Cisco SD-Wan Engineer

Cisco SD-WAN Engineers are IT network development and support professionals, often helping with leading the design of SD-WAN networks, implementing them, and providing support for internal teams, clients and customers.

As such, Cisco SD-Wan Engineers play a key role in establishing an organization’s IT setup, using expert knowledge of the Cisco SD-WAN system to provide security features and traffic control for an organization’s Wide Area Network. While organizations may hire such a professional in-house, freelancing has become a popular choice for Cisco SD-Wan engineers, allowing them to lend pinpoint expertise to help clients optimize their Wide Area Networks.

Job Description

The role and responsibilities of a Cisco SD-WAN Engineer may not be the same for every team, though they do tend to revolve around some key duties. Often working amongst teams of other system engineers, they primarily help to develop SD-WAN configurations and offer advice and expertise on the building and implementation of the system in the organization or to the organization’s client.

Cisco SD-WAN’s use is growing as an effective way to intelligently and securely direct traffic across Wide Area Networks. Becoming much more popular on the enterprise level, it represents a growing opportunity for network engineers.

Cisco SD-WAN Engineers have the following essential responsibilities

Design and implement SD-WAN network configurations
Articulating on the benefits of Cisco SD-WAN to clients
Providing technical demonstrations and use cases of the system
Ensuring network infrastructure is working at optimal levels
Leading and building relationships with engineering teams
Acting as technical lead in cooperation with presales and project management teams

Educational Requirements and Career Outlook

A degree in Computer Science and similar disciplines is mandatory for the majority of Cisco SD-WAN Engineer roles.

Most organizations require a Cisco SD-WAN Engineer to have past experience of working with data centers, networking and WAN technologies, and Cloud services. Experience in working with routing protocols and TCP/IP protocols is a standard requirement, too As many professionals in this role work directly with clients, customer-facing experience is also a significant plus.

The need for Network Engineers (including Cisco-SD-Wan Engineers) is expected to increase by 6% between 2016 and 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor.

Certifications

Besides the relevant education and experience, most organizations also require that a Cisco SD-WAN Engineer comes with standard network industry certifications. However, gaining more certifications over time can greatly increase your ability to find work in a host of different environments. Here are some certifications worth considering:

Salary

According to Payscale, full-time Network Engineers (including Cisco SD-WAN Engineers) make an average total of $71,399 a year. Depending on your experience and certifications, it is possible to make even more in freelancing, as more and more enterprise-level organizations are seeking new WAN networks and will often outsource it instead of hiring an engineer in-house to help design and implement it.

How FieldEngineer.com Can Help

Cisco SD-WAN Engineers succeed when they can find precisely those in need of their specialized knowledge. At FieldEnginer.com, that’s what we a provide, a platform for over 40k freelancers to connect with opportunities in a market that prioritizes getting the most out of your expertise and skills.

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