Network DevOps engineer

VARITE is looking for a qualified Network DevOps Engineer in Palo Alto, CA 94304
 
What do we do?
Established in the Year 2000, VARITE is an award-winning minority business enterprise providing global consulting & staffing services to Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies. With 850+ global consultants, VARITE is committed to delivering excellence to its customers by leveraging its global experience and expertise in providing comprehensive scientific, engineering, technical, and non-technical staff augmentation and talent acquisition services.
 
Job Title: Network DevOps Engineer
Location: Palo Alto, CA 94304
Duration: 3 months (Possible extension)
Pay Rate: $60/hr - $80/hr on W2
 
What the client does?
A cloud data management and data protection company that provides solutions for backup, disaster recovery, and data archiving. It helps organizations manage and protect their data across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
 
Job Description:
Network Engineer, Corporate & Datacenter Global Infrastructure and Platform Services (GIPS) Palo Alto (Onsite) Mid-Level
 
About the Role:
We are looking for a Network Engineer to design, deploy, and operate the corporate and datacenter network infrastructure that underpins our global workforce and production environments.
You will own the full lifecycle of campus and datacenter networks from access switching and wireless LAN to spine-leaf fabrics and next-generation firewall policy while driving the reliability, security, and scalability of on-premises infrastructure.
This role sits within Global Infrastructure and Platform Services (GIPS) at our Palo Alto headquarters. You will work closely with Security, IT, and Cloud Engineering teams and are encouraged to leverage AI tools to accelerate troubleshooting, documentation, and automation.
 
Key Responsibilities:
 
Corporate & Campus Networking
1. Design and maintain the corporate LAN, including access/distribution/core switching, VLANs, STP, and QoS for the Palo Alto HQ and remote offices.
2. Manage and optimize the wireless LAN infrastructure (controller-based and cloud-managed), including site surveys, RF planning, SSID design, and client troubleshooting.
3. Administer 802.1X network access control, certificate-based authentication, and guest network segmentation.
 
Datacenter Networking
1. Operate and evolve the datacenter network, including spine-leaf architecture, BGP, VxLAN/EVPN overlays, and high-availability designs.
2. Ensure network stability and performance across on-premises datacenter infrastructure by proactively monitoring capacity and latency baselines.
3. Partner with Server, Storage, and Platform Engineering teams on rack-and-stack connectivity, new service deployments, and capacity expansions.
 
Security & Firewall (Palo Alto Networks)
1. Manage Palo Alto Networks NGFW platforms (PA-Series, Panorama, SCM), including security policy, App-ID, URL filtering, Threat Prevention, and WildFire integration.
2. Administer GlobalProtect VPN and Prisma Access for remote access and enforce zero-trust network segmentation between zones.
3. Conduct firewall rule reviews, clean up unused policies, and support periodic security audits.
 
Reliability & Automation
1. Monitor network health using observability tooling (SNMP, streaming telemetry, NetFlow/sFlow) and drive resolution of incidents and root-cause analyses.
2. Develop and maintain automation scripts and configuration management workflows (Python, Ansible, Terraform) to reduce operational toil and improve consistency.
3. Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate log analysis, runbook generation, and network documentation.
 
Required Qualifications:
1. 4-6 years of hands-on enterprise network engineering experience.
2. Proficiency with Palo Alto Networks NGFWs and Panorama, including security policy management, zone-based segmentation, and GlobalProtect VPN.
Solid understanding of routing and switching fundamentals: BGP, OSPF, STP/RSTP, VLANs, LACP, and L2/L3 design.
3. Experience designing and supporting enterprise wireless networks (Cisco Meraki, Aruba, or equivalent), including familiarity with 802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6 and RF optimization.
4. Working knowledge of datacenter networking concepts such as spine-leaf architecture, VxLAN/EVPN, and high-availability failover.
5. Strong troubleshooting methodology with the ability to work through complex, multi-layer production issues.
6. Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to produce clear runbooks and incident postmortems.
 
Preferred Qualifications:
1. Relevant certifications such as PCNSE, CCNP Enterprise, CWNA/CWSP, or equivalent.
2. Experience with network automation using Python, Ansible, or Terraform.
3. Familiarity with public cloud networking (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and hybrid connectivity solutions such as Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, and VPN.
4. Exposure to load balancers including F5, AVI/NSX ALB, or NGINX and application delivery in datacenter environments.
5. Experience with 802.1X / NAC platforms such as Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, or equivalent.
6. Comfort using AI tools (e.g., Claude, Copilot) for network operations, documentation, and automation tasks.
 
Why choose us?

1. Work on infrastructure that protects thousands of organizations from ransomware and cyber threats your network will be mission-critical.
2. Collaborative, engineering-first culture with access to leading tools and the flexibility to build scalable and reliable solutions the right way.
3. Modern and well-equipped office environment at the Palo Alto headquarters.
4. Competitive compensation, equity, and comprehensive benefits.
5. We are an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

 
BENEFITS:
We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, well-being, and financial security of our employees and their families. Eligible employees may receive:
Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage
Retirement Plans: Participation in a company-sponsored retirement savings plan
Legal Service Plans – Offering access to attorneys for legal advice and representation
 
If this opportunity interests you, please respond by clicking on EasyApply.
 
In case you are not currently available or interested in pursuing this opportunity, please forward this email among your circle who might be suitable and interested in any of our open requirements. VARITE has a robust Candidate Referral Fee plan where you will receive a one-time referral fee if the referred candidate successfully works with VARITE on an assignment for at least 1 month or 160 Hours.
 
VARITE is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.