# Wissam El Hage

Wissam El Hage is a remote worker on Himalayas, Senior Network Engineer at Mendocino Labs, based in United States.

Source: https://himalayas.app/@wissamelhage

```text
Senior Network Engineer at Mendocino Labs who restored a 293-site transport network and automated configuration checks.
```

| Detail | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Availability | Open to opportunities |
| Location | United States |
| Authorized to work in | United States |
| Job categories | Network Engineer |
| Skills | Network Engineer, Network Architecture, Routing, Switching, Network Automation, Firewall Management, Network Security, Network Segmentation, BGP, OSPF, MPLS, TCP IP, IPv4, IPv6, Amazon VPC |

## About

```text
At Mendocino Labs, I restored a 293-site transport network to full service after SmartSky Networks ceased operations and Mendocino acquired the infrastructure. I re-established routing, provider interconnects, and site connectivity across the estate.

I lead network architecture and implementation across AWS-hosted and distributed enterprise environments. Using Python with Netmiko, NAPALM, and Nornir, I automated configuration audits and validation across 293 sites, reducing a two-day manual verification cycle to 30 minutes.

I standardized configurations with Ansible playbooks and Terraform through GitHub Actions, and integrated AWS and Microsoft Azure networking. I also engineered Peplink SpeedFusion SD-WAN connectivity across 293 remote endpoints for path diversity and carrier redundancy.

Previously, at SmartSky Networks, I managed Palo Alto firewall policies and designed FortiGate and Cisco ASA security policies and IPsec VPN solutions. Across my earlier roles, I worked on Wi-Fi core and aggregation, carrier transport validation, and network architecture documentation.
```

## Experience

### Senior Network Engineer (current)

Mendocino Labs. Dec 2024 - Present

```text
Restored a 293-site transport network to full service after acquisition, leading architecture and implementation across AWS-hosted and distributed environments. Automated configuration audit and standardization using Python, Ansible, and Terraform.
```

Skills: Cisco-IOS-XE, Aruba-CX, Python, Netmiko, Napalm, Nornir, Ansible, Terraform, GitHub-Actions, Amazon-VPC, Transit-Gateway, Direct-Connect, Azure, Arista, SD-WAN, Peplink-SpeedFusion

### Senior Network Engineer

SmartSky Networks. May 2017 - Aug 2024

```text
Managed Palo Alto PAN-OS firewall policy, VPN configuration, and routing for secure site connectivity. Designed security policies and IPsec VPN solutions, and supported virtualized datacenter networking with VMware/NSX.
```

Skills: PAN-OS, FortiGate, Cisco-ASA, IPsec-VPN, OSPF, BGP, Cisco-IOS-XE, VMWare, NSX, VXLAN, Root-Cause-Analysis

### Senior Network Engineer (WiFi Core)

Time Warner Cable. Mar 2012 - Apr 2017

```text
Led SMB-focused deployment configuring Aruba CX switching and engineered large-scale Wi-Fi core and aggregation capabilities supporting over 1,000 access points. Developed architecture documentation and migration plans.
```

Skills: Aruba-CX, ACLs, Port-Security, Spanning-Tree, IPv4, IPv6, NAT, WiFi, GRE, Documentation

### Principal / Transport Network Engineer

NII Holdings. Jul 2011 - Feb 2012

```text
Supported network integration initiatives by defining gateway and routing considerations and documenting engineering plans for cross-team execution.
```

Skills: Network-Integration, Routing, Documentation

### Senior System Integration & Test Engineer

ClearWire Corporation. Jul 2010 - Jun 2011

```text
Led performance, resiliency, and security-focused validation of core network capabilities for field readiness. Created test plans and engineering recommendations to support deployment.
```

Skills: Network-Testing, Test-Planning, Performance-Validation, Security

### Principal / Transport Network Engineer

Nexius Wireless / AT&T. Jan 2008 - Jun 2010

```text
Led lab and field validation for carrier transport and backhaul architectures including MPLS, producing test plans and implementation guides. Designed multi-site WAN connectivity using eBGP, OSPF, and TCP/IP routing policy.
```

Skills: MPLS, BGP, OSPF, TCP-IP, WAN, Segmentation, Test-Planning, Implementation-Guidance

## Education

### George Mason University

Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering

```text
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from George Mason University.
```

## Tech stack

- AWS Direct Connect
- GitHub Actions
- Terraform
- Python
- Cisco ASA
- Ansible
- Amazon VPC

To contact Wissam, message them from this profile with a Himalayas employer account: [Hire on Himalayas](https://himalayas.app/hire).

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