Software Engineer II, Network Operations

Network Engineer II
Marqeta is hiring a Network Engineer II to help manage and support our physical network infrastructure. In this role you'll own projects tied to the team's quarterly goals, and you'll be expected to figure out solutions to ambiguous, open-ended problems on your own — while still working closely with your team and partners across the company.
This is a Flexible First role, meaning it can be done remotely anywhere in the U.S., as long as you're based in one of our National locations (you can check the list here).
What you'll be doing
You'll deploy, configure, and keep Palo Alto firewalls running smoothly across our colocation and data center environments, and you'll be hands-on with the hardware side too — routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers — across our colo facilities. On the corporate side, you'll handle our Meraki-based office networking.
A good chunk of the job is VPN work: building and maintaining secure remote access and site-to-site connections. You'll also manage and troubleshoot our Layer 2/3 data center network, and you'll need to be comfortable tuning routing protocols like BGP, OSPF, and MPLS to keep enterprise connectivity solid.
We work directly with ISPs like Equinix and card networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and Pulse, so part of this role involves maintaining those relationships, troubleshooting issues as they come up, and making sure we're hitting our SLAs. There's also a physical component — rack and stack work, cable management, and general upkeep in our colo spaces.
Beyond that, you'll monitor network performance, set up QoS policies so traffic flows the way it should, and dig into complex issues that span both physical and virtual environments. Documentation matters here too: we need accurate diagrams, configs, and runbooks that the rest of the team can actually use. You'll rotate into our 24/7 on-call schedule, help us stay on top of network security best practices, and pitch in on infrastructure projects and deployments with other teams as needed.
Who we're looking for
You've got a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Network Engineering, or something related — or you've picked up equivalent experience on the job. Either way, you're bringing 3-5 years of real, hands-on work with enterprise network infrastructure.
You know Cisco switches well (a CCNP is a nice bonus but not required), and you've configured and troubleshot Palo Alto firewalls enough times that it's second nature. Meraki's cloud-managed tools aren't new to you, and you're comfortable across VPN technologies — IPsec, SSL VPN, site-to-site setups, all of it.
You've worked with network hardware in colo and data center settings before, and routing protocols like BGP, OSPF, and MPLS aren't a mystery to you. The fundamentals are solid too — TCP/IP, VLANs, spanning tree, routing and switching — and you genuinely understand how OSI layers 1-4 play out in real troubleshooting, not just in theory.
You've used network monitoring tools in a professional setting, and if you can script a bit in Python or Bash to automate things, even better (not required, but it helps). You're detail-oriented, a strong problem-solver, and you communicate well — which matters a lot when you're working independently in a remote setup. Occasional travel to colo sites should also be fine with you.
Our process (typically)
You apply, then have a video call with a recruiter, followed by a technical interview focused on real networking scenarios. From there it's a virtual "onsite" — three rounds, 45-60 minutes each — and if all goes well, an offer.
Compensation and benefits
Marqeta is Flex First, which means you choose where you work best — home or office — and we adjust pay based on location to stay competitive. There are three U.S. pay tiers: National (most of the country), Premium (higher cost-of-living cities like LA or Seattle), and Premium Plus (the most expensive markets, like the SF Bay Area and NYC). You can check this page or talk to a recruiter to see which tier applies to you.
Pay is based on a mix of factors — skills, experience, location — and for this role, the National range is $113,800–$142,300.
We also do annual bonuses tied to both your performance and the company's. On top of salary, you'll get a choice of health insurance plans, flexible time off (take what you need, genuinely), a retirement program with company contributions, equity since we're publicly traded (plus an employee stock purchase program), family-forming and fertility support with up to 20 weeks of parental leave, free therapy sessions, financial and career coaching, legal advice, and a monthly stipend for remote work.