Network Design Engineer

Network Design Engineer Overview

This role sits within Google’s Network Engineering organization, part of the Technical Infrastructure team that keeps Google’s products and services running. The team is responsible for operating a global network at very large scale, keeping it reliable, efficient, and ready for continued growth. In this position, you would help shape the design of Google’s production network worldwide, with a particular focus on major capacity expansions, migrations, and the introduction of new technologies as the company transitions to Alphanet. The work centers on building an optical, edge, core, and campus network that can support increasing customer demand and machine learning demand while meeting reliability and policy expectations.

The posting indicates that this is a mid-level role, suited to someone who can drive progress, solve problems, and mentor less experienced colleagues while bringing strong applied expertise in the relevant domain. The role is based in Dublin, Ireland or London, UK, and applicants can state a preferred working location from those two options.

What you will do

• Use Google’s network architecture standards to plan and design global infrastructure that meets capacity requirements and service-level objectives while keeping capital and operating costs in balance.
• Bring newly introduced products and solutions into network planning and design work, and make sure the associated tools and business processes are ready to support those new introductions.
• Improve the full lifecycle of the planning and design process, including how information is collected, how designs are produced, how they are checked, how they are published, and how they are handed over to the next teams or stages.
• Help define, maintain, and evolve the policies and operating practices used in network planning and design, including architecture and topology standards, hardware lifecycle practices, and capacity or utilization targets, with the goal of improving performance, increasing reliability, and lowering risk.
• Develop, promote, and expand automation tools and scripts for network planning and design, and contribute to the broader automation roadmap so that repetitive work can be automated, cycle times can be shortened, and output quality and consistency can improve.
• Support the creation of a network that is built efficiently and on schedule while still meeting reliability and policy requirements.
• Contribute to best practices, processes, and tooling for network planning and design, including software automation efforts that improve speed and quality.

What the role involves in practice

The job is centered on designing and planning one of the world’s largest production networks. You would be involved in large-scale network changes such as capacity upgrades, migrations, and the rollout of new technologies across global infrastructure. The posting emphasizes that the work is highly dynamic and requires innovation as the network evolves. You would also help ensure that Google’s network operations remain safe and efficient by supporting reliable network performance and helping address connectivity-related issues when needed.

Google describes the broader infrastructure organization as the engineering group behind the systems users do not see directly, including data centers and the next generation of Google platforms. The team presents itself as engineers building for engineers, with a culture of taking systems apart and rebuilding them to improve them.

Minimum qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 3 years of experience with network routing protocols, network design, troubleshooting, and working with network equipment providers.
• At least 3 years of experience in Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), or network systems design operations.
• Experience programming in one or more languages such as C++, Go, or Python.
• Experience writing scripts or code in languages such as Go or Python, as well as SQL scripts.
• Experience with content delivery networks (CDNs), IP transit and peering, dark fiber, colocation, optical transport, and cloud technologies.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience planning and designing networks that span multiple sites or multiple products.
• Experience in telecommunications at carrier-class scale, including DWDM optical networks and IP networks, together with automation scripting in Go or Python and SQL.
• Experience delivering large capacity expansion or migration programs in telecom, hyperscale, data center, or colocation networking environments.
• Experience defining system or process requirements and building, integrating, or delivering layer 1, layer 2, or layer 3 network systems.
• Experience with forecasting and planning, design tools, workflow automation tools, process improvement, and automation scripts.

Compensation and benefits

The posting lists Ireland pay at €100,000 to €103,000 annually, plus a 15% bonus target, equity, and benefits. Google also directs applicants to its benefits information for more detail. The page includes standard Google statements about equity grants being discretionary and governed by Alphabet’s stock plan and grant agreement.

Additional information

Google states that it is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and says it is committed to building a workforce that reflects the users it serves and to maintaining a culture of belonging. The posting says applicants who need an accommodation can use Google’s accommodations form. It also notes that Google does not accept agency resumes and will not pay fees for unsolicited resumes.

The posting also says that English proficiency is required for all roles unless the job ad specifically says otherwise.

Information submitted through a Google Careers profile or job application is covered by Google’s Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy.

Degree Requirement: Bachelor’s

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