Roles · Network Engineer · Senior
9 core skills, 53 in total. Expectations per skill, and what changes at the next level.
This page lists what a Senior } 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.
Expertly applies load balancing for network engineering to design complex systems. Optimizes existing solutions and prevents architectural mistakes. Conducts code reviews and trains colleagues on best practices.
Designs complex network architectures for datacenter and campus. Implements network automation with Ansible/NAPALM/Netmiko. Optimizes network infrastructure performance.
Expertly applies VPN and network isolation for network engineering to design complex systems. Optimizes existing solutions and prevents architectural mistakes. Conducts code reviews and trains colleagues on best practices.
Expertly applies network security for network engineering to design complex systems. Optimizes existing solutions and prevents architectural mistakes. Conducts code reviews and trains colleagues on best practices.
Designs BGP architecture for a multi-homed datacenter with redundancy. Implements traffic engineering with BGP communities and MED attributes. Configures OSPF for a scalable network with area design.
Designs highly available DNS infrastructure with anycast. Implements DNSSEC for zones. Configures DNS-based load balancing and health checking.
Designs zero-trust network architecture with firewalls. Implements automated firewall rule management. Conducts firewall audits and eliminates redundant/conflicting rules.
Designs complete network automation workflow: infrastructure as code for networking, automated testing, CI/CD for network changes. Uses Nornir for scalable automation.
Optimizes Linux network stack for high-performance: SO_REUSEPORT, TCP fast open, QUIC, kernel bypass (DPDK). Diagnoses complex network bottlenecks. Tunes kernel network parameters.
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 Senior to Lead. The biggest jumps first.
} in the open competency matrix: 53 skills across 5 levels. The matrix is free for individuals and stays free.