Network Analyst or Senior Network Analyst

About ECMWFAbout ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an international organisation supported by 34 States. ECMWF’s principal objectives are the development of numerical methods for medium-range, monthly and seasonal weather forecasting; the preparation, on a regular basis, of these weather forecasts for distribution to the meteorological services of the Member States; scientific and technical research directed to the improvement of these forecasts; and the collection and storage of appropriate meteorological data.

ECMWF’s computing facility includes supercomputers, networks, archiving and data handling systems. ECMWF is connected to the Internet at 15 Gbps and also to an international MPLS-based meteorological telecommunication system linking over 45 countries.

The Networks and Computer Security Section (NSS) forms part of ECMWF’s Computing Department and is responsible for all voice and data networks, security infrastructure, product dissemination, and many supporting services. ECMWF’s network environment includes Arista, Brocade and Cisco platforms, with data centre networks based on the latest 40 Gbps technology. Our LAN and WAN systems use OSPF, MP-BGP, Multicast and IPv6 in production. Further information is available at: http://www.ecmwf.int/en/computing/our-facilities/networks

Summary of the role

The position is in the Network Services team within the Networks and Computer Security Section. The selected candidate will take part in the provision of data centre and office networks, network services, and security appliances and services. He or she will also take part in evaluating and implementing new networking and security technologies, standards and techniques in order to enhance the computing infrastructure, as well as participating in a variety of other networking-related projects.

The duties will change and evolve over time in response to the needs of the computing environment at ECMWF, in particular with the high-performance computing facility and the dissemination of weather products to ECMWF’s partners around the world.

Main duties and key responsibilities

The ideal candidate will have the expertise and in-depth knowledge to plan, design, deploy, operate, optimise and support the network infrastructure as well as adopt and develop standards and new techniques for computer networks such as automation and virtualisation. The role will involve working with both internal and external stakeholders to introduce these into operations.

Key responsibilities:

• Configuring and operating the network infrastructure used to support ECMWF’s High-Performance Computing FacilityConfiguring and operating network equipment: switches, routers, firewalls, ADC, wireless
• Working towards the simplification and automation of networks to achieve quicker and saferdeployments, changes and upgrades
• Configuring and operating network services: DNS, DHCP, SMTP Relay, RADIUS, SIP, VoIP, NTP, Web Proxy running on a variety of platforms (proprietary, Linux, Windows)
• Isolating and repairing network faults in a timely and efficient manner in coordination with internal stakeholders and 3rd parties (providers, suppliers and support companies)
• Recommending and implementing changes and improvements to all services
• Evaluating and installing new network and telephony hardware and software·  Creating and maintaining up-to-date low and high-level documentation and diagrams
• Monitoring of the availability, performance and reliability of the network infrastructure and services
• Providing day-to-day support of the network environment including, on a rota basis, 24-hour on-call support5. Personal attributes
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills·  Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach·  Self-motivated, and able to work with minimal supervision·  Dedication and enthusiasm to work in a team·  Ability to work efficiently and complete diverse tasks in a timely manner6

Qualifications and experience required

Education

• A university education to degree standard or equivalent industry experience.

Experience

• Experience of architectural roles within major organisations with a complex network infrastructure supporting high performance computing.
• Experience of configuring network hardware including switches, routers and firewalls.
• Experience of working with infrastructure automation and virtualisation technologies.
• Experience of network monitoring tools and techniques.Experience of troubleshooting a network environment.Experience of scripting in support of automation, troubleshooting and monitoring.
• Experience of configuring and operating services such as DNS, DHCP, NTP, and RADIUS.
• Experience of working with Arista, Brocade, Fortinet, f5, or Cisco platforms would be an advantage.

Knowledge and skills (including language)

• Knowledge of network technologies including several of the following in practice: LACP, VPC, MST, MPLS, L2VPN & L3VPN, VXLAN, MP-BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, WAN Acceleration, Unified Communications.
• Understanding of the requirements for a secure network environment.
• Understanding of tools to support monitoring and incident investigation.
• Comfortable working within both Linux and Windows environments.
• Good knowledge of a modern scripting language such as Python.
• Candidates must be able to work effectively in English - interviews will be conducted in English.A good knowledge of one of the Centre’s other working languages (French or German) is not required but would be an advantage

Other information

Grade remuneration

This position is graded A2/A3 in line with the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations and the minimum annual basic salary for this post will be £56,487 net of tax. Recruitment at the higher grade may be considered on the basis of the level of skills and experience. The position is assigned to the employment category STF-C as defined in the Staff Regulations.
Full details of salary scales and allowances are available on the ECMWF website at www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs, including the Centre’s Staff Regulations regarding the terms and conditions of employment.

Starting date: As soon as possible.

Length of contract: Four years, with the possibility of a further contract.

Location: The position will be based in the Reading area, in Berkshire, United Kingdom.

How to apply

Please apply by press the apply button in this advertisment. ECMWF has an Equal Opportunities Policy and applications from all suitably qualified candidates are welcome.

Staff are usually recruited from among nationals of the following Member States and Co-operating States:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Staff from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases