Network Administrator
IT - Information Systems
Office: Versailles, France
Blizzard Entertainment is seeking talented network
admins, and we know we’re not alone in our search. So why Blizzard? Because
it’s a haven for our kind! Our unique
blend of opportunity, environment, and people all help make Blizzard the studio
worthy of your career. You’ll be joining
a network operations team that attacks challenges and crafts solutions with the
same enthusiasm and creativity as our players do in our games. We love keeping
up with latest technology, and take pride in protecting and gatekeeping some of
the world’s most popular and beloved gaming franchises. And just like the company as a whole, our
team is built on a culture of passion for who we are, what we create, and who
we support. We want to hear from skilled
network admins ready and eager to continue this adventure with us. If you like
what you read below, send us your data!
What is Network Operations (BONS)?
Blizzard online network systems is the global network
operations team responsible for supporting ALL of Blizzard’s customer-facing IT
systems and services. Such services
include Battle.net, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo 3, Hearthstone, and
Heroes of the Storm. In addition to
managing these IT platforms, BONS also works closely with our development teams
throughout a product’s lifecycle. Our
team’s mission statement: Innovating and delivering global technology solutions
to power the most epic entertainment experience... Ever.
Understand your Responsibilities
Improve and Implement:
As a network admin you will look for opportunities to
improve efficiency within the network, look for deficiencies in existing implementations,
and propose solutions. In addition you will support our senior admins and
engineers in the integration of complex deployments to support a global network
environment. Whether day to day optimizations or analysis of complex problems,
you’ll be the glue that keeps the environment running.
Troubleshoot and Support:
As the bread and butter of the admin team, you will resolve
critical environmental outages and develop improvements and solutions to
prevent such problems from reoccurring. You will work directly with vendors and
peering partners in making sure the series of tubes connecting Blizzard’s
services and customers are able to successfully handle enormous amounts of
material. In this role you will also manage network configuration branches,
provide network documentation and diagrams, and maintain network device
hardware and software deployments within the environment. As with most IT groups, you will share
off-hours duties for global on-call coverage on a rotational basis.
Security and Stability:
Security is everyone’s job. As the core backbone of
operations, you will identify security weaknesses and propose solutions that
hold stability and security in the forefront. As a stalwart defender of the
network, you will be principally responsible for managing stateful firewall
rules and ACLs, assisting with network security audits, device patching, and
educating peers and internal customers on security practices and principles.
Lead and Grow:
As a core member of our admin team, you will provide
training sessions on complex subjects or newly evolving technologies to peers
and internal customers, including upper management. In this position, you will
actively engage with peers to provide consultation and recommendations, as well
as develop documentation on new or old technologies and how it relates to
internal systems. You will have opportunity to learn and grow in your career;
working with a plethora of network protocols and technologies.
Technical Requirements
Time in the field:
This position requires a minimum of 2 years’ experience
supporting a network operations group which focuses on service stability, security,
and customer satisfaction.
The Technicalities:
Strong understanding of networking from conceptual design
to physical implementation is a must, as is in-depth knowledge of the TCP / IP
stack, layers of the OSI Model, network topologies, and routing protocols. Solid
TCP connectivity debugging experience is part of the job, which frequently
means getting dirty with packet captures or helping track down protocol bugs in
embedded network operating systems.
Network OS and Protocols:
Cisco IOS and the CLI should be second nature to you. You
must have demonstrative experience with VLANs, STP, EtherChannel bonding and
load-balancing algorithms, IPv4 Subnetting, and should know the differences
between NAT and PAT (and when to use them).
In-depth knowledge of fundamental Internet standards encompassing DHCP,
PXE, DNS, SMTP, SNMP, HTTP and many other services that stretch between the
inter-tubes should hold a permanent slot in your array of wisdom and
experience.
Thrive in our environment:
Our environment never stays the same. The perfect
candidate should exhibit a high attention to detail, adjust quickly to an
ever-changing and evolving environment, and poses sharp analytical competency
for all-things-technology! We like to travel while doing IT stuff; therefore
occasional domestic, and / or international travel is required.
A strong candidate will also bring to the table some of
the following:
- Experience with Juniper switches and routers, Linux TCP / IP stack
- Experience with firewall appliances (Cisco ASA, FWSM) and VPN tunneling
- Experience with routing protocols, such as OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP
- Experience with high density multi-layer switching platforms, such as Cisco 6500, Nexus series
- Experience with network load balancers, SSL Offloading, Cisco ACE, F5, and Citrix
- Experience with advanced network diagnostic tools, tcpdump, Wireshark, and NetFlow
- Experience with monitoring solutions, such as Cacti, CiscoWork, and Cisco Prime
- Experience with network cabling, fiber optics, and enterprise data center environments
- Network certifications, such as CCNA, CCNP, JNCIA, etc.
Required Application Materials
- Resume
- Cover letter which should include:
- Why you are interested in working at Blizzard Entertainment
- What games or technology you are currently playing with
