Lead System Engineer
On-siteWillowbrook DuPage County, Illinois, United States
Job Summary
Lead design, deployment, and maintenance of network infrastructure, including switches, routers, and LAN/WAN components to ensure high availability and performance. Architect, implement, and manage virtualization environments (Hyper-V and other hypervisors) and associated storage and backup integrations. Manage and optimize Cisco systems and configurations, including routing, switching, VLANs, and QoS. Troubleshoot complex network, server, and virtualization issues; perform root cause analysis and implement long-term fixes. Develop and maintain infrastructure as code, automation scripts, and runbooks using PowerShell, Bash, or configuration tools to streamline operations. Collaborate with security and cloud teams to implement secure network designs, access controls, and monitoring for vulnerabilities and incidents. Lead migration and upgrade projects, including hardware refreshes, virtualization platform upgrades, and cloud/adoption initiatives. Provide technical leadership and mentorship to system and network engineers, set standards and best practices, and review designs and changes. Coordinate with vendors and manage support escalations for network, virtualization, and security appliances. Monitor system and network health; configure and tune monitoring, logging, and alerting to meet SLA and reliability targets.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of hands-on experience in system and network engineering, with a strong emphasis on network infrastructure and virtualization
- Proven experience with Cisco networking (routing, switching, VLANs, ACLs) and enterprise switch and router platforms
- Hands-on experience with Hyper-V virtualization and managing virtualized workloads
- Strong troubleshooting skills for switches, routers, firewalls, and virtual environments
- Proficiency with network protocols and technologies (TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VPNs) and experience configuring enterprise network devices
- Experience automating tasks and writing scripts using PowerShell and/or Bash
- Solid understanding of authentication, Active Directory, and identity management
- Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices, vulnerability management, and incident response processes
- CCNA certification or equivalent network engineering certification
Desired Qualifications
- familiarity with vSphere and Docker
- knowledge of Ansible
- familiarity with Entra and Intune
- Experience working with firewall platforms (FortiGate, Ubiquiti, Netgear) and endpoint protection such as SentinelOne
- Familiarity with Azure cloud services and hybrid architectures; experience with cloud networking and security controls
- Strong communication, documentation, and leadership skills, with experience mentoring junior engineers and driving cross-team initiatives
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