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Senior Network Systems Engineer
San Jose, California, United StatesJob Summary
We are seeking a Senior Data Centre Network Engineer to join our Global Network Services team, operating and modernising the data centre networks that underpin NetApp worldwide. Our data centre estate today runs a traditional, vPC-based architecture. The mission for this role is to take us to a modern Clos / spine-leaf fabric, and to help build out the AI/ML fabrics that NetApp's growth in AI and storage now demands. This is a deep technical role for a data centre networking expert who can keep the current environment reliable while leading its transformation end to end — from target design, through a phased brownfield-to-greenfield migration, to day-two operations of the new fabric.
The ideal candidate pairs strong, hands-on data centre networking fundamentals with proven experience designing and migrating to spine-leaf fabrics (VXLAN / BGP EVPN), and brings — or is eager to build — the automation, infrastructure-as-code and AI-fabric skills that define where the field is heading. You will be a senior technical voice on the team, mentoring others and setting the standard for engineering quality as we shift from manual, repetitive operations toward codified, repeatable engineering.
Job Responsibilites
- Operate and modernise the data centre estate — keep today's traditional, vPC-based data centre network reliable, secure and performant while leading its evolution toward a modern fabric.
- Design and lead the migration to a Clos / spine-leaf fabric — own the target VXLAN / BGP EVPN design (distributed anycast gateway, symmetric/asymmetric IRB, multi-tenant VRFs) and drive a phased brownfield-to-greenfield migration, extensible to VXLAN multi-site / DCI across regions.
- Build out AI/ML and storage back-end fabrics — design and deliver lossless Ethernet fabrics (RoCEv2, PFC, ECN/DCQCN) for GPU/compute and high-performance storage as NetApp scales its AI infrastructure.
- Own routing and the control plane — operate enterprise routing today and engineer the BGP (eBGP/iBGP) underlay and EVPN overlay of the target fabric, with ECMP, data centre and internet edge, and inter-site connectivity.
- Operate the switching estate — run Cisco Nexus (NX-OS) / ACI, Arista EOS or Juniper platforms — vPC/MLAG, VLANs, trunking, LACP and first-hop redundancy today, transitioning to leaf, spine and border-leaf roles.
- Deliver builds, refreshes and migrations — produce designs, interconnect and cabling matrices and cutover plans; coordinate with vendors and installation partners through delivery, including high-radix 100G/400G optics.
- Resolve escalated operational issues (Tier 3/4) — act as the senior escalation point for complex incidents across the control plane, data plane and physical layer, driving packet-level root-cause analysis and permanent resolution.
- Drive change through structured change control — plan, risk-assess and execute changes with appropriate testing, validation and rollback, which is critical through the migration.
- Maintain fabric health through observability — use fabric controllers (Cisco ND, Arista CloudVision, Juniper Apstra) and streaming telemetry to detect, diagnose and pre-empt issues before they impact users.
- Codify operations — partner with automation/SRE colleagues to move recurring work from manual operations toward infrastructure as code and network as code.
- Set the engineering standard — contribute standards, runbooks and documentation, and mentor junior engineers as a technical multiplier across the team.
Job Requirements
Data Centre Networking (Foundations)
Strong, hands-on expertise in enterprise data centre networking: Layer 2 / Layer 3 design, VLANs, trunking, vPC/MLAG, spanning tree and first-hop redundancy (HSRP/VRRP).
Hands-on experience operating Cisco Nexus (NX-OS) and/or ACI, Arista EOS, or Juniper at enterprise scale.
Proven troubleshooting across the control plane, data plane and physical infrastructure.
Fabric Modernisation (the mission)
Proven experience designing and/or migrating to Clos / spine-leaf fabrics with VXLAN and BGP EVPN (distributed anycast gateway, symmetric/asymmetric IRB, multi-tenant VRFs) — you do not need to have run our estate, but you should have taken an environment to a fabric before, or be ready to.
Ability to plan and execute a phased brownfield-to-greenfield migration from a traditional architecture, with minimal disruption.
Exposure to — or a strong appetite to build — AI/ML fabric design (lossless Ethernet, RoCEv2) and high-performance storage networking.
Routing & Control Plane
Expert BGP (eBGP/iBGP): route policy, path selection, redistribution and address-family design, for both traditional routing and an EVPN overlay.
Strong grasp of ECMP, OSPF (underlay) and data centre / internet edge design, including working with service providers on connectivity and troubleshooting.
General
Significant hands-on experience (typically 8+ years) in enterprise network engineering and operations — including a senior or lead technical role — with substantial time in data centre environments.
Demonstrated ownership of complex, high-impact infrastructure in a global environment, including delivery through planned maintenance windows and migration cutovers.
Strong troubleshooting discipline and structured incident-resolution skills under pressure.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work across regions and mentor others.
Nice to Have
The following are not required, but will distinguish a strong candidate — particularly the automation and AI-infrastructure capabilities that align with where the team and NetApp are heading.
Scripting and automation — Python, Ansible or Arista AVD — applied to fabric configuration and operations, with a source of truth such as NetBox or Nautobot.
Infrastructure as code and network as code — Terraform, Git-based workflows and CI/CD for network change.
AI/ML fabric depth — rail-optimised / rail-only Clos topologies, InfiniBand vs Ethernet trade-offs, 800G, merchant silicon (e.g. Broadcom Tomahawk) and Ultra Ethernet (UEC).
Storage and data-fabric networking — NVMe-oF, NFS/pNFS, iSCSI and RDMA transport, and GPU-to-storage back-end fabrics.
Load balancing and GSLB — F5 or AVI
AI-assisted operations and MCP — connecting AI assistants and agents to fabric controllers, telemetry and operational systems via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and applying AIOps to reduce toil.
Workflow automation and orchestration — platforms such as n8n to connect fabric tooling, APIs and operational processes.
Network observability and telemetry — streaming telemetry (gNMI/OpenConfig), ThousandEyes or similar.
Cloud data-centre networking across AWS, Azure or OCI — transit, peering and hybrid connectivity.
SRE practices — SLOs, error budgets and toil reduction.
Security and segmentation — micro/macro-segmentation (ACI or EVPN) and firewalls (Palo Alto).
Open networking / white-box exposure (SONiC).
Relevant certifications — CCNP / CCIE Data Center, Arista ACE, or JNCIP-DC.
Compensation:
The target salary range for this position is 147,900 - 220,000 USD. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. The range is based on 'On Target Earnings’ (OTE) representing the total potential earnings, which is the sum of the base salary and potential commission earned when performance targets are achieved. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package. This may cover Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement or Pension Plans, Paid Time Off, various Leave options, employee stock purchase plan, and/or restricted stocks (RSU’s). These offerings are subject to regional variations and governed by local laws, regulations, and company policies. We will provide detailed information about the specific benefits for your region during the recruitment process.
At NetApp, we embrace a hybrid working environment designed to strengthen connection, collaboration, and culture for all employees. This means that most roles will have some level of in-office and/or in-person expectations, which will be shared during the recruitment process.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
NetApp is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, protected veteran status, and any other protected classification.
Why You'll Thrive at NetApp
At NetApp, you won't wait for the perfect moment—you'll make it. The early planning, the extra thought, the bold idea that turns good into great: That's how our people operate and how we continue to push the boundaries of data infrastructure.
NetApp is the trusted partner for organizations transforming data into opportunity. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft Azure, we empower customers to run everything from traditional workloads to enterprise AI with unmatched performance, resilience, and security.
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We celebrate mold breakers, bold thinkers, and problem solvers. We reward initiative, impact, and ownership. We provide flexibility so you can balance professional ambition with your personal life. Here, differences are not just welcomed—they drive everything we do.
If you're ready to innovate, rise to the challenge, and own every moment - make your next move your best one. Apply now.
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AI Disclosure
For select roles, some stages of our hiring process may use artificial intelligence tools to help evaluate applications and candidate selection. These tools support—rather than replace—human decision-making.
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NetApp is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, protected veteran status and any other protected classification. We pledge to take every reasonable step to ensure that our applicants and employees are respected, treated fairly and with dignity. See the EEO poster, Know your rights poster, and NetApp EEO policy. NetApp makes reasonable accommodations, consistent with applicable laws, for religious purposes and for the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, who can perform the essential job functions unless undue hardship would result.
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Currently, when addressing certain hiring needs, NetApp uses the following tools:
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Our talent acquisition team or our recruiters will ultimately select the candidates for further consideration, following human review of any automated evaluation results and associated underlying documentation (or lack thereof) submitted with the candidates’ application.
Candidates may request an alternative selection process which will not be subject to the Eightfold matching tool or to any electronic automated employment evaluation by contacting NetApp at careers@netapp.com. To bypass the Eightfold matching tool or any electronic automated employment evaluation, you must include a resume and job ID with your email to careers@netapp.com and you must include in the subject line of your email: Data Privacy Request. Candidates who have questions or want to request additional information on the source of data, type of data, and/or collection of data related to the candidate review process should contact NetApp at careers@netapp.com
Note: Eightfold is not applicable to temporary hiring opportunities. If you are interested in temporary roles, you can apply via a third-party site managed by our preferred supplier, Magnit Global. Magnit Global will provide its own privacy disclosures for your review as part of the application process.
Submitting an application
To ensure a streamlined and fair hiring process for all candidates, our team reviews apcplications submitted through our company website only. This practice allows us to track, assess, and respond to applicants efficiently. Emailing our employees, recruiters, or Human Resources personnel directly will not influence your application.
AI Disclosure
For select roles, some stages of our hiring process may use AI-powered tools to assist with tasks such as identifying relevant candidates, matching skills and experience to role requirements, and conducting initial screenings. These tools support - rather than replace - human decision-making. To learn more, please see our AI Transparency Statement. If you would prefer not to engage with an AI-assisted process, you can request an alternative by contacting careers@netapp.com. Choosing an alternative process will not impact your candidacy in any way.