Hands-on L2/L3 routing and switching engineer for enterprise networks. 5+ years’ experience with Cisco, Meraki and Palo Alto. Visa holders with full working rights welcome. Location – Melbourne (hybrid). Permanent, full time.
Job Description
- Hands-on L2 / L3 routing and switching specialist
- 5+ years of enterprise network engineering
- Cisco, Meraki + API, Palo Alto, Python, BGP / OSPF
- Visa holders with full working rights welcome
About the Role
Permanent Opportunity
Location – Melbourne
Eligibility – Permanent Resident, Visa holder with full working rights OR Australian Citizens
High level Job description
The Senior Network Engineer is a hands-on routing and switching specialist who supports, maintains and improves the enterprise networks that organisations rely on every day, across Cisco, Meraki and Palo Alto Networks environments.
Overall description
Working across Level 2 and Level 3, you will resolve complex network incidents, take ownership of escalations from the Service Desk and NOC, and deliver network changes and project work. A key part of the role is Meraki automation: using the Meraki Dashboard API to integrate, automate and scale how client networks are deployed and managed. You will contribute engineering input to designs developed by Solution Architects and then implement them to a high standard.
This is a hands-on delivery role for an engineer who takes ownership, follows through and enjoys solving difficult problems. As you prove yourself and the business continues to grow, pathways open up into network architecture, presales or team leadership. You will work directly with Solution Architects, the NOC, SOC, Service Desk and CloudOps teams, Project Managers and Service Executives.
About the Company
Our client is an Australian-owned ICT managed services provider headquartered in Melbourne. It designs, delivers and manages technology environments for mid-market and enterprise organisations across networking, cybersecurity, cloud and infrastructure, collaboration and mobility.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as a senior escalation point for complex routing, switching, wireless and firewall incidents across multiple client environments.
- Troubleshoot and resolve issues end to end across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN and wireless, from packet level through to root cause.
- Lead the technical response during major network incidents, restoring service quickly and keeping stakeholders informed.
- Complete problem investigations and post-incident reviews, and implement fixes that prevent recurrence.
- Configure, maintain and optimise enterprise routing using BGP, OSPF and static routing, including route redistribution, filtering and policy.
- Manage switching environments covering VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, EtherChannel, stacking and layer 3 switching.
- Support high availability and redundancy designs using HSRP, VRRP and resilient WAN and data centre topologies.
- Administer and support Cisco routing and switching platforms, including Catalyst and ISR or Catalyst 8000 series.
- Deploy and manage Cisco Meraki environments (MX, MS and MR) through the Meraki dashboard.
- Configure and support Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewalls, including security policy, NAT, site-to-site VPN and GlobalProtect remote access, managed through Panorama where deployed.
- Use Meraki automation to roll out configuration and build templates using the Python scripts provided by the client’s DevNet team, and understand the scripts and integrations that use the Meraki Dashboard API for provisioning, bulk changes and reporting.
- Apply sound automation practices with the client, including version control, testing in non-production first, secure handling of API keys and clear documentation.
- Deliver network project work, including site deployments, migrations, hardware refreshes and new client onboarding, and provide engineering input into solution designs.
- Plan and execute changes through the Change Advisory Board, with clear implementation, testing and rollback plans.
- Maintain accurate network documentation, diagrams, configuration backups and ticket notes in Autotask.
- Support and mentor Level 1 and Level 2 engineers, sharing knowledge and lifting the capability of the wider team.
Key capabilities:
- Very strong routing and switching capability across complex enterprise networks.
- Strong, structured troubleshooting skills, using packet captures and diagnostic tools to find root cause.
- Ability to automate and integrate network platforms using the Meraki Dashboard API and Python.
- Ability to lead the technical response during major incidents and keep stakeholders informed.
- Clear written and verbal communication, with the confidence to work directly with client IT teams.
- Commitment to ownership, documentation and leaving things better than you found them.
Capability must demonstrate (Essential):
- At least five years of hands-on enterprise network engineering experience, with a managed services provider or systems integrator background highly regarded.
- Very strong routing and switching capability, including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, spanning tree, layer 3 switching, first hop redundancy, QoS and NAT.
- Proven, hands-on experience with Cisco routing and switching platforms and IOS or IOS-XE.
- Proven, hands-on experience deploying and supporting Cisco Meraki (MX, MS and MR).
- Meraki DevNet skills, with proven experience using the Meraki Dashboard API to automate tasks and integrate Meraki with other platforms.
- Working scripting ability in Python, and a solid understanding of REST APIs, JSON and webhooks.
- Proven, hands-on experience configuring and supporting Palo Alto Networks firewalls, including security policy, NAT and VPN.
- Strong, structured troubleshooting skills, with confidence using packet captures and diagnostic tools.
- Experience working within ITIL-aligned incident, problem and change processes using a PSA or ITSM platform.
- Clear written and verbal communication, and the confidence to work directly with client IT teams.
Desirable:
- A general appreciation of network security principles, such as segmentation, firewall policy and secure remote access.
- Certifications such as Cisco CCNP Enterprise, Cisco DevNet Associate or Professional, Cisco Meraki CMNA, or Palo Alto Networks PCNSA or PCNSE.
- Experience with wireless design and troubleshooting, and with Cisco ISE or 802.1X network access control.
- Exposure to cloud networking in Azure or AWS.
- Experience with Git and broader network automation tools, such as Ansible.
Tools used:
- Cisco IOS / IOS-XE (Catalyst, ISR, Catalyst 8000)
- Cisco Meraki Dashboard and Dashboard API
- Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Panorama
- Python scripting, REST APIs, JSON and webhooks
- Autotask (PSA / ITSM)
- Packet capture and diagnostic tools
General Skills & Attributes:
- Loves the detail: understands how traffic really moves through a network and isn’t satisfied until they know why something broke.
- Takes ownership: sees issues through to resolution and keeps people informed along the way.
- Leaves things better: documents as they go, tidies up what they find and shares what they learn with the team.
- Stays calm under pressure: brings structure and clear thinking during an outage, and clients trust them to fix it.
Job Type: Permanent
