Remote Optical Network Engineer Jobs in Detroit, MI

About Ascent

Ascent Global Logistics, headquartered in Belleville, Michigan, is a leading global provider of expedited, time-critical logistics solutions and other direct transportation services. The company connects customers to its extensive carrier network, internal ground fleet and airline via its proprietary, digital PEAK freight marketplace, which provides robust carrier capacity and transparent pricing, backed by 24/7/365 logistics experts. Ascent’s offerings include air charter and ground expedited solutions as well as truckload, less-than-truckload, global forwarding, brokerage, and managed transportation services. The experienced Ascent team solves customers’ most challenging logistics needs by providing industry-leading service and top-tier satisfaction.

Our Guiding Principles

At the core of Ascent\'s culture is a strong commitment to excellence, driven by the passion and dedication of every team member. We\'re equally dedicated to going above and beyond for our customers, ensuring this commitment extends beyond our team and brings exceptional value to those we serve. We aim for perfect execution in everything we do and ‘play hard’ by creating an environment where tasks are performed with a can-do attitude from start to finish. We ‘play smart’ by delivering on our commitments in an honest, fair, and ethical manner. We treat every person with whom we interface with the utmost dignity and respect. We understand that our teammates are our most valuable assets, so we ‘play together’ by making every effort to provide a professional and enjoyable experience, enabling careers to flourish and personal growth to be achieved.

What You’ll Do

The Network Engineer is part of a Network and Voice team responsible for implementing, maintaining, monitoring, and improving Ascent’s enterprise network infrastructure across wired, wireless, WAN, remote-access, and related network services to support secure, stable, and highly available business operations. The position reports to the Network and Voice Manager.

The Network Engineer supports branch, Azure cloud, and remote-user connectivity, including routing, switching, firewalls, wireless, DNS/DHCP/IP management, SD-WAN, VPN/ZTNA, and network observability platforms.

Candidates should be able to manage multiple assignments, participate in infrastructure improvement projects, communicate clearly with technical and business stakeholders, and apply strong troubleshooting and problem-resolution skills. The role also provides support to the Voice Engineer on phone systems when needed.

• Implement, support, and optimize company LAN, WAN, wireless, remote-access, and Cato SD-WAN environments, including switches, firewalls, Meraki wireless access points, load balancers, and related network services.
• Administer and troubleshoot Cato SD-WAN connectivity, VPN, and ZTNA access for site-to-site and remote-user connectivity, including Azure-connected workloads where applicable.
• Monitor network health, availability, traffic patterns, and user experience; analyze incidents and recurring issues to identify root cause and prevent systemic problems.
• Support Meraki wireless operations and lifecycle activities, including troubleshooting site Wi-Fi issues, validating performance, and assisting with access point refresh and replacement planning.
• Plan and execute infrastructure upgrades, maintenance, and change activities, including firmware updates, hardware refreshes, configuration changes, validation testing, and rollback preparation.
• Maintain accurate network documentation, diagrams, standards, runbooks, and site packs so environments can be supported efficiently by engineers and on-call staff.
• Serve as a technical resource for escalated network issues and collaborate with internal teams, carriers, hardware/software vendors, and security stakeholders to resolve complex problems.
• Support network security and policy enforcement by helping manage secure access, logging, posture-aware controls, and least-privilege connectivity patterns for infrastructure and application access.
• Provide timely status updates, maintain assignment records, follow established standards and procedures, and support after-hours maintenance, occasional on-call coverage, or incident response when needed.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 2+ years of experience supporting enterprise networking, including routing, switching, wireless, firewalls, VLANs, VPN, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, monitoring tools, and network topologies.
• Hands-on experience with Cisco networking platforms and Meraki wireless environments.
• Experience with Fortinet firewalls and load-balancing technologies preferred.
• Experience with Cato SD-WAN and modern remote-access architectures preferred.
• Experience working with voice or contact center platforms such as Five9 or RingCentral preferred.
• Strong understanding of WAN technologies, advanced network principles, and internet architecture.
• CCNA or CompTIA Network+ preferred

• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-resolution skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical teams.
• Self-motivated, disciplined, and able to work independently while contributing positively to team outcomes.
• Strong customer service mindset and professionalism under pressure.
• Attention to detail, documentation discipline, and commitment to follow-up and continuous improvement.
• Ability to leverage AI tools to support troubleshooting, root cause analysis, documentation, and infrastructure planning.

Ascent’s Competitive Benefits

• 401(k) and employer matching

• Life Insurance

• Health, Dental, Vision Insurance

• Short- & Long-Term Disability

• Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Employee Assistance Program

• Paid Parental Leave

• Employee Wellness Program

• Paid Holidays

• Employee Recognition Programs

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Health Savings Account (HSA)

• Overtime, Differential & Bonus Pay

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