"Network Analyst"

The role

ECMWF is looking for an Network Analyst who will be responsible for the provision of data centre and office networks, auxiliary network services, and network security appliances and services. They will also take part in evaluating and implementing new network and network security technologies, standards and techniques to enhance the computing infrastructure, as well as participating in a variety of other network-related projects.
The duties will change and evolve over time in response to the needs of the computing environment at ECMWF, in particular regarding the high-performance computing facility and the dissemination of weather products to ECMWF’s partners around the world.

The ideal candidate will have the expertise and in-depth knowledge to plan, design, deploy, operate, optimise and support the network and security infrastructure as well as adopt and develop standards and new techniques for computer networks such as automation and virtualisation. The role will involve working with both internal and external stakeholders to introduce these into operations.

About Core Infrastructure Section

The Core Infrastructure Section forms part of ECMWF’s Computing Department and is responsible for delivering the network support for the Bologna datacentre as well as Reading, Bologna and Bonn offices and the storage and general purpose servers of ECMWF. This section is also responsible for the mechanical and electrical aspects of ECMWF’s Bologna datacentre, which is a key facility supporting the Centre’s 24/7 time-critical production services.

Within the Core Infrastructure Section, the Network Team is responsible for designing, procuring, deploying and day-to-day management of the Networks and Security infrastructures and their associated Operational Security services. The participation to and executions of Network Security Operations also takes place within the team, in close cooperation with the Infosec Team reporting to the Centre’s Director of Computing. ECMWF’s network environment includes cutting-edge technologies and products from well-known vendors, with data centre networks based on the latest 100+ Gbps technology. The LAN and WAN systems use OSPF, MP-BGP, VXLAN/EVPN, Multicast and IPv6 in production.

For additional details, see www.ecmwf.int/en/computing/our-facilities/networks

Your responsibilities

• Configuring and operating the network infrastructure used to support ECMWF’s High-Performance Computing Facility
• Configuring and operating network equipment: switches, routers, firewalls, ADC, wireless
• Working towards the simplification and automation of networks to achieve quicker and safer deployments, changes and upgrades using APIs and templates
• Configuring and operating network services: DNS, DHCP, RADIUS, NTP, Web Proxy running on a variety of platforms (proprietary, Linux, Windows)
• Isolating and repairing network faults in a timely and efficient manner in coordination with internal stakeholders and 3rd parties (providers, suppliers and support companies)
• Recommending and implementing changes and improvements to all services
• Evaluating and installing new network hardware and software
• Creating and maintaining up-to-date low and high-level documentation and diagrams
• Monitoring of the availability, performance and reliability of the network infrastructure and services
• Providing day-to-day support for the services provided by the team, including, on a rota basis, 24-hour on-call support

What we are looking for

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach
• Self-motivated and able to work with minimal supervision
• Ability to maintain effective communication and documentation with the rest of the team and a distributed user community
• Dedication and enthusiasm to work in a team
• Ability to work efficiently and complete diverse tasks in a timely manner

Your profile

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t feel you meet precisely all of the these criteria.

Education

• A university degree (EQF Level 6) or equivalent industry experience is essential

Experience required in the following areas

• Experience of configuring network hardware including switches, routers and firewalls
• Experience of working with infrastructure automation and virtualisation technologies
• Experience of network monitoring tools and techniques
• Experience of troubleshooting a network environment
• Experience of configuring and operating services such as DNS, DHCP, NTP and RADIUS
• Experience of working with Juniper, Arista, Fortinet, Infoblox, F5 or Cisco platforms
• Experience in developing code for network system management and monitoring solutions using REST APIs, Python, Ansible and similar tools, in a structured CI/CD Pipeline environment
• Experience of implementing the networking stack for cloud-native technologies (desirable)
• Experience of working in an international environment (desirable)

Knowledge and skills required

• In-depth knowledge of standard OSI layer 2/3/4 protocols, such as Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6, ICMP, UDP and TCP
• Knowledge of network technologies including several of the following in practice: STP, LACP, MLAG, VRRP, VXLAN, EVPN, BGP, OSPF, L2VPN & L3VPN, LLDP, SNMP, DNS, DHCP, Unified Communications
• Good working knowledge of a modern scripting language such as Python
• Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and interviews will be conducted in English
• Fluency in Italian would be advantageous as would knowledge of one of the Centre’s other working languages (French or German)