Network Architect

RENAUD BLANCHETTE

NETWORK & INFRASTRUCTURE ARCHITECT

***********@**********.*** +1-917-***-****

linkedin.com/in/renaud-blanchette DC3X

SUMMARY

With over 25 years of experience in the technology and telecommunications industries, I have honed my skills in solution engineering, network design, and implementation. My expertise allows me to create green-field designs based on a vendor's reference or develop entirely new architectures for network and application solutions. Currently, I am focused on designing scalable infrastructure optimized for cloud- native and distributed applications in multi-cloud stacks.

SKILLS

Trend Analysis Business Strategy Research & Development Technology Evaluation System Design Solution Engineering Network Modeling Network Architecture Documentation Network Diagrams

· Ability to assess an organization's technology needs and requirements to design solution architectures. Recommend the most long-term technology strategy based on goals and constraints.

· Experienced in constructing carrier-grade provider networks, including network optimization, L2 L3 topologies, routing tables, peering, providing secure end-to-end connectivity, and load-balancing traffic across redundant facilities.

EXPERIENCE

Network Architect Infrastructure Consultant [2000 - Present] I have been an architect and designer while implementing network environments for service providers and enterprise clients. Conducting research and development of an automation framework for infrastructure builds and operational management of enterprise & data center networks. Some major engagements and my contributions are as follows:

Client: NDE - North America [2024 - 2025]

Role: Network Architect Automation

· Architect for a mobile HPC platform designed for distributed edge AI & blockchains.

· Researched and developed a CI/CD framework for infrastructure builds and operational management of service provider & enterprise networks, focusing on SONiC and SRv6.

· Modeled the network as data to enable infrastructure documentation and integrated it into a source of truth (SOT) for centralized management.

· Created data-linked network diagram templates using the standardized data contained in the SOT, making them easier to reuse and update.

Client: Arista Networks - North America [2021 - 2024]

Role: Professional Services Engineer

· Consulted on several significant projects designing and implementing highly available L2/L3 EVPN- based data center networks across multiple sites for enterprise and governmental clients.

· Gathered technical requirements and developed High and Low-Level Design documents for guidance and reference during and after Arista network deployment.

· Wrote and executed test plans to validate newly deployed Arista networks to ensure production network traffic once the deployment was complete.

· Worked with customers to plan, write, and execute Methods of Procedure documents outlining steps to seamlessly migrate production network traffic from legacy infrastructure to the target Arista networks and assisted Project Management in developing project plans to track project task execution, communication cadence with customers, and timelines.

· Performed knowledge transfer training on Arista network designs, platforms, and features for Arista Professional Services customers.

· Provided implementation and migration planning development and agreed upon operational support to the customer to enable migrations to the new infrastructure.

Client: DXC - North America [2019 - 2020]

Role: Network Architect Data Center Transformation

· An architect for client migrations and transformations between data centers. Responsible for network planning & implementation for several client engagements in the NA data center locations.

· Identified the client's business pain points and needs and then turned these opportunities into a strategy and solution design to address the requirements. Strategically considered all sides of an issue within the contexts of time, breadth, and range of options.

· Provided technical design recommendations and associated architectures by gathering and documenting existing client network and device information to develop the migration plan.

· Collaborated on executable project plans -- recommended standards and guidelines for the design of technology solutions across multiple platforms.

· Established and maintained professional working relationships at multiple levels, internally and with the client, and leveraged presentation tools to communicate complex messages to various audience levels, including executive-level management.

· Provided technical leadership for the engineering team in designing migration strategies and delivering solutions to fulfill client needs. Defined high-level requirements and conducted cost/benefit analysis to maximize the utilization of available resources.

Client: IPC - Jersey City, NJ [2018]

Role: Solution Architect Network

· Designed the network solution for a custom offering of the firm's product for a global financial services client in AMER, EMEA, and APAC regions.

· Incorporated network and systems knowledge, communication, and documentation skills to facilitate the creation of a new architecture for IPC services in hosted environments across 44 sites, including 10 data centers and multiple public clouds.

· Created a high and low-level design to move the project towards completing the infrastructure build- out of the client's hosted environments.

· Worked with the Site Reliability Engineering team to ensure the builds of the data centers and the turret front-room environments at the client locations across the globe for the solution consisting of trader private lines, voice recording, compliance, and surveillance tools.

Client: UBS - New York, NY [2017]

Role: Network & Infrastructure Consultant

· Consulted on data center and campus IDF migrations to replace legacy Cisco infrastructure.

· Designed a system to track multiple infrastructure migrations with thousands of port changes needed to roll out new hardware and enable knowledge exchange among various facilities, vendors, and installation teams. It included detailed documentation of racks and their changes over time to accommodate the hardware installs.

· Optimized hardware counts for new installations, using port mappings and utilization to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary spending across IDFs.

· Created processes and oversaw cut-overs to ensure smooth transitions during migrations.

Client: Synchronoss - Bridgewater, NJ [2016]

Role: Solution Architect Network & Infrastructure

· Created a next-generation platform architecture purpose-built for cloud-scale environments.

· Focused on building a Private Cloud solution for bridging traditional IT and the Public Cloud to reduce cost and offer on-demand services and scalable micro-service applications.

Client: L'Oreal - Berkley Heights, NJ [2015 - 2016]

Role: Network Consultant

· Consulted on the global GNSP WAN upgrade project to strategically modernize and optimize the firm's communication infrastructure in the AMER, EMEA, and APAC zones.

· Designed and documented the branch site upgrades to incorporate AT&T's AVPN Managed Solution. Led geographically distributed, culturally diverse groups, including onsite service vendors, to update the new WAN platform in the US, Canada, and Latin America.

Client: Verizon Wireless - Branchburg, NJ [2010 - 2015]

Role: Design & Engineering Network Transport

· Worked on 20+ projects within the NNO Transport group to design and engineer highly reliable and scalable HA environments to deliver 3G/4G applications and services to 100MM+ users.

· Designed solutions that utilized the MPLS transport and DMZs across the VZW EPC and backbone to deliver network services.

· Worked with internal groups to develop and complete design, sizing, and call flow models to ensure NNO-built platforms were installed to meet performance and capacity requirements.

· Prioritized multiple high-visibility projects and drove decisions and design resolution.

· Worked with capacity SMEs and planning organizations to develop and implement strategies and tactical plans for ensuring sufficient network capacity of infrastructure platforms.

· Held vendors accountable if products and services failed to meet standards while working with them to achieve compliance. Collaborated with vendors to integrate systems into production.

· Created documentation templates to streamline capturing current and future network states and simplified the build-out of hosting and transport for tier-1 applications and services.

· Provided leadership and subject matter expertise, trained new team members, and delivered presentations to internal groups as required.

Client: Morgan Stanley - New York, NY [2009 - 2010]

Role: Network & Infrastructure Design

· Created multiple designs for the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney [MSSB] joint venture integration project. Utilized primarily Juniper, BNT, and Cisco equipment to build the network infrastructure.

· Completed various projects, including designing and building several data centers, next-generation Campus sites, Thomson Reuters market data plants, Avaya voice hubs, and expanding the global MPLS network to over 900+ Branch offices.

· Participated in site visits to review carrier access infrastructure and verify circuit diversity.

· Examined and approved device configuration changes for Implementation Engineers to ensure design and corporate standards compliance.

Client: Port Authority of NY & NJ Raytheon - NY & NJ [2007 - 2010]

Role: Principal Network Architect

· Created the network architecture for the PIDS project consisting of an IoT deployment with multiple data centers, metro networks & various sensor types for a highly available solution to secure airports.

· Performed analytical, technical, and administrative work in the planning, design, installation, and ongoing administration of system networks, including IP addressing, network diagrams, detailed interconnect schematics, configurations, documentation, and bill-of-materials.

· Designed and created the 'PIDS Test Network' utilizing Ixia equipment to evaluate traffic flows.

· Responsible for architecture, implementation, documentation, and support for the network, including protocol selection, equipment selection, routing and switching, optical networking, MPLS VPNs, firewall connectivity, and Cisco fixed-mobile wireless.

· Researched, evaluated, and specified hardware and software to meet the network requirements.

ADDITIONAL

· Client: Asurion - Nashville, TN [2007] - Role: Network Consultant

· Client: Pitney Bowes - Stamford & Danbury, CT [2007] - Role: Network Consultant

· Client: Teliris - New York, NY [2006] - Role: Sr. Network Engineer

· Client: Merrill Lynch - New York, NY [2005 - 2006] - Role: Sr. Network Engineer

· Client: Hospital Corporation of America - Nashville, TN [2004 - 2005] - Role: Network Engineer

· Client: JPMorgan Chase - New York, NY [2002 - 2003] - Role: Infrastructure Consultant

· Client: Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale - New York, NY [2000 - 2001] - Role: Network Administrator

· Baseline Financial Services, New York, NY [1999 - 2000] - Role: System Network Administrator

· University of Michigan Business School, Ann Arbor, MI [1995 - 1998] - Role: Help Desk System Administrator

TECHNICAL

Protocols Services: Ethernet; DWDM; IPv4/v6; TCP/UDP; DHCP; DNS; RIP; EIGRP; OSPF; IS-IS; BGP; CoS/QoS; MPLS; SRv6; VXLAN; EVPN; Multicast; IPSec; VoIP; SIP; RTP; SNMP; gNMI; eBPF; 3GPP 4G/5G Cloud SDN: AWS; Azure; GCP; VMware; OpenStack; Docker; Kubernetes; OVS; RDMA; Ceph; SD-WAN; SD-Access; Cilium; Terraform; CloudVision

NetDevOps: Git; Databases; APIs; Postman; Python; Django; Nornir; Ansible; AVD; Containerlab, Infrahub Platform: Cisco; Juniper; Arista; HP; A10; F5; Palo Alto; Check Point; Broadcom; Mellanox; Ixia; Agilent Software: Windows; Linux; MS Office; Visio; IOS; XR; NX-OS; JUNOS; EOS; SONiC Philosophy: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/data-center-for-cloud-computing-dc3x-80826892/80826892

EDUCATION

University of Michigan, Engineering Interdisciplinary Program - Ann Arbor, MI [1994 - 1999] The curriculum included: Economic Decision Making, Operations Modeling, Probability and Statistics for Engineers, Total Quality Management, International Business & Law of the Enterprise Certifications: Cisco CCNA [2000]; Juniper JNCIA [2011]

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