Data Center Networking/Red hat at Gruve Technology About the Role We are seeking a highly experienced Data Center Network Architect to lead the design, architecture, and delivery of large-scale, customer-facing data center infrastructures. This role demands deep technical expertise across Cisco, Juniper, and Arista ecosystems, a strong understanding of Red Hat virtualization and container networking, and a proven record of designing secure, resilient, and scalable data center solutions. The ideal candidate will serve as the technical authority and customer design lead, collaborating with Firewall Architects, enterprise clients, internal engineering teams, and OEM partners to develop next-generation network architectures aligned with business, security, and operational goals. Key Responsibilities Architect and design multi-tenant data center network solutions using Cisco ACI, NX-OS, Nexus Dashboard, CloudVision, and Apstra. Lead end-to-end customer engagements, from design workshops and architecture validation to deployment and operations handoff. Work closely with Firewall Architects to design integrated network and security architectures, ensuring segmentation, compliance, and zero-trust enforcement. Integrate data center networks with Red Hat OpenShift, RHEL virtualization, VMware ESXi, and hybrid cloud platforms. Define and implement routing, switching, and overlay architectures including BGP, OSPF, VXLAN-EVPN, STP, and Layer-3 segmentation. Design and manage firewall and segmentation architectures in collaboration with Firewall Architects, leveraging Cisco FTD/ASA, Palo Alto, or Fortinet platforms to ensure compliance, resilience, and a robust zero-trust posture. Collaborate with customer IT and operations teams on: Data center migration, interconnect, and cloud integration strategies Configuration baselines, change control, and version management Network automation, monitoring, and capacity planning Lead incident diagnostics and root-cause analysis for complex multi-vendor environments. Develop HLD/LLD documentation, compliance artifacts, and design validation reports. Mentor and guide engineering teams on advanced data center design and best practices. Introduce and standardize automation and infrastructure-as-code practices (Ansible, Terraform, Gluware, Python). Coordinate with OEM solution architects for joint design validation and advanced feature enablement (e.g., HyperFabric, ACI Anywhere). Basic Qualifications 10+ years of progressive experience in data center network design, architecture, and operations. Hands-on expertise with Cisco, Juniper, and Arista routing and switching platforms in production environments. Strong experience designing and deploying Cisco ACI, VXLAN-EVPN fabrics, and high-availability architectures. Proficiency with Red Hat OpenShift, RHEL networking, and virtualized compute integration (ESXi). In-depth understanding of network security, segmentation, and compliance frameworks. Strong knowledge of BGP, OSPF, MPLS, and data center interconnect (DCI) technologies. Proven ability to manage customer-facing architecture discussions and executive-level design reviews. Familiarity with automation and orchestration using Ansible, Terraform, or equivalent tools. Excellent documentation, communication, and presentation skills. Preferred Qualifications Certifications such as CCNP/CCIE Data Center, JNCIP-DC, or Arista ACE/Cloud Engineer. Experience with Cisco HyperFabric, ACI Anywhere, or hybrid data center automation frameworks. Working knowledge of Linux networking, container CNIs, and cloud interconnects (AWS, Azure, GCP). Exposure to zero-trust and segmentation frameworks for enterprise or service-provider data centers.