Sr. Network Engineer

Job Overview

As a Senior Network Engineer, you will play a critical role in designing, implementing, and maintaining Great Lakes Cheese’s (GLC) complex network infrastructure to ensure low-latency, high-performance, and high-availability systems. This role is responsible for all aspects of Great Lakes Cheese’s IT network including analyzing and troubleshooting system related issues, identifying, evaluating, and developing system solutions, and providing systems support. Your responsibilities will include, developing strategic and operational plans to introduce and deploy new network and data center infrastructure, ensuring security, availability, performance, quality, and responsiveness. As the Network and Communications Manager, you will hold a pivotal role in leading the initiative to transform and modernize the enterprise network and telephony environment to address the increasingly complex needs of resilience and cybersecurity. Reporting to the Division Director of Technical Services, this is a widely visible role, where you can bring your experience, vision, and creativity, to grow the team and technology solutions to meet the needs of GLC.

Job Responsibilities

Design and implement Network solutions: 

• Design, implement & deliver complex technical projects within a defined schedule covering LAN, WAN, WLAN, Wireless, SD-WAN, VPNs, NAC, and Zero Trust requirements.
• Configure and install routers, switches, servers, and other network devices as needed.
• Implement network engineering guidelines regarding performance, reliability, security, scalability by being able to complete installation, testing, and acceptance of network hardware and services.
• Maintain local area networks including corporate office and manufacturing plant industrial networks, wide area network, and wireless network.
• Provide technical and administrative environment monitoring throughout the enterprise, including networks and security, servers, virtualization, and critical services & applications
• Manage the corporate telecommunications network infrastructure.

Monitoring and performance optimization: 

• Proactively monitor network performance and integrity.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement improvements to achieve optimal network efficiency and reliability.
• Automate tasks and monitor their effectiveness.
• Troubleshooting and issue resolution:
• Rapidly diagnose and resolve network-related incidents and outages to minimize downtime and maintain uninterrupted business operations.
• Coordinate on-call responsibilities and responses to emergency production issues.

Security: 

• Implement robust security measures to safeguard company IT infrastructure and protect against cyber threats and attacks
• Create, oversee, and test security measures (e.g. access authentication and disaster recovery etc.)
• Collaboration with cross-functional teams:
• Work closely with functions including engineering, operations, MES, application, system administrators, IT support, and other infrastructure team members to understand requirements and provide network solutions that align with business needs.
• Collaborate with the IT team to produce business-focused network solution design, development, and delivery.

Network capacity planning: 

• Conduct regular capacity planning assessments to anticipate future requirements and ensure the network can scale to accommodate growing demands.
• Suggest improvements to network performance, capacity and scalability with documented benefits.

Stay updated with industry trends: 

• Keep abreast of the latest networking technologies, trends, and best practices, and evaluate their potential application to improve GLC’s infrastructure.
• Develop design documents and configuration/installation instructions for a wide variety of network equipment.
• Ability to respond to critical issues during off-hours and weekends as needed.
• Ability to travel up to 25% within the United States.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems or related field from an accredited institution.

Minimum 7 Years of network engineering experience.

Deep knowledge of network protocols, topologies, and architectures, with a focus on low-latency networks and proficiency in configuring and troubleshooting network devices, including routers, switches, and firewalls.

Strong technical knowledge, skills, and experience in multiple of the following areas: 

Cisco networking technologies (LAN / WAN / WLAN / VLAN)

Routing protocols such as BGP & OSPF.

Layer 3 designs, including VRRP, VRFs, and SDWAN

Layer 2 designs, including VLANs, MST and RSTP.

ACL’s/Route maps/prefix lists, and objects

Wireless Control Systems, Access Points, and 802.1x, PKI, EAP, TLS technologies

VXLAN design, implementation, and support

Network storage technologies and file system management.

Understanding of the implications of changes and events within your domain upon applications, and the business as a whole.

Skilled and experienced with systems change control.

Linux and Microsoft SQL Server experience.

Strong analytical skills and have good written and verbal communication skills.

Ability to handle multiple tasks, troubleshoot and problem solve beyond routine issues.

Strong teamwork approach to problem solving with the ability to make sound, independent decisions based on functional expertise and experience.

Preferred Education and Experience

Master’s degree in relevant discipline

Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) certification OR Relevant certifications; Microsoft, Rockwell, VMWare, etc.

Manufacturing industry expertise (ideally food)

Hands on experience in:

Network engineering (routing, switching), monitoring, and analysis tools (such as SolarWinds) and automation such as Cisco, Juniper and/or Meraki.

Server and desktop virtualization and ability to execute using VMWare solutions.

Storage & SANs, using Fiber Channel, iSCSI, FCoE, & NFS.

Windows Server Operating Systems up to and including 2016-2022.

Shop floor controls (Rockwell/AB PLCs).

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in an office setting.
• Occasional exposure to industrial operations including: temperature extremes from approximately 35ºF to 100ºF; noise levels in excess of 85 dB; moisture and moving machinery.

EEOC & Disclaimer

Great Lakes Cheese is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer.

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