Google Cloud Network Subject Matter Expert (GCP SME)

Job Description

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:

o VPCs, subnets, firewall rules, Cloud NAT

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

o 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:

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

o 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