Senior Network Engineer/Architect

Next Step Systems is an executive recruitment firm specializing in placing information technology professionals in permanent full-time positions throughout the U.S. This includes software, hardware, networking, storage, database, web, sales, sales support and all levels of I.T. management.

The ideal candidate is likely to have worked within the financial industry with a robust background in network architecture, maintenance and monitoring. The candidate will be added to an existing IT team and will interact with on a daily basis. This position interacts with all IT functional areas (e.g. architecture, design, network engineering, helpdesk/desktop support, application development and support). The candidate will be someone who can troubleshoot technology related problems that might include multicast routing, datacenter design, troubleshooting intermittent packet loss, latency issues, trading system connectivity and equipment failure. The successful candidate must be highly self-motivated, excel at multitasking, and comfortable working in a demanding, state of the art trading environment.

* Day to day support of network and application environments. * Proactively suggest enhancements to existing configurations, technologies or procedures. * Work closely with all IT functional areas to design and implement operational requirements for new and existing IT systems. * -Troubleshoot intricate network and systems issues down to the bit level and up to the application layer. * -Provide critical thinking to complex problems in a 24/7, mission critical network environment. * Process, monitor and prioritize trouble tickets. * Automate any and all tasks that can be automated. * Remote datacenter design support and management. * Assist in hardware/software purchases. * Ability to follow and enhance existing IT policies and procedures. * On-call for overnights, weekends and holidays on a rotational basis with openness to change. * Support other key initiatives as the business dictates.

* 5+ years’ experience in network administration/engineering. * Thorough understanding of the TCP/IP suite. * Extensive experience with multicast networks including design and troubleshooting (PIM, SM, DM, Anycast, etc.). * Detailed knowledge of the OSI layers 1-4 and associated equipment. * Experience with advanced network concepts and technologies such as QoS, CoS, IDS/IPS, VoIP, flow control, PFC, store-and-forward switching and cut-through switching. * Knowledge of fiber transport installation, troubleshooting and maintenance. * Knowledge of DWDM and CWDM. * Knowledge of switch architecture, ASICs and packet flow for current generation switches/routers. * Knowledge of implementing and troubleshooting dynamic routing protocols such as EIGRP, BGP and OSPF. * Experience with packet sniffing applications (Snort, TCPDump, Wireshark, Netmon, etc.). * Experience performance tuning networking infrastructures. * Solid knowledge of scripting languages (bash, perl, powershell, vbscript) or programming languages (C++, C#, VB). * Experience with 10gb Ethernet. * Must have experience in 24/7 environments. * Bachelor's Degree from a 4-year university. * Computer Science, Information Science or related technical field. * Strong GPA (3.5 or higher).