Okay, I've searched for Network Architect roles in St Paul, MN offering hybrid work arrangements, requiring experience with Cisco Networking and VMware, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, and at least 5 years of experience. I have found 27 positions for you.

Sure. Here's the analysis:

Job Analysis:

The Network Architect role at the Metropolitan Council is fundamentally about ensuring robust, secure, and efficient network and systems infrastructure that supports critical regional services like transportation, wastewater treatment, and housing programs. The position’s primary responsibility is to lead a focused network team in designing and administering complex IT systems, with an emphasis on high-availability environments including Windows Server, Active Directory, Microsoft SQL, Citrix, Cisco networking, Checkpoint firewalls, and VMware technologies. This requires deep technical expertise to architect resilient systems while providing hands-on problem-solving at an expert level. The role demands a balance of technical mastery and leadership to guide team efforts, maintain system integrity, and adapt to evolving organizational needs. Success here means minimizing downtime, ensuring security compliance, and enabling seamless cross-divisional service delivery within a hybrid work setting. Additionally, the candidate must be prepared to manage multi-vendor technologies and bridge infrastructure gaps in a politically oriented, multi-stakeholder environment. Problem-solving will involve addressing complex integration challenges and optimizing legacy systems in a stable yet evolving public sector network environment. Autonomy in decision-making is significant, with an expectation to interpret broad regional IT goals into tactical network strategies that drive service reliability and innovation within stringent public infrastructure constraints.

Company Analysis:

The Metropolitan Council occupies a unique position as a public regional planning agency, responsible for critical communal infrastructure and services in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Its wide-ranging mandate positions it as a vital, mission-driven organization focused on long-term regional well-being rather than rapid market growth or disruption. This context implies a culture valuing stability, accountability, and public service, with likely a strong emphasis on regulatory compliance and transparency. Given the complex ecosystem of transportation, water, housing, and parks, IT plays a strategic role in underpinning diverse operations, requiring collaboration across multiple divisions and government entities. The organization likely values reliability, thoughtful innovation, and teamwork over high-risk experimentation. For this role, that means alignment with a mission-centered mindset, comfort working within governmental frameworks, and patience for bureaucratic processes. The Network Architect’s work intersects with a broad set of internal users and stakeholders, requiring diplomacy and clear communication. The position’s hybrid nature suggests some flexibility balanced with the importance of onsite presence for sensitive infrastructure tasks. Overall, the Council offers a stable environment with a meaningful purpose, ideal for candidates who wish to leverage deep technical skills to support essential public services with long-term regional impact.

Absolutely. Here are some mock interview questions that could come up:

• Behavioral: Tell me about a time when you had to lead a team through a complex network outage or incident. How did you manage the technical and interpersonal challenges?
• Behavioral: Describe a situation where you identified and resolved a security vulnerability within a multi-vendor infrastructure involving firewalls and network devices.
• Behavioral: Can you share an example of how you coordinated cross-functional teams to implement a major IT system upgrade or migration?
• Behavioral: How have you managed conflicting priorities and expectations among stakeholders in a public-sector or highly regulated environment?
• Technical: Walk me through your approach to designing a high-availability network architecture that incorporates Windows Server clustering, VMware virtualization, and Cisco networking.
• Technical: How do you troubleshoot and optimize performance in an environment running Active Directory, Microsoft SQL, and Citrix?
• Technical: Explain your experience with Checkpoint firewalls and best practices you follow to maintain security without compromising network performance.
• Technical: Describe how you would approach integrating legacy infrastructure with newer cloud or virtualized systems, given enterprise constraints.
• Situational: Imagine a critical network segment supporting regional transit systems goes down during peak hours. What immediate steps do you take, and how do you communicate with stakeholders?
• Situational: Suppose your team disagrees on choosing between two competing technologies for network security. How do you facilitate resolution and final decision-making?
• Situational: You discover a compliance gap during a routine network audit that could expose the Council to vulnerabilities. How do you address this, especially considering public sector oversight?
• Company Fit: What interests you most about working at the Metropolitan Council, given our role in regional planning and essential public services?
• Company Fit: How do your professional values and work style align with a mission-driven, government-affiliated organization with a strong emphasis on accountability and collaboration?
• Company Fit: How do you stay motivated working in an environment where technology changes may be slower and more regulated compared to the private sector?
• Questions for Interviewer: How does the Information Services department measure success for the Network Architect role within the broader objectives of the Council?
• Questions for Interviewer: Can you describe how cross-divisional collaboration works here, especially between IT and the other service areas like transportation and wastewater treatment?
• Questions for Interviewer: What are the immediate challenges or priority projects the successful candidate will need to tackle in their first six months?