Network Support Services

Job: Network Support Services Role: Sr. Tech Specialist / Network Architect Division: Technology Infrastructure Services Division (TISD) Location: Remote (Sacramento, CA based) Contract Duration: 2 years (July 2026 - June 2028) Work Mode: Fully remote - 5:00am to 2:00pm PST, Monday through Friday Submission: Maximum 1 candidate per vendor Interview: In-person / teams - depends on client hiring manager Key Tech: Cisco ISE, DNAC, FTD, SDN, SDA, BGP, OSPF, F5, Infoblox, SolarWinds Certifications: CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, CCDE, PCNSE, NSE9, JNCDA, JNCDS-DC Education: Bachelor's degree & copy to be shared with submission Summary: The consultant will support CalPERS' Investment Office (INVO) network solutions, including: Migrating existing on-prem network solutions to cloud-based solutions Supporting Aladdin Blackrock cloud solution (current INVO platform) Responding to and resolving reported incidents Participating in planning/design of future INVO cloud solutions Providing network support for INVO partner products including Charles River, Bloomberg, and State Street Bank Providing Level III support for enterprise data networks Planning and designing SDN, SD-WAN, NFV, and newer security technologies Job Description Scope of Work: The consultant is expected to have in-depth technical knowledge of network routing and switching along with the associated technologies of Cisco Identify Services Engine, Cisco DNAC, and Cisco FTDs. The consultant must have strong background in supporting and implementing complex and dynamic network environments like that of CalPERS. The consultant will be heavily involved in the support of CalPERS' Investment Office (INVO) network solutions, and any/all design, development, deployment, maintenance, and operations of these technologies. The CalPERS' Investment Office requires additional resources for their existing and newly proposed solutions, all requiring advanced network expertise and resources to consistency support the maintenance/support and critical incident response during extended business hours. The consultant will undertake duties and responsibilities consistent with a senior technology specialist in the support of CalPERS' existing network technologies and the architecture/design/support of existing and new INVO cloud solutions. Responsibilities: Network Design/Support for CalPERS' Investment Office on-prem to cloud solutions and other enterprise network engineering, maintenance, operations/support and knowledge transfer. The Consultant will be responsible for the Investments Office's initiatives/support and engineering/implementing sustainable modern networking technologies throughout the enterprise. The consultant will support CalPERS' Investment Office (INVO) current Aladdin Blackrock cloud solution, responding/resolving to any reported incidents, participate in the planning/design of future INVO cloud solutions and monitor for any performance issues. Consultant will also provide network support for any/all other INVO partner products such as Charles River, Bloomberg, and State Street Bank. The consultant will be charged that monitoring and alerting be automated across core connectivity infrastructure with failover as a first line of defense and ensuring successful automatic transition to alternate connectivity paths in the event of a failure. The consultant will provide formal documentation in the event of a critical failure and prioritize where Blackrock Aladdin is prioritized relative to other applications in relation to a critical failure. The consultant will also be responsible for level III support in managing the enterprise data networks, and also involved in the planning and design of SDN, SD-WAN, NFV, and other newer and more secure technologies to implement at CalPERS. Other responsibilities include (on-prem/cloud) maintenance and operations of firewalls, F5 load balancing, infoblox IP management, Identity Services Engine for port security, VPN and Site-to-Site VPN tunnels, Cacti and SolarWinds alert/monitoring, Access Control Server (Device authentication), SecureCRT (CLI Solution), Wireless networking, Cyclades mgmt, Gigamon switch monitoring, as well as proficiency in all aspects of switching and routing. Knowledge Transfer (KT) On an ongoing basis and through the end of the contract, all work products and deliverables (project status reports, business process, triage incident reports with resolution, meeting minutes, test cases and test outcomes) must be discussed with the contract manager to ensure that all of the information is documented and placed in a file share. The contract manager will schedule knowledge transfer sessions at regular intervals to ensure that all work production details have been documented and the knowledge has been transferred to the state personnel. Knowledge transfer to take place via regular scheduled meetings which include, review, cross training, and job shadowing. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field. Must provide copy of Degree. Five (5) plus years' experience in designing and implementing network architectures for enterprise-scale environments. Five (5) plus years' of proven experience in Software Defined Networking (SDN), Software Defined Access (SDA), and Cisco Identity Engine (ISE). (The candidate must provide proven experience by detailing specific examples from past roles that demonstrate ability to perform the required tasks and responsibilities of the network architect position. This could include descriptions of projects worked on, challenges overcome, and achievements and accomplished.) Proficiency in network protocols and technologies such as TCP/IP, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, MPLS, VPN, Firewalls, Load Balancers, Routers/Switches Valid certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, CCDE, PCNSE, NSE9, JNCDA, JNCDS-DC. Must provide copies of certifications.