Job Description & Details
This is a heavy-duty carrier-grade networking role where you will be knee-deep in service provider architecture, enterprise routing protocols, and hardware from Nokia, Cisco, and Juniper. If you enjoy solving gnarly routing loops and debugging complex BGP policies rather than just pushing configs, this 14-month gig is going to keep you thoroughly occupied.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
Expect to spend your days designing, deploying, and troubleshooting large-scale LAN/WAN environments with a heavy focus on service provider infrastructure. You'll be configuring ALU 7750/7450 routers, handling L2/L3 services like VPLS and VPWS, setting up MPLS tunnels, and making sure QoS and multicast traffic (IGMP/PIM) don't bottleneck under heavy loads. It is a deliverable-driven environment, meaning you'll need to coordinate across multiple teams while keeping production video and core networks running smoothly.
The Core Tech Stack
You absolutely must know your way around BGP, OSPF, MPLS, and VRFs inside and out. Hardware fluency with Nokia/Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) 7750, Cisco ASR/CRS, and Juniper MX routers is non-negotiable here. On top of the heavy hardware experience, you need to bring solid Python scripting skills to the table to automate configurations and eliminate manual deployment errors. Packet analysis with Wireshark and deep CLI troubleshooting will be your bread and butter.
Interview Expectations
Expect the hiring team to hand you a scenario where a BGP route leak or policy misconfiguration is dropping traffic across multiple VRFs, and they'll want to hear your step-by-step methodology for isolating the failure using debug tools and packet captures. They will also likely drill down into your experience with MPLS SDP provisioning and VPLS setups on Nokia gear to ensure you genuinely understand the underlying control and data planes, rather than just knowing how to copy-paste template configs.
Application Advice
Make sure your resume highlights your specific, hands-on experience with service provider or carrier environments rather than just standard enterprise IT. Explicitly list out the router models you have worked with—such as Nokia 7750 or Juniper MX—and weave in concrete examples of Python automation scripts you've written for network configuration generation to bypass the initial ATS filters.