Job description template

Network Engineer

You will design, deploy, and maintain enterprise network infrastructure that is reliable, secure, and scalable. Working independently on well-defined work, you’ll troubleshoot connectivity issues, improve network performance, and help standardize configurations across environments.

Responsibilities

Own day-to-day network availability by monitoring performance and investigating incidents across LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi and routing/switching domains.
Configure and manage network devices (e.g., routers, switches, firewalls) including VLANs, routing, ACLs, NAT, and segmentation.
Support network security posture by implementing and validating firewall rules, access control policies, and security hardening baselines.
Collaborate with engineering and operations to plan and execute network changes, including change reviews and post-change validation.
Document network designs, runbooks, and standard operating procedures for recurring tasks and troubleshooting.
Optimize network performance by analyzing traffic patterns, latency, packet loss, and capacity constraints.
Respond to escalations with structured troubleshooting and clear communication to stakeholders.

Must-have qualifications

Hands-on experience administering enterprise networking hardware and services (routing, switching, and VLANs) in production
Proficiency with troubleshooting network connectivity and performance issues using logs, packet captures, and monitoring/telemetry
Strong understanding of network security fundamentals (ACLs, segmentation, firewall policy, and secure configuration practices)
Experience implementing and validating routing and switching configurations (e.g., static/dynamic routing fundamentals, trunking, STP, basic QoS concepts)
Ability to design and maintain network documentation and runbooks that others can follow
Comfortable working independently on well-defined network tasks while coordinating effectively with teammates

Nice to have

Experience with network automation/scripting (e.g., Python, Ansible, or equivalent) to reduce manual configuration effort
Familiarity with cloud networking components or hybrid connectivity patterns (e.g., VPNs, transit, or private connectivity)
Certifications such as CCNA/CCNP, Network+, or equivalent vendor/network credentials

What success looks like in 12 months

Stabilize network operations and reduce recurring incidents
Improve change safety and operational consistency
Increase network security coverage and alignment to baselines
Strengthen monitoring, visibility, and troubleshooting effectiveness
Deliver network improvements that enhance performance and scalability

Logistics

Full-time (40 hours a week), remote from Latin America.
Working hours overlap with US business hours.

About the company

[About your company: what you build, your stage and team size]

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Interview scorecard

Score every candidate against the same bar

Deliver reliable, secure, and scalable network operations by independently executing well-defined engineering work and improving network stability over time.

Outcomes to measure

What this hire should deliver in the first year. Replace [N] with your own targets.

Stabilize network operations and reduce recurring incidents. Measure: reduce network-related incidents by [X]% while maintaining or improving mean time to resolution (MTTR) by [Y]% within 12 months
Improve change safety and operational consistency. Measure: achieve [N]% successful network change validations (no critical rollback) with documented pre/post checks for [N] key change types
Increase network security coverage and alignment to baselines. Measure: implement/validate security hardening for [N] network segments or device groups and close [X]% of identified policy/config gaps
Strengthen monitoring, visibility, and troubleshooting effectiveness. Measure: reduce time to identify root cause by [Y]% and ensure dashboards/runbooks cover [N] recurring troubleshooting scenarios
Deliver network improvements that enhance performance and scalability. Measure: improve availability to [A]% and reduce latency/packet-loss impact for [N] critical paths by [X]%

Competencies and weights

What to evaluate, how much it counts and what a strong answer looks like.

Network Troubleshooting · 26%
This role must quickly isolate connectivity and performance issues and restore service reliably. Evaluated in Round 1.

Weak: Identifies symptoms but struggles to narrow causes using logs/telemetry; repeats similar investigations without clear hypothesis testing.
Meets the bar: Uses monitoring/logs and packet captures to form and test hypotheses; documents findings and next steps clearly.
Strong: Leads structured investigations, correlates multi-source evidence (logs/traffic/changes), prevents recurrence with targeted fixes and validated outcomes.

Routing Switching Fundamentals · 18%
Correct configuration of routing/switching, segmentation, and related protocols is core to day-to-day work. Evaluated in Round 1.

Weak: Applies configurations inconsistently or misses key dependencies (e.g., VLAN/trunking, STP, route propagation constraints).
Meets the bar: Builds/updates configurations that match requirements and verifies behavior using show/validation checks.
Strong: Designs resilient configurations and anticipates failure modes; validates end-to-end traffic behavior with clear acceptance criteria.

Network Security Implementation · 18%
Security policy enforcement and secure configuration practices are required for enterprise networks. Evaluated in Round 2.

Weak: Understands security concepts but struggles to translate them into correct ACL/firewall/segmentation behavior.
Meets the bar: Implements and validates firewall/ACL/segmentation changes with appropriate testing and rollback plans.
Strong: Integrates least-privilege principles, designs for auditability, and proactively identifies security gaps tied to observed traffic patterns.

Operational Independence · 14%
Mid-level independence is required to complete well-defined network work without excessive oversight. Evaluated in Round 2.

Weak: Waits for guidance for routine tasks; unclear ownership or delayed follow-through on assigned work.
Meets the bar: Scopes well-defined tasks, follows procedures/runbooks, and updates teammates with status and risks as needed.
Strong: Anticipates blockers, pulls the right inputs early, and drives tasks to completion with measurable results and clear documentation.

Change Management Discipline · 12%
Safe execution of network changes prevents outages and builds operational trust. Evaluated in Round 3.

Weak: Imprecise or incomplete change planning; skips verification steps or post-change validation.
Meets the bar: Uses pre-change checks, coordinates execution, and completes post-change validation against expected outcomes.
Strong: Builds robust change plans including rollback criteria, success metrics, and multi-step verification to prevent and contain risk.

Documentation and Runbooks · 12%
Up-to-date documentation enables faster troubleshooting and consistent operations across the team. Evaluated in Round 3.

Weak: Documentation is incomplete, outdated, or hard to follow; runbooks lack key commands/decision points.
Meets the bar: Creates and maintains accurate runbooks/design notes with clear steps, validation checks, and ownership.
Strong: Improves usability of documentation by standardizing templates and capturing lessons learned from incidents and changes.

Interview questions

Questions for every interview round

Each round has an owner, a time box and questions that test the competencies above.

Round 1: Network Foundations & Troubleshooting
Senior Network Engineer · 45 min

Describe a time you diagnosed a production connectivity or performance issue. What evidence did you use (logs/telemetry/packet captures), what hypotheses did you test, and how did you confirm the fix?
Walk through how you would validate VLAN and trunking behavior end-to-end after a change. What checks would you perform on each relevant device or layer?
Give an example of a routing or switching configuration problem you encountered (e.g., route propagation, STP behavior, or incorrect policy). How did you identify the root cause and prevent recurrence?

Round 2: Security & Independent Execution
Security Engineer · 45 min

Explain how you would implement segmentation and firewall/ACL rules for a new network segment. What tests would you run to verify allowed and denied traffic?
Describe a security-related network change you implemented. How did you ensure least-privilege, avoid breaking legitimate traffic, and validate the outcome?
Tell us about a well-defined network task you owned end-to-end. How did you scope it, decide on an approach, and communicate progress and risks?

Round 3: Change Safety & Documentation
Operations Lead · 45 min

Describe how you plan and execute a network change with clear rollback criteria. What pre-checks and post-change validations do you consider non-negotiable?
Share a runbook or troubleshooting process you created or improved. How did you structure it so another engineer could follow it during an incident?
Tell us about a past incident where documentation or change process could have reduced impact. What did you change afterward to prevent recurrence?

Red flags to watch for

Relies on guesswork without using logs/telemetry or validates fixes without measurable checks.
Cannot explain how they ensure safe network changes (verification steps, rollback criteria, acceptance criteria).
Documents inconsistently or produces runbooks that are not actionable during troubleshooting.
Shows limited understanding of security fundamentals when discussing segmentation, ACL/firewall policy behavior, or validation testing.

How much does it cost to hire a Network Engineer in Latin America?

In 2026, a senior Network Engineer in Latin America costs $6,750 to $7,750 a month all-in, versus $14,625 in the US: up to 54% less. Mid-level starts at $4,500.

Country

Mid-level

Senior

Argentina

$4,500

$6,750

Brazil

$5,000

$7,500

Colombia

$4,500

$6,750

Mexico

$5,250

$7,750

United States

$11,875

$14,625

Monthly cost in USD, all-in: the talent's salary plus Teilur's flat 20% fee, from our 2026 rates. The United States row shows what the same role typically costs there.

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Frequently asked questions

What does a Network Engineer do?

Typical responsibilities include: own day-to-day network availability by monitoring performance and investigating incidents across LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi and routing/switching domains; configure and manage network devices (e.g., routers, switches, firewalls) including VLANs, routing, ACLs, NAT, and segmentation; support network security posture by implementing and validating firewall rules, access control policies, and security hardening baselines. The full list is in the template above.

How much does it cost to hire a Network Engineer in Latin America?

In 2026, a senior Network Engineer in Latin America costs $6,750 to $7,750 a month all-in, versus $14,625 in the US: up to 54% less. Mid-level starts at $4,500.

Can I customize this Network Engineer job description?

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Network Engineer Job Description Template