Job Description & Details
This contract role puts you right in the middle of scaling cutting-edge AI and high-performance computing data centers for a major player. You will not just be configuring switches in a silo; you will be architecting and deploying massive leaf-spine fabrics that keep GPU clusters fed and running smoothly. If you like high-stakes infrastructure, low-latency demands, and modern automation, this is a solid project to sink your teeth into.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
Your days will be a mix of heavy network deployment, automated provisioning, and troubleshooting tricky layer 2 and layer 3 issues in large-scale environments. You will execute cluster bring-ups using ZTP and PXE, validate complex BGP EVPN/VXLAN fabrics, and dive into RoCE-enabled setups where microsecond delays break things. Expect to triage everything from physical cabling anomalies to subtle configuration drifts while collaborating with on-site techs and remote teams to keep the pipeline moving.
The Core Tech Stack
You need to be fluent in modern data center networking, meaning deep-dive knowledge of BGP, EVPN, and VXLAN on leaf-spine architectures is non-negotiable. Beyond the networking gear, Python and Ansible are your bread and butter for writing repeatable deployment workflows and operational scripts. Linux administration chops and experience with Cumulus Linux or automated provisioning tools like DHCP, PXE, and ZTP will separate you from candidates who only know how to click through a GUI.
Interview Expectations
Interviewers will likely test your mettle by asking how you would troubleshoot a silent packet drop or performance degradation in a RoCEv2 environment running across a large EVPN/VXLAN fabric. They want to see if you understand the interplay between buffer management, PFC, and explicit congestion notification rather than just guessing. They are also going to grill you on your automation philosophy, likely asking you to walk through a time you wrote an Ansible playbook or Python script to handle a complex, multi-switch deployment failure without breaking production.
Application Advice
To get past the ATS, make sure your resume explicitly calls out your years of experience with BGP EVPN/VXLAN, Python, and Ansible right at the top—don't hide them in a dense block of text. Frame your past work around scale, specifically highlighting any massive data center deployments, cluster bring-ups, or HPC/AI infrastructure projects you have touched. Emphasize your troubleshooting methodology for complex fabrics, as hiring managers here care far more about how you diagnose a weird failure than what certifications you hold.