Description :

Role : Google Cloud Network Subject Matter Expert (GCP SME)

Role Overview :

The Google Cloud Network Subject Matter Expert (SME) is a senior-level technical role responsible for designing, implementing, optimizing, and governing enterprise-scale networking solutions on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The role ensures secure, scalable, highly available, and cost-effective cloud network architectures that align with business and application requirements.

This position serves as the primary authority on GCP networking, acting as a trusted advisor to architecture, security, platform, DevOps, and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Cloud Network Architecture & Design :

- Design and maintain GCP VPC architectures, including Shared VPC, hub-and-spoke, and multi-project topologies.

- Architect hybrid and multi-cloud connectivity using Cloud VPN, Dedicated Interconnect, Partner Interconnect, and Private Service Connect.

- Define IP addressing, routing (BGP), DNS, and traffic segmentation strategies.

- Design global and regional load balancing solutions (L4/L7) for high availability and performance.

2. Implementation & Engineering :

Lead the deployment of GCP networking services including :

1. VPCs, subnets, firewall rules, Cloud NAT

2. Cloud Load Balancers (HTTP(S), TCP/UDP, Internal LB)

3. Private Google Access and Private Service Access

- Implement network solutions using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform / Deployment Manager).

- Support cloud migration projects with minimal downtime and optimized connectivity.

3. Security & Governance :

- Implement network security best practices (Zero Trust, least privilege, micro-segmentation).

- Design secure ingress/egress architectures and traffic inspection patterns.

- Ensure compliance with enterprise security, audit, and regulatory requirements.

- Collaborate closely with security and IAM teams.

4. Operations, Performance & Troubleshooting :

- Act as third-level escalation for complex network issues.

- Monitor, analyze, and optimize latency, throughput, availability, and cost.

- Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) and recommend preventive improvements.

- Define SLAs, SLOs, and operational runbooks.

5. Advisory & Enablement :

- Provide architectural guidance and design reviews for application and platform teams.

- Translate business and application needs into scalable network designs.

- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to internal best-practice standards.

- Stay current with new GCP networking features and recommend adoption.

Required Skills & Qualifications :

- 10+ years of overall networking experience with 3 - 5+ years on GCP.

Deep expertise in :

1. GCP Networking (VPC, Load Balancing, Cloud Interconnect, VPN, Firewall Rules)

2. TCP/IP, routing, BGP, DNS, NAT, network security concepts

- Strong experience with hybrid cloud and enterprise-scale environments.

- Hands-on experience with Terraform or similar IaC tools.

- Excellent troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills.

- Ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications :

- Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer or equivalent certification.

- Experience with SRE, DevOps, or Platform Engineering teams.

- Exposure to multi-cloud networking (AWS / Azure).

- Experience designing networks for high-traffic, mission-critical applications.

Business Impact :

The GCP Network SME ensures cloud networking capabilities that :

- Enable application scalability and reliability

- Improve security posture

- Optimize cloud costs

- Accelerate digital transformation initiatives