L2/L3 Network Technical Support Engineer – Broadband

The L2/L3 Network Technical Support Engineer for Broadband provides post-launch technical support for a broadband service provider’s network and services. This contract role focuses on diagnosing and resolving complex production incidents across broadband access, IP, transport, and service layers, coordinating with internal teams and vendors to improve stability.

Responsibilities

• Deliver L2/L3 technical support for production broadband network issues following service launch.
• Troubleshoot complex incidents affecting customer connectivity, service degradation, packet loss, latency, routing, reachability, and overall network performance.
• Assess symptoms across the network stack to determine whether issues originate in access, aggregation, transport, IP, routing, service, or customer-premises environments.
• Perform fault isolation to pinpoint the specific contributing network element, interface, route, configuration, protocol, or service component.
• Troubleshoot Layer 2 technologies including VLANs, QinQ, Ethernet, ARP, MAC learning, STP, and related access and aggregation technologies.
• Troubleshoot Layer 3 technologies including IPv4/IPv6, BGP, OSPF/IS-IS, routing policies, VRFs, DHCP, DNS, NAT, and IP connectivity.
• Review packet captures, network logs, alarms, counters, routing tables, interface statistics, and telemetry to identify root causes.
• Conduct hands-on troubleshooting using CLI and network management or monitoring tools.
• Validate suspected issues by testing network paths, interfaces, routes, configurations, and service dependencies.
• Support troubleshooting of broadband subscriber connectivity and service issues, including DHCP and IP assignment, authentication, routing, DNS, CGNAT, and Internet reachability as applicable.
• Correlate customer-impacting symptoms with network-level events and infrastructure faults.
• Own or contribute to resolution of complex L2/L3 production incidents and drive incidents toward resolution rather than only escalating.
• Partner with NOC teams to investigate incidents that cannot be resolved through standard operational procedures.
• Select the correct escalation path and engage network engineering, architecture, vendor, or other technical teams when needed.
• Perform root-cause analysis for recurring or high-impact network problems.
• Develop and document troubleshooting procedures, known-error articles, and operational runbooks.
• Identify opportunities to improve network monitoring, alarms, automation, and operational processes based on recurring issues.
• Support post-incident reviews and provide technical recommendations to prevent recurrence.
• Collaborate with network engineering on complex production issues and configuration changes.
• Validate network changes and troubleshoot issues following software upgrades, configuration changes, migrations, or new service launches.
• Support troubleshooting across routers, switches, broadband access equipment, aggregation devices, and IP infrastructure.
• Work with equipment and technology vendors to investigate hardware, software, protocol, and interoperability issues.
• Provide technical input into network design improvements based on production support experience.
• Participate in planned maintenance and change activities when required.
• Support troubleshooting during critical incidents and service-impacting events.

Requirements

• Strong hands-on experience troubleshooting Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks in a production environment.
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP, Ethernet, VLANs, ARP, DHCP, DNS, IPv4/IPv6, routing, and IP connectivity.
• Experience troubleshooting routing protocols including BGP and OSPF/IS-IS.
• Experience with VRFs, routing policies, NAT/CGNAT, QoS, and IP service delivery.
• Ability to use network device CLI to investigate configuration and operational state.
• Strong understanding of packet flows and the ability to trace issues hop-by-hop through the network.
• Experience using packet capture and analysis tools such as Wireshark and tcpdump.
• Experience interpreting network monitoring data, logs, alarms, interface counters, routing tables, and telemetry.
• Ability to distinguish between customer/device issues, access-network issues, transport issues, IP/routing issues, and application/service issues.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to move from symptoms to root cause.

Technologies

• CLI, Wireshark, tcpdump, Python, Ansible
• TCP/IP, Ethernet, VLANs, QinQ, ARP, MAC learning, STP
• IPv4, IPv6, BGP, OSPF/IS-IS, VRFs
• DHCP, DNS, NAT, CGNAT, QoS
• GPON/XGS-PON, OLT/ONT, BNG/BRAS, RADIUS/AAA
• MPLS/Segment Routing, MPLS, Segment Routing
• Network monitoring and service assurance platforms

Broadband Experience

• Experience in a broadband service provider environment is strongly preferred.
• Preferred exposure includes Fiber/FTTH broadband, PON technologies such as GPON/XGS-PON, OLT/ONT, broadband access and aggregation networks, BNG/BRAS, DHCP and IP address management, RADIUS/AAA, CGNAT, broadband subscriber management, VLAN/QinQ, MPLS/Segment Routing where applicable, IPv6 and dual-stack broadband, DNS, and network monitoring or service assurance platforms.

Desired Experience

• 5+ years of experience in network engineering, network operations, or technical support.
• Experience supporting large-scale production IP and broadband networks.
• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment and supporting critical incidents.
• Experience troubleshooting multi-vendor network environments.
• Experience with network automation or scripting using Python, Ansible, or similar technologies is a plus.
• Experience with network telemetry, observability, and service assurance platforms is a plus.
• Relevant networking certifications such as CCNA/CCNP, JNCIA/JNCIP, or equivalent practical experience are desirable.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate can take an ambiguous production issue, identify affected customers and services, determine where traffic enters the network, establish whether the problem is isolated to access, aggregation, transport, routing, or IP services, and identify which network devices, interfaces, routes, and network behaviors are abnormal to support root-cause determination.

Key Attributes

• Troubleshooting mindset with a systematic approach.
• Hands-on, technically curious, and able to work from incomplete information.
• Comfortable using CLI, packet captures, logs, and monitoring tools.
• Persistent in reaching root cause and able to communicate complex technical findings clearly.
• Comfortable working under pressure during customer-impacting incidents.
• Strong collaboration skills across NOC, engineering, architecture, vendors, and operations.

Location, Type, Pay, and Work Authorization

• Location: Redmond, WA (onsite, 5 days per week)
• Type: W-2 contract
• Pay: USD $70-$75 per hour
• Work authorization: U.S. Citizen or Green Card