Position Overview:
Our client is seeking a Network Architect for 48 Hour Patching and will define the technical approach, standards, and tooling for the 48 Hour Patching Strategy. This role will design how network platforms are inventoried, assessed, tested, and patched to meet remediation targets while protecting availability.
Responsibilities:
• Define the technical patching strategy and standards for network platforms across local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless, security, application delivery, and cloud environments.
• Establish software version baselines, golden images, pre-change and post-change validation, and rollback procedures.
• Design automation and tooling for inventory, vulnerability correlation, compliance checking, and scheduled upgrades.
• Assess risk and recommend prioritization based on vulnerability severity, exposure, and business criticality.
• Partner with security, operations, and project management teams to implement, measure, and continuously improve the patching process.
• Document standards, runbooks, and metrics, and train operational teams.
Qualifications:
• 8+ years of enterprise network engineering or network architecture experience.
• Experience planning firmware and software upgrades on Cisco, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks, F5, or similar platforms.
• Working knowledge of vulnerability management processes and tooling.
• Experience with network automation using Python, Ansible, NetBox, NetBrain, or similar technologies.
• Ability to collaborate openly with architects, engineers, project managers, and customer stakeholders; share knowledge; document work for others; and communicate clearly in a team environment.
• Experience designing enterprise-scale patching or technology lifecycle programs is preferred.
• Experience in regulated industries is preferred.
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or equivalent certification is preferred.