Lead Network Engineer

Role Summary

The Lead Network Engineer will act as the primary point of contact for the Chennai site, but flexible to travel to Pune/Bangalore, responsible for resolving complex network issues ranging from large-scale wireless incidents to physical layer problems. The role involves vendor coordination, collaboration with peer teams, and leadership during major incidents. In addition, this position will contribute to design, upgrades, monitoring, and capacity planning in a multi-vendor, global environment.

We are seeking a subject matter expert in Wireless networking (Aruba) with hands-on experience in Aruba ClearPass, Palo Alto (including GlobalProtect), Dell SONiC, and SD-WAN solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary escalation point for Chennai site network issues across LAN, WAN, WLAN, and security layers.
• Install, configure, upgrade, and maintain networking and security equipment in a multi-vendor environment (Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto, Dell SONiC, NSX, VeloCloud, etc.).
• Lead troubleshooting of complex incidents, including wireless, firewall, VPN, and routing/switching problems.
• Actively participate in a 24x7 on-call rotation and provide onsite leadership during critical events.
• Coordinate with service providers, hardware/software vendors, and technical support partners to drive issue resolution.
• Track, report, and proactively address network capacity and performance concerns.
• Provision and manage site-to-site IPSEC VPNs and WAN connectivity with LECs/IXCs. Ensure adherence to IT change control and incident management best practices.
• Collaborate with peer engineering teams to support network design, automation, and long-term strategy.
• Alongside Chennai, provide onsite support at Bangalore or Pune when required for major incidents or implementations

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 10+ years of professional experience in network engineering, including production 24x7 environments.
• Proven expertise in Wireless implementation, operations, and troubleshooting (Aruba preferred).
• Strong multi-vendor background: Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto (+GlobalProtect), Dell SONiC, VeloCloud. Deep understanding of TCP/IP, routing, and switching protocols.
• Experience with firewall, VPN, and security technologies (Palo Alto strongly preferred).
• Familiarity with public and private cloud networking.
• Working knowledge of Linux OS networking stack troubleshooting.
• Understanding of structured cabling standards and physical layer troubleshooting.

Skills & Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; able to resolve complex technical issues independently.
• Effective stakeholder management; able to collaborate across global teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize and multitask in high-pressure environments.
• Strong organizational skills with proven experience managing projects and deadlines.
• Desire and ability to continuously learn and mentor others.
• Bonus: Hands-on experience with

  Ansible, Git, Python, EVPN/VXLAN

  . Knowledge of MacOS and Windows at the OS level is an advantage