At Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) we believe that creativity inspires technology, and technology inspires creativity. The Platform and Infrastructure group within the Technology department is responsible for the design, implementation, and support of the critical infrastructure behind the content our studio creates. We are looking for a Senior Network Engineer to join the team in these efforts.

This role is part of the Network Services team at WDAS. The team is responsible for ongoing installation, monitoring, support and maintenance of data networks inside and outside of the Animation Studio, including our Burbank and Vancouver studio locations.. The ideal candidate will enjoy the diversity and challenges of working at various levels of the tech stack. The engineer filling this role will engage with team members and stakeholders on a variety of initiatives depending on the Studio’s needs.  You will be expected to demonstrate self-direction when needed, and also be comfortable supporting your team by bringing fresh insight for shared problem solving. Also critical to success in this role is the ability to build trusted relationships with technical and non-technical users to understand their challenges, and deliver appropriate solutions.

Our studio thrives from a wide variety of technical backgrounds and experiences, therefore we encourage applicants to apply even if they do not match all requirements listed below. Bring your unique talents and ideas to our team, and join Disney’s creative legacy.

Job Description

The Senior Network Engineer will work with Production and Technology teams to provide highly available and scalable core infrastructure services that are hosted within our on-premises data center and/or cloud providers. This includes in-depth system analysis, design, troubleshooting, and integration of new products and developing tools and strategies to improve existing systems. The Senior Network Engineer is responsible for ongoing monitoring, support, and maintenance of networks inside and outside of the Animation Studio.  The position will be expected to provide technical support and ensure 24x7 operational support.  A successful candidate has knowledge and skills necessary to select, connect, configure and troubleshoot various networking devices including but not limited to Layer 3 Switches, Routers, Network Security Devices,  Load Balancers, IP Routing,  Wireless Controllers and Access Points, Firewalls, and Point-To-Point Connections.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with stakeholders and technical teams to deploy, manage, and optimize systems and services on our on-premises network infrastructure and/or cloud environments. 

• Installation and configuration of networking technology from multiple manufacturers including Cisco (IOS), Cisco Nexus (NXOS), Arista, Aruba, F5, and Palo Alto Networks.

• Configure networking for systems across multiple operating systems including Linux, MacOS, Windows, Virtual Machines/containers, mobile devices, and scale-out storage clusters. 

• Act as a collaborator with the larger Technology team on issues of network security and performance

• Actively participate in team discussions and work with leadership to continually improve procedures and policies across the studio

• Provide guidance to neighboring teams technical challenges from design to implementation

• Conduct high-level root-cause analysis for service interruption and establish preventive measures

• Publish and maintain detailed documentation in regards to our processes and workflows

• Manage product support & maintenance contracts, engage closely with vendors, and work with leadership on yearly budget for networking needs

Requirements

• Degree in Computer Science, Compute Engineering, Information Technology or other related technical field, or equivalent work experience

• In-depth knowledge with designing and building network platforms and systems to support large-scale high performance compute and storage systems

• Expert-level knowledge of:

  • Layer 1 technologies such as structured cabling systems, CWDM and DWDM Optical networking. 

  • Layer 2 protocols such as Ethernet (1, 10, 40, 50, 100 and 400 Gbps), Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation Control Protocol (MLAG & LACP), Virtual Port-Channel (VPC), VLAN Tagging (802.1Q), LLDP (802.1AB), Network Access Control and Dynamic VLAN Assignment (via 802.1X), VPN, and Wireless (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax).

  • Layer 3 routing protocols such as EIGRP, BGP, and OSPF.

  • Layer 4+ network services and protocols such as PXE, NAT, DHCP, DNS, NFS, NTP, SNMP, LDAP, HTTP, SQL and RTP.

• Strong knowledge of Linux, MacOS, or other Unix-based Operating Systems.

• Strong knowledge of access control systems and protocols including TACACS and RADIUS

• Strong knowledge of network overlay technologies including VXLAN and BGP EVPN

• Expertise with network analysis and performance tools such as Snoop, TCPDump, Wireshark, TTCP, IPerf, IXIA, SNMP, OpenView, Nagios, Netflow and Zabbix.

• Experience with installation and configuration of industry leading inter-networking technologies such as Cisco, Palo Alto, F5, Arista, Infoblox, Aruba, etc.

• Python, Csh, Bash, or Go scripting skills.

• Strong troubleshooting and problem solving skills

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

• Able to multitask in a highly complex, diverse, production environment.

• Highly self-directed, being able to both manage and (re)prioritize the multiple concurrent and competing challenges, issues, ambiguities, and contradictions that, inevitably, occur when supporting production.

Preferred

• Experience with HTML

• Proficient in software development methodologies and processes - including agile methods, continuous integration and version control

• Experience with configuration management systems such as Chef or Ansible.

• Cisco CCNA/CCNP, Palo Alto PCNSA and/or F5 Load Balancer certifications

• Prior experience working in a Media, Entertainment, Games, or Animation production environment

The hiring range for this position in California is $126,400.00-$169,500.00 per year based on a 40 hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.