Position Summary
The Senior / Lead Cisco Network Engineer is responsible for the design, implementation, and support of highly available, low‑latency network infrastructure supporting trading, market data, risk, and back‑office systems. This role operates in a mission‑critical financial services environment, where network stability, performance, and security directly impact trading outcomes.
The engineer serves as a technical leader and escalation point, driving network architecture decisions, mentoring junior engineers, and partnering closely with trading, systems, security, and application teams.
Key Responsibilities
Network Architecture & Engineering
Design, deploy, and maintain enterprise and low‑latency Cisco network architectures
Lead LAN/WAN, data center, and campus network design initiatives
Engineer solutions for high availability, redundancy, and fault tolerance
Support latency‑sensitive trading and market data environments
Cisco Technologies (Core Focus)
Routing & Switching: Cisco IOS / IOS‑XE, NX‑OS
Protocols: BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, HSRP/VRRP, STP
Data Center Networking: Cisco Nexus (5K/7K/9K), vPC
Firewalls & Security: Cisco ASA, Firepower, ACLs, VPNs
Load balancing and traffic engineering (where applicable)
Trading & Financial Systems Support
Support real‑time trading platforms, FIX gateways, and market data feeds
Troubleshoot packet loss, jitter, and latency issues under time‑critical conditions
Partner with application and systems teams to resolve end‑to‑end performance issues
Participate in on‑call rotations and rapid incident response during market hours
Network Security & Compliance
Implement and enforce network security standards and segmentation
Support regulatory and audit requirements (SEC, FINRA, SOC, SOX)
Manage firewall rules, VPN connectivity, and secure remote access
Collaborate with InfoSec teams on threat mitigation and incident response
Automation & Operational Excellence
Automate network provisioning and configuration using Python, Ansible, or similar tools
Develop standard configurations, templates, and runbooks
Improve monitoring, alerting, and proactive detection of network issues
Drive continuous improvement and technical debt reduction
Leadership & Collaboration
Act as senior escalation point for complex network issues
Mentor junior and mid‑level network engineers
Provide architectural guidance and technical leadership
Communicate clearly with traders, engineers, and leadership
Required Qualifications
7+ years experience in enterprise networking, with strong Cisco focus
Deep expertise in:Cisco routing and switching
BGP, OSPF, VLANs, TCP/IP
Cisco Nexus and data center networking
Experience supporting 24x7 production environments
Strong troubleshooting skills under pressure
Excellent documentation and communication skills
Preferred / Nice‑to‑Have
Experience in financial services, trading, hedge funds, or broker‑dealer environments
Low‑latency network design experience
Knowledge of multicast (PIM, IGMP) for market data
Network automation and DevNet experience
Cloud networking exposure (AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute)
Certifications: CCNP, CCIE