Staff Network Engineer (Automation & Telemetry)

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Job Summary 

We are seeking a highly technical, hands-on Network Staff Engineer to lead the design and implementation of next-generation network automation and orchestration platforms. The ideal candidate bridges the gap between traditional network engineering and modern software development, possessing deep expertise in BGP protocal, Python-based automation, and Model-Driven Telemetry. 

In this role, you will act as a core technical engineer, leveraging gNMI, Kafka, and Kubernetes to build robust, event-driven network management systems that ensure high availability and scalability for global interconnection services. 

 

Responsibilities 

• Network Automation & Orchestration: Execute complex development efforts to automate network lifecycle management, bridging the gap between hardware configurations and high-level controllers using Python and Java/Spring Boot. 

• Internet Exchange & Routing Strategy: Lead the technical strategy for Internet Exchange (IX) infrastructure, specifically focusing on Route Server optimization (e.g., Bird)

• Event-Driven Telemetry: Implement robust messaging patterns using Kafka to ingest and process real-time network state changes and gNMI telemetry data. 

• Model-Driven Design: Define and implement YANG models (OpenConfig/Native) to ensure consistent, vendor-agnostic device management via gNMI , Netconf and gRPC

• Cloud-Native Network Functions: Manage containerization strategies for network tools and virtual network functions (VNFs) using Docker and Kubernetes within a GitOps/CI/CD environment

• Discovery & Visibility: Design and develop automated discovery tools (e.g., SNMP discovery, LLDP-based topology mapping) to maintain a real-time Single Source of Truth (SSoT)

• System Optimization: Analyze and optimize network performance, focusing on low-latency routing, BGP convergence, and high-throughput telemetry processing

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Articulate complex technical architectures to stakeholders and collaborate effectively with Product, QA, and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) teams

 

Qualifications 

• Experience: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Network Engineering, or a related field with 6+ years of experience in large-scale network environments (ISP, IXP, or Hyperscale)

• Routing Mastery: Deep expertise in BGP, including community manipulation, prefix filtering, BGP Router reflector, IS-IS protocol, EVPN/VxLAN 

• Network Programmability: Strong proficiency in Python for network automation (Netmiko, Nornir, pygnmi) and familiarity with gNMI/gRPC protocols. 

• Software Ecosystem: Hands-on experience with the Java/Spring Boot stack for building network APIs and backend services

• Event Streaming: Experience with Kafka for handling asynchronous network events and streaming telemetry

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Strong hands-on experience with Kubernetes (K8s) for deploying network microservices and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins)

• Data Modeling: Proficiency in SQL (Postgres/Oracle) and experience with NoSQL or Time-Series databases (e.g., InfluxDB, Elasticsearch) for storing network metrics.

• Core Fundamentals: Strong grasp of Linux networking, TCP/IP stack internals, and distributed systems design patterns

Nice to Have 

• CCNP Certified more priority. 

• Advanced Security: Familiarity with RPKI, BGPsec, and securing network management planes

• AI/ML in Ops: Interest or experience in AIOps, specifically using LLMs or predictive analytics for network fault detection

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability.  If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law. 

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This posting is a new position within our organization.