Senior Network Virtualization Engineer Jobs in Chicago, IL

Job Title: Senior Network Administrator

Industry: Nonprofit

Location (City, State): Chicago, IL

Assignment Type: Long-Term Contract (12–24 Months)

Pay: $45-55/hr W2

Work Schedule: Primarily remote for now, with onsite availability required for data center upgrades, infrastructure projects, and other business needs. The role may transition to a hybrid schedule in 2027.

Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, dental, vision, and 401(k).

About The Company:

Our client is a well-established organization with a highly available enterprise technology environment and a significant on-premise infrastructure footprint. The internal IT team supports business-critical systems across networking, virtualization, servers, storage, security, and disaster recovery.

This position will join a collaborative infrastructure team and work closely with Information Security, Desktop Support, and other technology groups on both day-to-day operations and modernization initiatives.

Job Description:

We are seeking a Senior Network Administrator / Infrastructure Engineer to provide hands-on support and technical ownership within a Cisco-focused enterprise environment. This role requires deep experience with Cisco routing, switching, and Firepower firewalls, along with strong VMware administration skills.

The environment is primarily on-premise, making this an ideal opportunity for an infrastructure professional who enjoys working across networking, virtualization, servers, storage, disaster recovery, and security rather than focusing exclusively on cloud technologies.

The successful candidate will step into a senior-level role supporting existing infrastructure while also contributing to upcoming VMware upgrades, Cisco refresh initiatives, disaster recovery planning, and broader infrastructure modernization efforts.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administer and support enterprise Cisco routing, switching, LAN/WAN, wireless, and VPN environments.
• Configure and maintain Cisco Firepower firewalls, access control rules, NAT policies, VPN connectivity, and network security configurations.
• Troubleshoot complex network performance and connectivity issues and perform detailed root cause analysis.
• Maintain VMware virtual infrastructure, including hosts, virtual machines, vCenter, resource allocation, and system health.
• Participate in VMware upgrade, patching, and lifecycle initiatives across enterprise environments.
• Assist with evaluating future virtualization platforms and potential alternatives to existing technologies.
• Support Windows Server environments and related enterprise infrastructure services.
• Maintain and troubleshoot enterprise storage solutions, including SAN environments.
• Lead or participate in disaster recovery planning, testing, documentation, and validation exercises.
• Partner with Information Security teams to address vulnerabilities, remediation activities, and infrastructure security concerns.
• Serve as a senior escalation resource for complex networking and infrastructure issues.
• Support Cisco hardware refreshes, switch replacements, server upgrades, and other lifecycle management initiatives.
• Contribute to backup, recovery, and business continuity processes.
• Participate in infrastructure modernization efforts involving server, storage, networking, virtualization, and security technologies.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, architecture diagrams, procedures, and recovery plans.
• Provide hands-on support during scheduled data center maintenance, upgrades, and infrastructure changes.

Qualifications:

• 6+ years of hands-on enterprise Cisco networking experience.
• Extensive experience administering Cisco routers and switches.
• Strong hands-on experience with Cisco Firepower firewalls.
• Advanced knowledge of routing, switching, VLANs, VPNs, ACLs, NAT, and network security concepts.
• Recent experience administering VMware environments in an enterprise setting.
• Experience supporting VMware vCenter and ESXi environments, including upgrades, patching, or maintenance.
• Strong Windows Server administration experience.
• Previous involvement with disaster recovery planning, testing, and business continuity initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex network and infrastructure issues.
• Experience supporting primarily on-premise enterprise infrastructure.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of high-priority infrastructure issues.
• Strong documentation, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with HP or HPE SAN/storage technologies.
• Knowledge of Windows Server 2016, 2019, and 2022.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft 365.
• Exposure to Entra ID and Azure environments.
• Experience with enterprise patch management solutions.
• CCNA or CCNP certification.
• VMware certification.
• Experience supporting infrastructure within regulated or compliance-driven organizations.
• Background working within professional services, IT consulting, or technology service provider environments.
• Experience supporting large on-premise server and data center environments.

Additional Details:

• This is a long-term contract expected to run approximately 12–24 months, with potential for extension based on business needs.
• The position is currently primarily remote but requires candidates to be located in the Chicago area.
• Candidates must be available to come onsite for data center work, upgrades, maintenance, and other infrastructure initiatives as needed.
• A potential hybrid schedule of approximately two onsite days per week may be introduced in 2027.
• A one-month knowledge transfer period is planned from approximately September 7 through October 7.
• Cisco routing, switching, and Firepower experience are the highest priorities for this position.
• The technology environment is approximately 80% on-premise, so candidates should have significant traditional infrastructure experience.
• VMware is the second major technical focus, with upgrade and modernization work planned.
• Interviews are expected to begin quickly, with multiple technical and leadership discussions.
• Standard background verification is required prior to employment.

Perks:

• Long-term contract opportunity with potential extension.
• Opportunity to take ownership of a mature Cisco enterprise environment.
• Hands-on involvement with Cisco Firepower, routing, switching, VMware, Windows Server, storage, and disaster recovery.
• Participate in major VMware upgrades and virtualization strategy initiatives.
• Exposure to infrastructure modernization and data center lifecycle projects.
• Work across networking, virtualization, server, security, and storage technologies.
• Join a collaborative internal IT organization where senior infrastructure expertise will have immediate impact.
• Primarily remote schedule while remaining involved in meaningful onsite infrastructure projects.