CHANTEL POKU

Fulshear

Summary

Enterprise Network Engineer with years of experience designing, deploying, and maintaining secure, scalable LAN/WAN and hybrid cloud infrastructures in large-scale environments. Expertise in configuring and troubleshooting Cisco and Juniper platforms, with proficiency in advanced routing and switching protocols. Skilled in network security, monitoring, and incident response to maximize uptime in mission-critical systems. Hands-on experience integrating Ms Azure cloud networking services to support hybrid cloud architectures. Collaborative, detail-oriented, and committed to aligning network solutions with enterprise business goals and compliance standards.

Overview

years of professional experience

Certification

Work History

Network Specialist

Keolis Commuter Services

Somerville, MA

05.2024 - 03.2026

Configure, deploy, and troubleshoot Cisco and Ciena switches across enterprise LAN/WAN environments, including VLANs, STP/RSTP, EtherChannel, and routing protocols (OSPF, EIGRP, BGP).
Implement and manage network security controls such as ACLs, VPNs, and NAC to protect enterprise infrastructure.
Develop and optimize network monitoring and alerting systems using PTC and SolarWinds, improving network visibility and reducing incident response time.
Analyze network performance data (DHCP, DNS, SNMP metrics) and incident trends to identify root causes and implement preventative solutions, enhancing network reliability.
Collaborate cross-functionally with field teams,engineer, and management to troubleshoot complex optical network issues,providing timely solutions and minimizing customer impact.

Network Engineer II

Thrive Support And Advocacy

Worcester, MA

08.2023 - 05.2024

Provided Tier II support, performing advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis for escalated network incidents.
Configured and maintained Cisco and Juniper routers and switches supporting LAN, WAN, and wireless environments, ensuring optimized performance and security.
Proactively monitored network health using SolarWinds and SNMP tools to detect and resolve issues, minimizing downtime.
Collaborated with Tier III engineers and field teams for escalation management and coordinated network upgrades and maintenance.
Maintained accurate network documentation, incident logs, and change records to support audit and compliance standards.
Participated in on-call rotations and incident response, delivering rapid resolution for critical outages.
Contract

Network Administrator

Worcester Home Care

Worcester, MA

01.2023 - 07.2023

Collaborated on network project planning, supporting scalable growth and maintenance of switches and routers.
Installed and configured hardware and software infrastructure to ensure stable, secure network operations.
Diagnosed and resolved network performance issues, implementing improvements to enhance speed and reliability.
Coordinated with vendors to align network upgrades with business objectives and technical requirements.
Installed and supported network peripherals, ensuring seamless integration with existing infrastructure.

Education

Bachelor of science -

kwame Nkrumah University of science and Technology

Skills

Routing & Switching: OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, VLAN, STP/RSTP, EtherChannel, MPLS, HSRP, VRRP, GLBP
Network Security: ACLs, IPsec & SSL VPNs, NAC, firewall policy management, NAT
Collaboration & Leadership: Cross-team Coordination, Mentoring, Technical Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
Network Monitoring & Management: SolarWinds Orion, SNMP, Wireshark, PRTG, Nagios, Auvik, NetFlow,Server Management

Cloud Networking: AWS VPC, Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, Hybrid cloud integration
Incident & Change Management: ServiceNow, Confluence
Hardware & Platforms: Cisco (Catalyst, ISR, ASA), Juniper (EX/SRX), Aruba (Mobility Controllers), Ubiquiti
Remote management: DATTON