Hardware Network Engineer
Microsoft Corporation · Redmond, WA
$119,800–$234,700from the description
Jul 21, 2026
Redmond, WA
Jul 23, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A network engineering role focused on designing, deploying, and maintaining lab network infrastructure for hardware development and validation work at a Redmond facility. Day-to-day responsibilities span L2/L3 topology design, VLAN segmentation, routing, PXE/DHCP/DNS, security policy, and hands-on troubleshooting of connectivity issues across prototype and test hardware. The role suits engineers with a solid background in data center networking who are comfortable bridging infrastructure operations with fast-moving hardware engineering programs.
Senior level · 5+ years · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
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How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
What the occupation pays Median $106,737 (middle half $85,847–$139,716). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The role is classified as 15-1244 (Network and Computer Systems Administrators) because its primary day-to-day work is designing, deploying, and operating lab network infrastructure — VLAN segmentation, routing, switching, cabling, monitoring, and troubleshooting — rather than writing and shipping software. However, the automation/scripting expectation (Ansible, Python, PowerShell, Bash) and the infrastructure-as-code flavor of some responsibilities make 15-1252 a plausible runner-up.
The degree requirement is marked None because the JD explicitly accepts 'equivalent experience' as an alternative to either the Master's or Bachelor's paths.
The base pay range of $119,800–$234,700/year is the standard U.S. range; a higher range of $160,200–$261,000/year applies specifically to the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metro areas.
All preferred qualifications (TCP/IP, Arista/Cisco certifications, Ansible/scripting, Linux/Windows, Azure/AWS/GCP, NGINX/HAProxy, IDS/IPS) appear under the 'Preferred Qualifications' heading and are marked accordingly.
L2/L3 networking, VLAN, routing, switching, DHCP, DNS, IP address management, PXE, firewall, and Azure DevOps are treated as required based on their explicit presence in the Responsibilities section with firm ownership language ('Own the design', 'Develop and implement', 'Contribute to').
The title carries no explicit seniority level ('Network Engineer'); the title states no level. The 5+ years minimum experience gate and scope of ownership support a Senior classification.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): IP address management.
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