Roles · Network Engineer · Junior
9 core skills, 53 in total. Expectations per skill, and what changes at the next level.
This page lists what a Junior } is expected to know and do, skill by skill. Core skills are the ones a manager and peers assess in a review cycle; the rest count only in self-assessment. Main areas: Cloud & Infrastructure, Security, Networking & Telecom.
Grouped by area. The label on the right is the expected depth: Awareness, Working, Advanced or Expert.
Knows basic load balancing concepts for network engineering and can apply them in typical tasks. Uses standard tools and follows established team practices. Understands when and why this approach is used.
Knows the OSI/TCP-IP model and main protocols at each layer. Understands IP addressing, subnetting (CIDR), VLAN technologies. Can configure a basic network.
Knows basic VPN and network isolation concepts for network engineering and can apply them in typical tasks. Uses standard tools and follows established team practices. Understands when and why this approach is used.
Knows basic network security concepts for network engineering and can apply them in typical tasks. Uses standard tools and follows established team practices. Understands when and why this approach is used.
Knows basic BGP and OSPF routing principles, understands the difference between IGP and EGP protocols. Can read routing tables, traceroute output and understand next-hop decisions.
Understands DNS hierarchy: root servers, TLD, authoritative, recursive resolvers. Knows main record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV). Can perform dig/nslookup queries.
Configures basic firewall rules with iptables/nftables and understands stateful vs stateless packet filtering. Creates simple ACLs for network segments.
Understands why network automation is needed and knows the main tools (Ansible, NAPALM, Netmiko). Can write a simple Ansible playbook for a network device.
Deeply understands the TCP/IP stack: ethernet framing, IP routing, TCP three-way handshake, flow control, congestion control. Can read packet captures in Wireshark.
Not assessed by the team, but part of the self-assessment and the development plan.
53 skills get a higher expectation or become core when moving from Junior to Mid-level. The biggest jumps first.
} in the open competency matrix: 53 skills across 5 levels. The matrix is free for individuals and stays free.