Senior Network Architect

Our mission is to provide real-time on-orbit connectivity for critical missions, enabling a new era of data-driven intelligence and innovation. With 33 satellites launched to date, Kepler operates the first commercial optical data relay constellation, enabling real-time, continuous space communications while supporting advanced on-orbit compute and hosted payload capabilities. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Work with network architects to design, build and operate Kepler’s mission-critical networks

• Contribute to the team to design, build. and operate the corporate network infrastructure, including LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi, security appliances, and hybrid cloud connectivity

• Manage network security and segmentation, ensuring infrastructure adheres to security best practices and company policies

• Design and maintain hybrid cloud networking architectures, integrating on-prem environments with AWS services

• Develop and maintain network automation tools, leveraging Python, Ansible, and infrastructure-as-code approaches to improve reliability and operational efficiency

• Collaborate closely with software, FPGA, and mission operations teams to support network infrastructure for satellite operations and ground systems

• Provide operational support for corporate and service provider network infrastructure, including participation in on-call rotations

• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability tools to proactively detect and resolve network issues

• Maintain accurate network documentation, diagrams, and operational runbooks

• Participate in change management processes, including planning, implementation, and post-change validation

• Support incident response and root cause analysis for network-related outages or performance issues

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Strong foundation in routing and switching concepts (ISIS, MPLS, BGP, GRE, VLAN) at an equivalent level to CCNP

• Hands-on experience deploying and supporting large WAN environments

• Hands-on experience designing and operating hybrid cloud networking, including AWS VPCs, TGW routing, VPN connectivity, and secure integration with on-prem networks

• Hands-on experience with software defined network concepts, including:

• • Network Function Virtualization
  • Infrastructure as Code
  • CI/CD
  • Python scripting
  • Jinja templating
  • Terraform
  • JSON/YAML configuration formats
  • Ansible playbooks and automation workflows
  • Git version control

  • Basic Linux networking knowledge including interface configuration, routing tables, firewall rules, and troubleshooting connectivity

  • Hands-on experience implementing and managing IPsec VPNs for site-to-site and remote connectivity

  • Hands-on experience implementing network monitoring and observability platforms, such as SNMP-based monitoring, NetFlow/sFlow, or telemetry pipelines

  • Hands-on experience managing network infrastructure changes, including structured change management practices

  • Strong systems-level thinking, with the ability to design integrated network solutions supporting complex distributed systems

  • Strong problem solving and troubleshooting skills across multiple layers of the network stack

  • Strong documentation practices, including network diagrams, configuration standards, and operational procedures

  • Ability to work independently and remotely, while maintaining strong collaboration with distributed engineering teams

Bonus Points:

Expert-level routing and switching experience at an equivalent level to CCIE

Advanced Linux networking expertise, including kernel networking concepts, traffic shaping, and advanced routing

Hands-on experience with network simulation or emulation platforms, such as EVE-NG, GNS3, or container-based network labs

Hands-on experience designing complex network architectures, including multi-site or globally distributed networks

Hands-on experience supporting small to mid-scale data center environments, including switching fabrics and server connectivity

Hands-on experience working with network controllers or intent-based networking platforms

Hands-on experience implementing and supporting Fortinet solutions, including SD-WAN configuration, firewall policies, and firmware upgrades

Hands-on experience supporting satellite communications or space-ground network infrastructure