Diamond State Networks (DSN) is a wholesale broadband provider that unites the fiber-optic networks of electric cooperatives throughout Arkansas. Our mission is to catalyze the growth of high-speed connections throughout our state and to help make Arkansas the most significantly connected state in the country. Motivated to serve, the electric cooperatives of Arkansas have been bringing electricity to their communities since the 1930s, and Diamond State Networks enhances that commitment by providing high-speed network connections, the next essential service.
Position Summary Our Network personnel are highly competent professionals with impeccable communications skills. The Sr. Network Engineer/Architect should have experience in two or more of the following: network forecasting, design and operations, routing, switching, and service overlays (BGP, E-VPN, MPLS, VPLS, L3VPN, etc.). They serve as technical mentors to our employees, vendors and cooperative members and have an ability to communicate complex technical concepts to the technical and non-technical alike.
DSN focuses first on cohesiveness of its teams. To that end, the ideal candidate is an effective and proactive communicator that enables them to provide the highest service levels and customer experience. The DSN team is accustomed to wearing multiple hats, as is common in a "start-up" environment. Everyone from the CEO down is technically on call, given the right scenario.
Key Duties and Responsibilities - Collaborating with management staff to determine the organization's technology roadmap.
- Researching testing and documenting high-quality, up-to-date technology and firmware/software versions deployed in the DSN network
- Maintain knowledge and understanding of technology, protocols, and standards.
- Define engineering used to activate, test, and troubleshoot new and existing services
- Assist with the creation of network automation; Manage network SLA requirements
- Perform remote and or on-site testing of hardware and software solutions
- Developing and implementing standards to accommodate growth
- Apply and implement Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) standards, including assisting DSN in becoming MEF 3.0 Compliant
- Mentor and assisting other departments in technical topics; working trouble escalations
- Standardize, configure, and validate DSN network devices: POP infrastructure / expansions. Building the "highway" so operations can drive traffic on it.
- Assist with managing network support platforms including Ciena MCP, Atlassian JIRA ITSM, Ocular IP, NCS, Netbox, LogicMonitor as well as billing and ticketing systems.
- Developing and maintaining accurate documentation for reference, this is your main product
- Serve as the technical SME for the DSN network as it relates to business objectives/projects
- Traffic engineering, adjusting upstream traffic peering in the event of unexpected traffic patterns due to network outages or network growth.
- Planning for peering network growth, which public peering to target based on traffic type. Arbor Sightline is currently utilized for traffic analysis.
- Transit and Transport capacity planning
- Network hardware vendor management
Qualifications The successful candidate should have extensive knowledge of the telecom industry, operations, technologies and must be skilled in communications. The combination of education and experience should be significant. This position is primarily remote but may require periodic on-site work objectives. Candidate must reside in the state of Arkansas as their primary residence.
Required Qualifications - Education and experience of 7+ years in network or systems operations, network or systems engineering, network or systems architecture
- Experience and deep expertise in two or more of the following specializations:
- ISP Routing and Switching (ISIS, MP-BGP, MPLS, SR, etc.)
- Service Overlay Technologies (EVPN - MPLS, IPv6, IPv4, VXLAN data plane; VPLS; SDWAN; IPSec; etc.)
- MEF Service and Performance Management (Y.1731, Y.1564SAM, MEF CE2.0, CE3.0, 802.1Q, etc.)
- Optical Transport Network (DWDM, IPoDWDM, GMPLS, S-GMPLS, etc)
- Arbor Sightline or similar flow inspection tool.
- Experience with Juniper ACX, Juniper QFX, Juniper PTX, Ciena 6500, Accedian, RAD
- JNCIP-SP / JNCIE-SP, equivalent or greater certification.
Must be able to perform the essential elements of Senior Network Engineer/Architect competently, following a training period not to exceed six (6) months. Must possess personal characteristics that will make employee a productive work team member, including high integrity, good personal habits, and regular attendance at work. Should be friendly and able to meet people easily and adjust to different personalities. Should be able to gain and maintain respect of others, both inside and outside of the organization. Must be reliable and dependable and to help create, foster, and maintain a good work environment with all co-workers.
This position description is not intended to be all-inclusive; an employee will also perform other reasonably related job responsibilities as assigned by immediate supervisor and other management as required. This organization reserves the right to revise or change job duties as the need arises. This position description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment. Management reserves the right to change position descriptions, job duties, or working schedules based on their duty to accommodate individuals with disabilities.