Network Deployment Engineer

About the role

In this role you will be focused on the build out and expansion of our global network. His is a highly collaborative position and you'll work closely with Cloudflare's SRE, Network Operations, Automation team, Project Managers and with various vendors and partners (including hardware vendors, logistics, capacity planning, datacenter and network providers, and ISPs) to maintain and improve our global infrastructure and to plan and aggressively expand our network. You will further be responsible for the development and implementation of consistent processes and visibility measurements for consistent and effective management of our infrastructure. This is a highly visible position that requires deep technical understanding of the datacenter infrastructure, physical and logical networking, linux, and basic experience with data analysis and project management.

To be successful in this position you should possess excellent technical skills, communication skills, and be able to navigate through a range of challenges and constraints (e.g. schedule adherence, time zones and cultures). You will have the opportunity to (literally) build a faster, safer Internet for our millions of users and the billions of web surfers that visit their sites each month.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Building and Provisioning network infrastructure and servers in Cloudflare data centers.
• Creating documentation such as SOPs, MOPs, Rack Elevations and managing remote contractors to complete datacenter installations and upgrades (rack and stack). Collaborating with hardware manufacturers, datacenter and network providers, logistics partners and other service providers in support of our 330+ growing datacenter locations.
• Managing Data Center expansions, migrations, decommissions, Network and Server upgrades.
• Planning and managing facility power (AC/DC), cooling, security/access, redundancy, rack layout and cable management.
• Providing technical leadership and guidance during deployment and maintenance activities.
• Collaborating with a myriad of cross functional teams to ensure timely end to end delivery of projects.
• Coordinating installation of cross-connects globally in support of physical network expansion.
• Assisting with the definition, documentation and implementation of consistent processes across all regions.

Required Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of prior relevant experience in Data Center Deployments and Operations.
• Experience managing contractors remotely.
• Basic Linux administration.
• Knowledge and exposure to network protocols, topologies and enterprise architecture along with Network hardware administration.
• Experience writing network configuration and design documentation.
• Experience running and improving operational processes in a rapidly changing environment.
• Ability to quickly adapt to and learn new tools and technologies.
• Proven experience to manage and execute multifaceted datacenter and infrastructure projects. Previous experience deploying and maintaining datacenter (and other IT) infrastructure and DCIM tools.
• Strong understanding of BGP and other networking protocols.
• Associate level network certification(s) like JNCIA, CCNA etc or higher.
• Good working knowledge in various Routing & Switching, DWDM platforms and devices.
• Demonstrated expertise in operating within a continuously available, 24/7/365 mission-critical environment.
• Comfortable with remote "lights-out" and out-of-band access to data center resources.
• Knowledge of the OSI-model and experience isolating network, hardware and software issues.
• Ability to work with MS Excel and Google Sheets.
• Comfortable handling basic program management responsibilities (prioritization, planning, scheduling, status reporting).
• Shows a strong desire for growth, readily acquires new skills, and is adept at juggling multiple priorities. Strong verbal and written communication skills, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills.
• Must be a team player.

Bonus Points:

• Experience with continuous / rapid deployment and orchestration tools, such as SaltStack, Chef, Puppet or Ansible
• Site Reliability Engineering, Linux systems administration, Network Engineering, and/or DevOps experience is a plus.
• Capable of scripting for internal tools and using automation to solve problems.
• Comfortable with remote "lights-out" and out-of-band access to data center resources
• Linux certifications.
• Knowledge of the OSI-model and experience isolating network, hardware and software issues.
• Bachelor's degree, technical background in engineering, computer science, or MIS a plus
• Proficient in one or more programming languages.
• Aggressively seeking opportunities to introduce cutting-edge technology and automation solutions that are effective, efficient and scalable in order to improve our ability to deploy and maintain our global infrastructure.