Cape Town: L2 Proactive Network Service Engineer posted by Mindmatch Consulting

Summary and purpose of the Job:

We are seeking a highly skilled Proactive Network Engineer to perform the maintenance, patching, and optimisation of our customers network infrastructure.

This role is focused on ensuring the security, stability, and efficiency of our customer networks by proactively managing firmware updates, security patches, and configuration changes across a variety of network devices, including Cisco, FortiGate, and other key vendors.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in network automation to streamline updates and mass configuration rollouts while minimizing downtime and operational risks.

Responsibilities (but not limited to):

The extent of your duties will include but are not limited to:

• Regularly review and apply firmware updates and security patches for Cisco, FortiGate, Juniper and other network devices.
• Conduct thorough testing and validation before deploying updates to production environments.
• Develop and implement scripts and automation workflows for mass firmware updates and configuration changes.
• Utilise tools such as Ansible & Python to streamline network maintenance tasks.

The successful candidate will have:

Certifications:

• CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) (Recommended or aiming to achieve)
• Strong preference for CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional)

Technical Skills:

• Experience maintaining and patching Cisco, FortiGate, Juniper and other network devices
• Strong knowledge of network security, firewall policies, and access control
• Familiarity with mass configuration management and best practices for rolling out network changes
• Understanding of routing and switching protocols (BGP, OSPF, VLANs, STP, etc.)

Soft Skills:

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Ability to work proactively and independently with minimal supervision
• Excellent documentation and communication skills

Preferred:

• Experience working in enterprise or MSP environments
• Familiarity with cloud networking (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Exposure to SIEM tools, network monitoring, and logging solutions

• Proficiency in network automation using Ansible, Python, or other scripting tools.