Senior Network Engineer - Wireless - Sharjah

Position Title Senior Network Engineer - Wireless

Department Information Technology – Infrastructure & Network Services

Reporting To Network Infrastructure Manager / IT Infrastructure Lead

Experience Required 5+ years

Location Sharjah

• Role Summary
  
  

The Senior Wireless Network Engineer is responsible for designing, implementing, managing, optimizing, and supporting enterprise wireless infrastructure across branches, clinics, offices, healthcare, and high-density environments. The role focuses on delivering highly available, secure, and high-performance Wi-Fi networks through RF planning, wireless design, predictive surveys, site surveys, controller administration, and advanced troubleshooting.

The ideal candidate should possess extensive hands-on experience with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers across multiple generations, Cisco Catalyst Center, Cisco Prime Infrastructure, enterprise Access Points, RF optimization, wireless security, guest access, large-scale wireless deployments and Network Access Control (NAC).

• Key Responsibilities 2.1 Network Infrastructure Management
• Design, implement, configure, and maintain enterprise LAN, WAN, WLAN, NAC
• Configure and support Cisco Catalyst
• Perform wireless network capacity planning and optimization.
• Support enterprise switching infrastructure.
• Maintain network documentation, topology diagrams, and configuration standards.
• Participate in datacenter network implementations and migrations.
• Key Responsibilities 2.1 Enterprise Wireless Infrastructure
• Design and implement enterprise Wi-Fi solutions for indoor and outdoor environments.
• Deploy, configure, and maintain Cisco wireless infrastructure.
• Configure and manage enterprise Wireless LAN Controllers (WLC).
• Install, configure, and troubleshoot Cisco Access Points.
• Plan wireless expansion projects and technology refresh initiatives.
• Support campus, branches including Hospitals, Health Centers, and office wireless deployments.
• Maintain wireless documentation, RF maps, topology diagrams, and standards.
  
  

2.2 Cisco Wireless Controllers

• Configure, administer, upgrade, and troubleshoot Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers including:
• Cisco AireOS Controllers
• 2504, 3504, 5508, 5520, 8540
• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series
• C9800-L, C9800-40, C9800-80
• Embedded Wireless Controller (EWC)
• Cisco Mobility Express
• Configure HA SSO deployments.
• Configure Mobility Groups and mobility roaming.
• Perform controller software upgrades and migrations.
• Support migration from AireOS to Catalyst 9800 platforms.
  
  

2.3 RF Engineering & Wireless Design

• Perform Predictive RF Design using Ekahau AI Pro.
• Conduct Passive Site Surveys.
• Conduct Active Site Surveys.
• Perform Validation Surveys.
• Conduct Wireless Health Assessments.
• Analyze RF coverage and capacity.
• Optimize channel planning and power levels.
• Design high-density wireless environments.
• Perform spectrum analysis and interference mitigation.
• Design 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E) deployments.
• Optimize wireless performance based on client density and application requirements.
  
  

2.4 Wireless Planning & Optimization

• RF planning for new facilities.
• Wireless capacity planning.
• Roaming optimization.
• Client load balancing.
• Coverage optimization.
• High Availability wireless design.
• Wireless performance tuning.
• Wireless QoS implementation.
• Multicast optimization.
• Fast Secure Roaming (802.11r).
• Band Steering.
• Client Steering.
• CleanAir optimization.
  
  

2.5 Wireless Security

• Configure WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise.
• Configure 802.1X authentication.
• Integrate Cisco ISE for secure network access.
• Configure RADIUS and TACACS+ authentication.
• Deploy Guest Wireless Portal solutions.
• Configure BYOD onboarding.
• Implement MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB).
• Wireless segmentation using VLANs.
• Secure IoT wireless deployments.
• Wireless threat detection and rogue AP mitigation.
• Deploy and administer Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager.
• Configure 802.1X authentication for wired and wireless networks.
• Implement certificate-based authentication (EAP-TLS).
• Configure RADIUS and TACACS+ authentication services.
• Design and implement role-based access control (RBAC).
• Configure Dynamic VLAN Assignment and Downloadable ACLs (dACLs).
  
  

2.6 Wireless Troubleshooting

• Troubleshoot wireless connectivity issues.
• Analyze roaming failures.
• Investigate authentication failures.
• Troubleshoot DHCP and DNS-related wireless issues.
• Resolve RF interference problems.
• Diagnose client performance issues.
• Troubleshoot latency, packet loss, and voice-over-WiFi issues.
• Perform packet captures and wireless protocol analysis.
• Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for major incidents.
  
  

2.7 Network Management Platforms

• Cisco Catalyst Center (DNA Center)
• Cisco Prime Infrastructure
• Cisco Wireless Assurance
• Cisco Spaces
• Cisco ISE
• Cisco ThousandEyes
  
  

2.8 Monitoring & Performance

Monitor Wireless Infrastructure Using

• Cisco Catalyst Center
• Cisco Prime Infrastructure
• SolarWinds
• PRTG
• ManageEngine OpManager
  
  

Responsibilities Include

• Wireless health monitoring
• Client analytics
• Performance trending
• Capacity planning
• Firmware lifecycle management
• Incident management
• Availability reporting
  
  

2.9 Projects & Governance

• Lead enterprise wireless implementation projects.
• Execute wireless migration projects.
• Perform wireless technology refreshes.
• Prepare implementation and rollback plans.
• Conduct risk assessments.
• Develop low-level and high-level designs (LLD/HLD).
• Coordinate with vendors and third-party service providers.
• Ensure compliance with enterprise wireless standards and best practices.
• Technical Skills 3.1 Enterprise Wireless
• Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series
• Cisco AireOS
• Cisco Mobility Express
• Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller
• Cisco Access Points
• Cisco Catalyst Wireless
  
  

3.2 RF Technologies

• RF Planning, Optimization, Troubleshooting
• Spectrum Analysis
• Predictive, Passive and Active Site Survey
• Validation Survey
• Heat Map Analysis
• Coverage Planning
• Capacity Planning
• Channel Planning
  
  

3.3 Wireless Standards

• IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (Wi-Fi 6 and 7)
• Wi-Fi 6E
• WPA2
• WPA3
• 802.1X
• Fast Roaming
• MU-MIMO
  
  

3.4 Site Survey Tools

• Ekahau
• AirMagnet Survey Pro (preferred)
  
  

Skills: catalyst,authentication,cisco,optimization,cisco wireless,enterprise,infrastructure,wireless,design,access

• Educational Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field.
• Preferred Certifications
• Cisco CCNP Enterprise (Wireless)
• Cisco CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure (Preferred)
• CWNA (Certified Wireless Network Administrator)
• Ekahau Certified Survey Engineer (ECSE)
• Experience Requirements
• 5+ years of hands-on enterprise wireless networking experience.
• Extensive experience managing Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers across multiple platforms.
• Experience with Cisco Catalyst 9800 migrations from AireOS.
• Experience performing enterprise wireless site surveys and RF planning.
• Experience designing high-density wireless environments.
• Strong knowledge of wireless security and Cisco ISE or Aruba ClearPass integration.
• Experience supporting large-scale enterprise wireless deployments with thousands of Access Points.
• Experience working in healthcare, airports, universities, hospitality, banking, government, or large enterprise environments.
• Experience deploying 802.1X authentication across campus LAN and WLAN environments.
• Experience integrating NAC solutions with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, Catalyst Switches, Active Directory, PKI, VPN, and enterprise security platforms.
• Experience with guest access, BYOD onboarding, endpoint profiling, posture assessment, and role-based network access control.
• Core Competencies
• Advanced RF troubleshooting
• Enterprise wireless architecture
• Wireless network design
• Capacity planning
• Coverage optimization
• High-density Wi-Fi deployments
• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills
• Strong documentation practices
• Project implementation and migration
• Customer-focused service delivery
• Vendor coordination
• Team collaboration and mentoring
• Ability to work during critical incidents and maintenance windows