Junior Network Engineer

Junior Network Engineer – FTTH & ISP Infrastructure (US BEAD) Location: United States (Remote with travel to project sites as required) Employment Type: Full-Time Position Summary: The Junior Network Engineer will be responsible for the planning, implementation, operation, and optimization of fiber broadband networks supporting large-scale FTTH deployments. The role involves working with routing, switching, transport, optical access, IP addressing, and network automation while collaborating with engineering, construction, operations, and vendor teams. This position is ideal for someone who enjoys building networks from the ground up and has experience working within Internet Service Providers or telecommunications environments. Key Responsibilities Design and implement ISP network architecture for FTTH deployments. Develop IP addressing plans and routing architecture. Configure and maintain carrier-grade routers and switches. Deploy and support XGS-PON infrastructure. Configure and troubleshoot BGP, OSPF, MPLS (preferred), VLANs, VRFs, and Layer 2/Layer 3 services. Design redundancy and high-availability solutions. Work with transport providers for Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity. Support aggregation, distribution, and core network design. Develop implementation standards and engineering documentation. Coordinate with field deployment teams during network builds. Perform capacity planning and network performance analysis. Support network monitoring platforms and operational tools. Participate in maintenance windows and major incident response. Evaluate new technologies and recommend infrastructure improvements. Assist with vendor selection and technical evaluations. Contribute to BEAD compliance documentation and engineering standards. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Network Engineering, Telecommunications, or related field (or equivalent experience). 2-3 years of ISP or telecommunications network engineering experience. Experience with FTTH deployments. Strong understanding of IPv4 and IPv6. Experience with BGP and OSPF. Advanced routing and switching knowledge. Experience designing highly available networks. Knowledge of VLANs, QinQ, DHCP, DNS, CGNAT, and QoS. Experience with optical networking and fiber infrastructure. Familiarity with carrier Ethernet services. Excellent troubleshooting skills. Ability to travel to deployment sites when required. Preferred Qualifications Experience with Calix access platforms. Experience with Juniper, Extreme Networks, Cisco, or Nokia networking equipment. Familiarity with XGS-PON architecture. Experience with network automation (Python, Ansible, APIs). Knowledge of MPLS and EVPN-VXLAN. Experience with monitoring platforms such as LibreNMS, Grafana, Zabbix, or similar. Understanding of BEAD-funded broadband projects. Knowledge of GIS, network documentation, and fiber management systems. Technical Skills BGP OSPF MPLS (preferred) IPv4 / IPv6 Carrier Ethernet XGS-PON FTTH Routing & Switching QoS CGNAT DHCP DNS VLANs VRFs Network Monitoring Python (preferred)