Cisco Network Engineer (Contractual)

We are seeking a highly experienced Cisco Network Engineer to lead the design, deployment, configuration, migration, and troubleshooting of enterprise SD-WAN environments. The ideal candidate must have strong hands-on expertise in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN/Viptela, vManage, vSmart, vBond, and Catalyst 8000-series routers, with proven experience in production migrations, maintenance-window cutovers, and high-availability network implementations.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, stage, configure, and deploy Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN solutions across enterprise branch and data center environments.
• Manage vManage templates, device onboarding, template bindings, and centralized/localized SD-WAN policies.
• Configure and troubleshoot vSmart/vBond controllers, overlay tunnels, control-plane connectivity, and routing operations.
• Deploy and integrate Cisco Catalyst 8000-series routers, particularly Catalyst 8235 and 8475 platforms.
• Configure and troubleshoot BGP, OSPF, IPv4/IPv6, route redistribution, and application-aware routing policies.
• Execute traditional WAN and Meraki-to-Catalyst SD-WAN migrations, including pre-checks, staging, production cutovers, and post-implementation validation.
• Develop Method of Procedure (MOP) documents, rollback plans, implementation checklists, and testing procedures.
• Implement resilient WAN connectivity and dual-router high-availability designs.
• Coordinate with customer teams on firewall integration, routing paths, network reachability, and core network connectivity.
• Prepare as-built configurations, technical documentation, and operational handover materials.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of enterprise networking experience, including at least 3 years of hands-on Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN/Viptela implementation.
• Strong practical expertise in vManage, vSmart, vBond, SD-WAN templates, policies, and device onboarding.
• Proven experience with production SD-WAN migrations, maintenance-window cutovers, rollback planning, and post-cutover validation.
• Strong knowledge of BGP, OSPF, IPv4/IPv6, WAN routing, underlay/overlay architecture, and routing convergence.
• Hands-on experience deploying Cisco Catalyst 8000-series routers; Catalyst 8235/8475 experience is highly desirable.
• Understanding of high availability, firewall integration, change management, and enterprise network troubleshooting.
• Strong implementation documentation, customer coordination, and technical communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• CCNP Enterprise or CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification.
• Experience migrating traditional WAN or Meraki environments to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN.
• Experience with multi-site enterprise networks, branch connectivity, and data center/headend deployments.