About Charles River Associates
Charles River Associates is a leading global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and business management expertise to major law firms, corporations and governments around the world. CRA advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings, and guides corporations through critical business strategy and performance-related issues. Since 1965, clients have engaged CRA for its combination of industry experience and rigorous, fact-based analysis that provide clients with clear, implementable solutions to complex business concerns.
Position Overview
The Information Technology (ITS) team at CRA is currently a Global team of 40 professionals dedicated to enhancing, maintaining, and developing the firm's technology infrastructure and security. The team is comprised of four functions: Service Delivery & Telecom, Enterprise Application Solutions, Infrastructure, Networking and Cloud Services and Security. Information Technology staff are based in the Boston, Chicago, London, Munich, New York, Oakland, and Washington, DC offices.
We are seeking an experienced Network Engineer to join our small global networking team. The successful candidate will bring in-depth, hands-on expertise in planning, designing, implementing, documenting, securing, and troubleshooting enterprise network systems across campus, data center, wireless, WAN, and cloud environments. This position supports day-to-day operations and maintenance, advances security initiatives, and collaborates with IT colleagues and business stakeholders on a global scale. Typical responsibilities include:
- Design, install, configure, test, document, and maintain secure network infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments;
- Identify, diagnose, and resolve complex network, wireless, firewall, DNS, and connectivity issues;
- Produce and maintain Microsoft Visio network diagrams, implementation plans, configuration standards, and as-built documentation;
- Administer and use Nexus Dashboard, Catalyst Center, Infoblox, and other management platforms for visibility, configuration, assurance, and lifecycle activities;
- Maintain accurate configuration records, inventories, circuit information, support documentation, and vendor contacts;
- Plan and execute upgrades while minimizing service disruption and maintaining tested rollback procedures;
- Develop, implement, and maintain policies, procedures, and training plans for network resource administration, appropriate use, and disaster recovery;
- Ensure network hardware, software, firmware, and configurations are current, supportable, and secure;
- Monitor and test network performance and provide meaningful performance statistics, reports, and recommendations;
- Coordinate with internal teams and external vendors to deliver projects and resolve incidents;
- Coordinate across other teams within the IT department and across the firm; some travel to other CRA offices will be expected;
- Some out-of-hours and weekend work will be required for scheduled upgrades and in response to unexpected outages.
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree (Master's desirable) in Computer Science, Information Systems or related discipline;
- 4-6 years relevant work experience, preferably in a professional services environment;
- Current Cisco certification at the CCNA level or a demonstrated track record of maintaining Cisco certifications at or above the CCNA level is required; CCNP preferred, relevant Microsoft Azure and AWS certifications highly desired;
- Demonstrated knowledge of secure LAN/WAN, campus, data center, wireless, and cloud networking operations;
- Hands-on experience designing, implementing, and supporting networking in both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS);
- Hands-on experience with Cisco Nexus data center switching, Cisco Catalyst switching, Cisco Catalyst wireless, and Cisco Firepower firewalls;
- Experience with network management and automation platforms, including Cisco Nexus Dashboard, Cisco Catalyst Center, and Infoblox;
- Demonstrated skill designing and documenting logical and physical networks using Microsoft Visio;
- Strong practical knowledge of Cisco enterprise networking platforms across LAN/WAN, data center, wireless, firewall, and most importantly, cloud-connected environments;
- Proficiency with network protocols and technologies, including Spanning Tree, DNS, DHCP, BGP, OSPF, HSRP, LACP, SNMP, NTP, IPsec VPN, and QoS;
- Experience creating, reviewing, implementing, and troubleshooting firewall policies, preferably using Cisco Firepower;
- Ability to create and maintain accurate network topology, rack, connectivity, and as-built documentation using Microsoft Visio;
- Ability to propose and clearly communicate changes to existing network topology that improve availability, security, performance, and operational supportability;
- Familiarity with ITIL change management practices, implementation planning, rollback planning, and pre-change risk assessment;
- Strong troubleshooting skills across Layers 1 through 7, including packet capture and network performance analysis;
- Must be comfortable in customer-facing scenarios and effectively collaborating in cross-functional technical teams;
- Self-motivated, with a strong ability to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment;
- Ability to travel to other offices and execute project plans with minimal oversight.
Additional Preferred Skills
- Demonstrated strong knowledge with Microsoft Azure networking, including virtual networks, routing, network security controls, and hybrid connectivity;
- Demonstrated strong knowledge with Amazon Web Services networking, including VPCs, routing, security controls, and hybrid connectivity;
- Cisco Nexus data center switches and Nexus Dashboard;
- Cisco Catalyst switches, Catalyst wireless infrastructure, and Catalyst Center;
- Cisco Firepower firewalls; Palo Alto firewall experience is also valued;
- Infoblox DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (IPAM);
- Cisco ISE and 802.1X network access control;
- Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN;
- Kemp LoadMaster load balancers;
- Cisco Umbrella;
- PKI, certificate lifecycle management, domain registration, DNS, and 802.1X fundamentals.
To Apply
To be considered for this position, we require:
- Resume – please include current address, personal email and telephone number;
- Work Product (optional, submitted in cover letter field) – submit a sample set of diagrams generated with Visio.
Career Growth and Benefits
- CRA’s robust skills development programs, encompassing both formal and informal programs, encourage you to thrive as an individual and team member. Training includes technical training, presentation skills, internal seminars, and career mentoring and performance coaching from an assigned senior colleague. Additional leadership and collaboration opportunities exist through internal firm development activities.
- We offer a comprehensive total rewards program including a superior benefits package, wellness programming to support physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being, and in-house immigration support for foreign nationals and international business travelers.
Work Location Flexibility
CRA creates a work environment that enables our colleagues to benefit from being together in the office to best deliver on our promise of career growth, mentorship and inclusivity. At the same time, we recognize that individuals realize a range of benefits when working from home periodically. We currently expect that individuals spend at least 3 to 4 days a week working in the office (which may include traveling to another CRA office or to client meetings), with specific days determined in coordination with your practice or team.
Responsible AI Use in Recruiting
We believe that recruiting is fundamentally a human process, and we are committed to a hiring process that is fair, transparent, and people-focused. While AI and other technology-enabled tools help our team operate more efficiently, we strive to provide every candidate with a personalized, thoughtful, and high-touch experience. As CRA invests significant human effort to find qualified members for our teams, we expect candidates to invest corresponding human effort to learn about CRA, prepare thoughtful application materials, and engage with our interviewers. Read more about appropriate hiring manager, recruiting team, and candidate AI at CRA on our website.
Our Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity
Charles River Associates is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
Salary and other compensation
A good-faith estimate of the annual base salary range for this position is $130,000-$152,500. Starting pay within this range may vary based on factors such as education level, experience, skills, geographic location, market conditions, and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position is eligible for additional bonus incentive compensation. CRA offers a comprehensive benefits package, subject to eligibility requirements, which includes: medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) retirement plan with employer match; life and disability insurance; paid time off (vacation, sick leave, holidays); paid parental leave; wellness programs and employee assistance resources; and commuter benefits.