidate understands networking, infrastructure, security, and data center design concepts. He also said CCNA may be acceptable as a starting point if the candidate checks the other major boxes, but a lack of networking knowledge would be a major concern
• Recruiter guidance: Prioritize CCNP-certified candidates, but do not automatically reject CCNA candidates if they have strong real-world network design and automation experience. However, candidates with no meaningful networking certification or equivalent experience should likely be deprioritized.

3. Layer 2 / Layer 3 Design Experience

• Manager emphasized that candidates need to understand how access switches, distribution switches, Layer 2, Layer 3, and switching technologies fit together in a broader architecture. He specifically tied this to designing sites, data centers, and edge environments.
• Recruiter guidance: Screen for candidates who can explain actual network design decisions, not just operational support. Look for experience designing or refreshing campus, data center, remote site, MDF/IDF, edge, or enterprise switching environments.

4. Automation Experience in a Networking Context

• Automation is a critical requirement. Manager said the ideal split is around 60% automation and 40% networking/design, and he described automation as central to software upgrades, provisioning, hardware/software refreshes, faster remediation, and improved reliability.
• Recruiter guidance: Candidates should have automated network tasks, infrastructure workflows, provisioning, device refreshes, configuration management, or similar activities. Automation experience should be tied to network infrastructure, not just general software scripting.

5. Python, Ansible, Terraform, or Comparable Automation Frameworks

• Manager mentioned Python and Ansible but said Dell is not locked into only those tools. He said candidates may have used Python, Ansible, Terraform, similar scripting, cloud-based tooling, or AI-assisted approaches, and that any infrastructure automation framework could be relevant if it produced the right outcomes.
• Recruiter guidance: Screen for outcomes more than tool buzzwords. Good candidates should be able to describe what they automated, how they approached it, and what business or operational result it delivered.

6. API Integration Experience

• Manager confirmed that REST API knowledge is part of the automation requirement. He specifically mentioned using APIs to call existing infrastructure systems and referenced CMDB APIs or similar sources to fetch information during provisioning or automation workflows.
• Recruiter guidance: Candidates should be able to discuss using scripts or automation workflows to call APIs, retrieve data, integrate infrastructure platforms, or support provisioning/configuration workflows.

7. Experience with Large-Scale Refresh or Modernization Efforts

• Manager gave examples of strong success criteria, including candidates who have stood up a data center, architected or delivered successful infrastructure work, or helped refresh thousands of devices using automation in the background.
• Recruiter guidance: Look for measurable project experience: data center buildouts, enterprise network refreshes, large-scale switch upgrades, automation-backed migrations, or hardware/software modernization programs.

8. Troubleshooting as Part of Design and Deployment

• Manager clarified that this is not an operational NOC-style role and the person will not spend their time on bridges. However, troubleshooting is still important when issues arise during provisioning, deployment, refresh activity, or when something the engineering team deploys causes a problem.
• Recruiter guidance: Avoid candidates whose experience is only ticket-based operations. Look for engineers who can troubleshoot issues caused by network changes, deployments, refreshes, or design implementation problems.

9. Change Management and Ability to Push Through Red Tape

• Manager said he does not have a strict preference on company size. Candidates can come from large companies or startups, but he emphasized attitude and the ability to work through red tape, change management, and organizational friction. He specifically said he does not want someone who will become frustrated in that type of environment.
• Recruiter guidance: Screen for resilience, patience, communication, and experience navigating change controls or governance-heavy environments. Enterprise experience is helpful, but not mandatory if the candidate shows adaptability.

10. Openness to Spec-Driven Development / AI-Assisted Development

• Manager identified spec-driven development, or SDD, as a newer requirement. He said it is a plus if candidates have recent experience with it, but it is not a hard blocker as long as they have the right attitude and can learn how to work with AI agents or tools like Devin/Claude-type environments.
• Recruiter guidance: Treat SDD as a differentiator, not a disqualifier. Ask candidates if they have used AI tools to generate, validate, document, or accelerate automation work. The key is curiosity and coachability.

Best-Fit Candidate

The ideal candidate is a senior network engineer with roughly 10 years of real infrastructure experience, CCNP-level knowledge, strong Layer 2/Layer 3 design skills, and hands-on automation experience tied to network provisioning, refreshes, or infrastructure modernization. They should be comfortable with Python, Ansible, Terraform, APIs, or comparable tools, and open to using AI-assisted/spec-driven development methods.

Acceptable Candidate

A strong CCNA-level candidate may be acceptable if they have deep practical networking experience, meaningful automation experience, and can clearly demonstrate that they have designed, deployed, or refreshed enterprise network infrastructure. Manager said CCNA can be a starting point if the candidate checks the other boxes.