Network Administrator

Wheat Ridge was founded during the 1859 Gold Rush as a rest stop for miners and later named for its golden wheat fields. As unsuccessful miners turned to farming, the area thrived with orchards, vegetable fields, and later, greenhouses, earning the title “Carnation City.” Incorporated in 1969, Wheat Ridge now offers a central location with easy access to Denver and the Rocky Mountains. It operates as a home-rule city with a council-manager government, where the elected council sets policy, and the manager oversees daily operations and budgeting. 

CORE VALUES: The City of Wheat Ridge is committed to excellence and ACTION!: 

• Accountability: Employees take responsibility for their actions, decisions, and recommendations and are accountable to each other and the community 

• Change: Adapts to changing organizational needs, conditions, and work responsibilities. 

• Teamwork: Employees value teamwork as a collaborative effort, with each person contributing unique skills, knowledge, and training to achieve common goals. 

• Integrity: Employees uphold the highest ethical standards, recognize the importance of public and customer trust and adhere to the values of the organization. 

• Opportunity: Employees are empowered to grow professionally, develop best practices, and seek challenges to advance the City. 

• NOW!: Employees are proactive, timely, and efficient in responding to the needs of the organization and the community – NOW!  

GENERAL PURPOSE: The Network Administrator is responsible for the design, development, implementation, improvement, and management of all aspects of the City of Wheat Ridge’s network infrastructure.  This position focuses on networking but may also include the chance to work with data, telecommunication, and systems like servers and user devices.  

RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• Designs, analyzes, and manages the network including installation, performance tuning, maintenance, changes and security from edge to end-point.    

• Responsible for the timely design and implementation of new systems as well as the maintenance and regular upgrades, patching, and improvements of existing systems. 

• Responsible for ensuring all requests for systems changes are secure, valid, documented, and financially justified.  

• Responsible for capacity planning for necessary additions and upgrades to the network. 

• Evaluate needs for new and revised systems 

• Identify areas of improvement in information and telecommunication systems. 

• Make appropriate purchase recommendations to management.  

• Manage day to day operations of the enterprise network 

• Take a strong leadership role in developing and maintaining the City’s information systems with major emphasis on bringing the technology of information systems to a current and competitive state. 

• Identify, evaluate, and solve complex network and/or user problems; research, identify and obtain appropriate resources for resolution of complex problems; determine and contact appropriate resources for additional assistance; provide emergency response to system problems.  

• Lead in city cybersecurity - help develop and maintain system security policies, procedures, and safe practices according to industry standards and best practices, direct and assist staff in maintaining secure and efficient operation of the City’s network.      

• Monitors access and system performance to ensure performance and reliability.   

• Create, maintain, and update technical documentation for IT staff as well as end users.  

• Negotiate with vendors for services, support and products; oversee the work of vendors; coordinate, and resolve vendor issues on acquisitions of network systems hardware, software, and recommended installations.  

• Acts as the subject matter expert for layer 1-4 networking.  

• Responsible for independent research and work, with decisions assisted by management. 

• Analyze and resolve and/or describe technical problems to service technicians to determine appropriate action. 

• Read, understand, interpret, and apply information from technical manuals. 

• Develop systems, logs or procedures to monitor critical functions 

JOB QUALIFICATIONS:  

• Training - Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Networking or a related field; or 

• Experience – Six (6) years progressively responsible experience and demonstrated ability in security operations and technology with Cisco IOS-XE configuration and administration applied to Cisco switches, routers, and firewalls; or 

• Any equivalent combination of training and experience that provides evidence that the applicant possesses the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.  

SKILLS AND ABILITIES: 

• Proficient in the suite of IEEE 802.x standards and network protocols including TCP/IP, and the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model best practices. 

• Deep understanding of LAN’s and WAN’s; concepts and specifics relating to the use, maintenance, and repair Cisco network hardware and IOS-XE software on Cisco switches and routers, Cisco Catalyst SDWAN, Palo Alto firewalls, and Meraki wireless access points solid knowledge of the connectivity, routing, and security of networked systems, including Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) and Zero Trust. 

• Experienced in routers and switches and IOS-XE. 

• Ability to utilize packet capture tools. 

• Knowledgeable with copper and fiber optic cabling installation, terminations, and testing. 

• Deeply knowledgeable of industry best practices, including cybersecurity in relation to networked systems 

• Experienced in Microsoft 365 and operating systems and Cisco routers and switches and IOS-XE 

• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) and/or Palo Alto PCNSE preferred. 

• ITIL Foundations certified (or the ability to attain within the first year) 

• Familiar with Hyper-V and Azure networking. 

• Demonstrated technical proficiency with personal computer hardware and operating system software on the Intel/Windows platform. 

• Solid interpersonal, oral, and written skills. 

• Advanced troubleshooting and analytical skills 

• Knowledge of system monitoring.  

• Experience with Solarwinds Orion is preferred. 

HOURS OF WORK, LOCATION, AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: This is a full-time, exempt position.  Work will primarily be performed Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.  After a suitable period of employment with satisfactory work, this position may be eligible for the City’s flexible work arrangement. This position will include assigned on-call duties and some nights and/or weekends may be required.  This work is primarily performed at City Hall, but may include occasional travel to other City facilities.  

This hiring range for this position is $90,320-112,898.

This position requires sitting, standing, stooping, kneeling, bending, and/or crouching.  The incumbent must regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  This position uses a variety of computer software and hardware equipment including but not limited to network routers and switches, firewalls, wireless access points, keyboards, monitors, computer system units, printers, computer parts and components; screwdrivers, pliers and other hand tools; solder and soldering irons; telephone, fax and photocopier; personal or City vehicle.  

The City of Wheat Ridge is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and inclusivity and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability status, marital status or any other applicable characteristics protected by law, unless related to a bona fide occupational qualification. The City of Wheat Ridge will consider reasonable accommodations for employment to qualified applicants upon request to the Human Resources Office. 

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities, or working conditions associated with the position.