Senior L2 Network Engineer NOC

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced Senior L2 Network Engineer to join our NOC team, responsible for advanced troubleshooting, configuration, and maintenance of large-scale IP/MPLS backbone and service provider networks. The candidate will act as the escalation point for L1 engineers, lead incident/problem management, and drive network stability, performance, and change management across multi-vendor environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary L2/L3 escalation point for complex network incidents raised by the NOC L1 team.
• Perform end-to-end troubleshooting of IP/MPLS core, aggregation, and access network issues.
• Configure, monitor, and maintain routers, switches, and MPLS PE/P/CE devices across the network.
• Own Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for major/critical incidents and prepare detailed RCA reports.
• Plan and execute network changes, upgrades, and maintenance activities (MOPs) with minimal service impact.
• Monitor network health using NMS/EMS tools; proactively identify and resolve performance degradation.
• Coordinate with vendors (Cisco/Juniper/Nokia/Huawei/Arista TAC) for hardware/software escalations.
• Maintain network documentation, topology diagrams, SOPs, and configuration backups.
• Mentor and guide L1/L2 engineers; conduct knowledge transfer and training sessions.
• Ensure adherence to SLA, KPI, and uptime targets defined by the organization/customer.
• Participate in capacity planning, network design reviews, and new site/service rollouts.
• Handle shift-based NOC operations including rotational/on-call support as required.

Must-Have Skills & Keywords

• Strong hands-on expertise in IP Routing and Switching (Layer 2 & Layer 3).
• Deep working knowledge of MPLS architecture and service provider backbone networks.
• Advanced troubleshooting skills for BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, and static routing.
• Strong understanding of VLAN, STP/RSTP/MSTP, LACP, Link Aggregation, and Etherchannel.
• Experience with network monitoring tools (NMS/EMS SolarWinds, Nagios, Zabbix, vendor-specific EMS).
• Incident, Problem, and Change Management (ITIL process exposure).
• Strong analytical and packet-level troubleshooting ability (Wireshark, packet capture analysis).
• Excellent communication skills for customer/vendor escalation handling.

Technologies / Protocols (MPLS & Core Networking)

• MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) – Label Distribution, LDP, RSVP-TE
• MPLS L3VPN / L2VPN (VPLS, VPWS, EVPN)
• BGP (iBGP/eBGP), MP-BGP, Route Reflectors, BGP Communities & Policies
• OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP – IGP design and troubleshooting
• Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE, Fast Reroute / FRR)
• QoS – Classification, Marking, Policing, Shaping, CoS/DSCP
• VRF / VPN Routing & Forwarding, Segment Routing (SR-MPLS) – added advantage
• Layer 2/3 Switching – VLAN, Trunking, STP/RSTP/MSTP, LACP
• Network Redundancy Protocols – HSRP, VRRP, GLBP
• Network Security Basics – ACLs, uRPF, control-plane policing
• IP Addressing, Subnetting, VLSM, and NAT

OEM / Vendor Platform Experience

• Cisco – ASR/NCS/ISR/Catalyst platforms, IOS/IOS-XR/IOS-XE
• Juniper – MX Series, PTX, EX Series, JUNOS
• Nokia (Alcatel-Lucent) – 7750 SR, 7450 ESS, SR OS
• Huawei – NE/CX Series Routers, S Series Switches, VRP OS
• Arista – 7000 Series Switches, EOS

Certifications (Required / Preferred)

• CCNP (Routing & Switching / Service Provider) – Required
• CCIE (R&S / SP) – Preferred / Added Advantage
• JNCIA / JNCIS / JNCIP (Juniper) – Preferred
• Nokia NRS I / NRS II (Service Routing Certification) – Preferred
• HCIA / HCIP (Huawei Routing & Switching) – Preferred
• Arista ACE (Arista Certified Engineer) – Preferred
• ITIL Foundation Certification – Preferred

Good to Have

• Exposure to Segment Routing (SR-MPLS/SRv6).
• Experience with automation/scripting (Python, Ansible) for network operations.
• Exposure to SDN/SD-WAN and network orchestration tools.
• Experience in a 24x7 Tier-1/Tier-2 Service Provider or ISP NOC environment.