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Night Shift Network Engineer Jobs in San Rafael, CA

... deployment networking issues, reducing escalations to Deployment Engineering and keeping ... shift handoff so context never drops. * Real-time troubleshooting of issues mid-install: ISP ...

Network Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$100 - $170/hr

... deployment networking issues, reducing escalations to Deployment Engineering and keeping ... shift handoff so context never drops. * Real-time troubleshooting of issues mid-install: ISP ...

Collaborate with network architects and engineering teams on network design and implementation. * Participate in scheduled night/weekend maintenance windows and production migrations. * Document ...

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Night Shift Network Engineer information

See San Rafael, CA salary details

$34.6K

$121.5K

$176.1K

How much do night shift network engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for night shift network engineer in San Rafael, CA is $121,547.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $99,200.00 and $148,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a night shift network engineer do?

A Night Shift Network Engineer is responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and troubleshooting an organization’s network infrastructure during nighttime hours. They ensure that all systems remain operational, address any issues or outages that arise, and often perform scheduled maintenance when user activity is low. This role may also involve responding to security incidents, updating firmware, and collaborating with daytime teams to ensure seamless network performance. Working the night shift helps minimize disruption to daytime business operations.

What does a night shift network engineer do?

As a night shift network engineer, you perform your duties on the evening shift and monitor the performance of a company’s network to ensure availability of IT resources. In this role, you plan, implement, and support the network infrastructure, maintain documentation, and identify opportunities to improve stability and reliability. You handle upgrades to network firmware and complete routine maintenance on switches, routers, and related equipment. Your responsibilities also include troubleshooting network resources, analyzing performance, and implementing security solutions to guard against intrusion. Additionally, you routinely collaborate with technical team members in system administration and IT support and report on issues and projects to senior management.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a night shift network engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Night Shift Network Engineer, you need a solid understanding of networking protocols, troubleshooting, and network security, often backed by a degree in computer science or a related field and relevant certifications like CCNA or CompTIA Network+. Familiarity with network monitoring tools (such as SolarWinds or Nagios), firewalls, and ticketing systems is typically required. Strong problem-solving skills, effective communication, and the ability to work independently under pressure are critical soft skills. These competencies ensure network reliability, efficient issue resolution, and minimal downtime during off-hours when support resources may be limited.

What are some common challenges faced by night shift network engineers, and how can they be managed effectively?

Night Shift Network Engineers often face the challenge of working independently with limited immediate support, as most stakeholders and team members may not be available during late hours. They must be prepared to troubleshoot and resolve urgent network issues swiftly, sometimes under tight time constraints, to minimize downtime. To manage these challenges, it's important to develop strong documentation skills, maintain clear handover notes for day teams, and utilize monitoring tools to proactively identify and address potential problems. Building a routine and prioritizing self-care can also help maintain focus and well-being during overnight shifts.

What is the difference between Night Shift Network Engineer vs Network Administrator?

AspectNight Shift Network EngineerNetwork Administrator
CertificationsCCNA, CompTIA Network+CCNA, CompTIA Network+
Work EnvironmentNight shifts, on-call support, troubleshooting network issuesDay shifts, routine network management and maintenance
Employer & IndustryIT firms, data centers, telecom companiesCorporate offices, educational institutions, government agencies
Primary FocusMonitoring, troubleshooting, and maintaining network infrastructure during night hoursManaging and configuring network systems, ensuring network security

The main difference between a Night Shift Network Engineer and a Network Administrator lies in their work hours and focus. Night Shift Network Engineers primarily work during night hours, handling troubleshooting and network support, while Network Administrators typically work during regular hours managing network systems. Both roles require similar certifications and are essential in maintaining network operations, but their schedules and specific responsibilities differ.

What cities near San Rafael, CA are hiring for Night Shift Network Engineer jobs?

Cities near San Rafael, CA with the most Night Shift Network Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Night Shift Network Engineer job openings in San Rafael, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 66% Full Time, 28% Part Time, 3% Contract, and 2% Nights. Highlights an 99% Physical, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $121,547 per year, or $58.4 per hour.

Network Engineer

Meter, Inc

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 8 days ago


Job description

Meter's ambition is to evolve internet infrastructure into a utility by building a product that caters to stakeholders from Customers, ISPs, Partners, and Technicians. Every utility starts with an installation - and that's where you come in. The Technician Operations team is the live backbone of Meter's deployment engine, ensuring that we deliver critical infrastructure on time, to standard, and with zero friction for our partners and customers.
A Network is most vulnerable during deployment - and each stakeholder plays an essential role to ensure it's built as performance and resilient critical infrastructure. Meter dedicates a team to each stakeholder, ensuring our product and work empowers stakeholders to do operationally and technically sound work at scale. In this role, you'll own the live technical execution of enterprise network deployments. By partnering directly with field technicians in real time, troubleshooting issues as they happen, and building the systems and tools that make installations effortless, you'll ensure every customer network is successfully brought online.
What success looks like
Your fingerprints will be on every installation, shaping the technician experience and driving the scale Meter needs to reach utility status. In your first six months, you will:
  • Become the technical escalation point: Independently resolve the majority of live deployment networking issues, reducing escalations to Deployment Engineering and keeping installations on schedule.
  • Keep projects on track: Deliver >90% of installations on time by partnering with field technicians, unblocking issues in real time, and ensuring customer networks are successfully brought online.
  • Raise quality standards: Reduce rework rates <5% and ensure compliance with installation artifacts and validation checks.
  • Accelerate installs: Partner with Operations Engineering to roll out automated technician tooling that cuts install validation times by 30%.
What your day-to-day will look like
From day one, you'll own the live technical execution of enterprise network deployments. A typical week might include:
  • Acting as the technical lead on the live install thread: Running pre-install prep calls with technicians, deciding what gets resolved on the call vs. escalated to Wired or Wireless Deployment Engineering, and owning the shift handoff so context never drops.
  • Real-time troubleshooting of issues mid-install: ISP circuit turn-up, native VLAN mismatches, trunk vs. access port config on AP uplinks, DHCP reservations and inter-VLAN routing, IPSec tunnel failures, HA firewall failover, DAC cable issues on backup uplinks, and more.
  • Owning sign-off as the final technical gate before a customer network goes live: Clearing the Dashboard Issues page, confirming all hardware (firewalls, switches, APs, PDUs) is online and on the current NOS, validating ISP quality and HA failover, executing VLAN auto-config, and signing off in the deployment thread. No network activates without you.
  • Keeping installs moving: Documenting progress across active deployments, pushing updates to technical project managers and stakeholders, and proactively surfacing blockers before they slip.
  • Closing the feedback loop: Identifying recurring failure patterns and partnering with Operations Engineering to ship new playbooks, tooling, or product fixes.
  • Building for the field: Translating technician insights into hardware and software improvements so our product is purpose-built for how installs actually happen.
Where this role can take you
In year two, you could design automated validation tools that remove manual install steps, lead the rollout of new technician onboarding programs that cut ramp time in half, and shape product improvements that fundamentally change how installations are done in the industry. Through all this, you'll continue to provide a great experience with Meter for our Installation Partner Technicians. Your work will directly define how Meter scales installation quality and speed worldwide.
Who you are
You thrive on solving complex networking problems in real time and making order out of chaos. You have strong Layer 2 and Layer 3 troubleshooting skills and excel in fast-moving environments where every deployment is different. You enjoy owning technical decisions during live deployments and keeping installations moving when unexpected challenges arise. You're comfortable partnering directly with field technicians, translating technical concepts into clear guidance, and making sound decisions when the path forward isn't immediately obvious. Beyond troubleshooting, you think systematically, identifying recurring operational pain points and building scalable processes, tooling, and documentation that make future deployments more reliable.
Who you are
You thrive on solving complex networking problems in real time and making order out of chaos. You have strong Layer 2 and Layer 3 troubleshooting skills and excel in fast-moving environments where every deployment is different. You're comfortable partnering directly with field technicians, translating technical concepts into clear guidance, and making sound decisions when the path forward isn't immediately obvious. Beyond troubleshooting, you think systematically, identifying recurring operational pain points and building scalable processes, tooling, and documentation that make future deployments more reliable.
We are building towards 24/7 coverage. To that end, we are hiring across four shifts: Monday-Friday, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday-Thursday, and Thursday-Monday. In your application, please note your preferences across these shifts.
Compensation
  • The estimated base salary for this role is between $100,000 - $170,000.
  • Additionally, this role is eligible to participate in Meter's equity plan.

By applying to this job you acknowledge that you've read and understood Meter's Job Applicant Privacy Notice.