Ing. Ricardo E.
Núñez Olazábal
Network / Security & Automation
Senior Network and Security Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in enterprise infrastructure for clients across Latin America, the United States and Europe. I work with Cisco, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks and Juniper on routing and switching, firewalls, SD-WAN, VPNs and high availability.
My experience spans assessments, implementation, commissioning, advanced support, hardening and change management. I develop automation with Python, Ansible and Bash to make configuration and operational tasks repeatable, complemented by Linux administration, monitoring and DevNet technologies. I prioritize operational continuity, clear documentation and structured troubleshooting.
Fortinet Certified Solution Specialist in Secure Networking and Network Security. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Native Spanish; basic English.
Cisco / Fortinet / Palo Alto
Python · Ansible · Nornir · pyATS
Education & Certifications
Academic degree, current certifications and continuing technical education.
Academic degree & current certifications
FCSS Secure Networking
April 2025 - April 2027
FCSS Network Security
April 2025 - April 2027
Universidad Abierta Interamericana
Computer Systems Engineering
Previous credentials
Listed with the year obtained; not presented as currently valid.
- 2015RHCSA Red Hat Certified System Administrator
- 2016CCNA Routing & Switching Cisco
- 2016CCNA Security Cisco
- 2018PSE Platform Professional Palo Alto Networks
- 2018PSE Endpoint Professional Palo Alto Networks
Courses & technical training
Training and knowledge, distinct from active certifications. Expand each group to view its courses.
Cisco · Routing & Switching 2018–2019
- CCNP ROUTE 300-101 (2018)
- CCNP SWITCH 300-115 (2018)
- CCNP TSHOOT 300-135 (2019)
Cisco · Security 2019
- SENSS 300-206 — Implementing Cisco Edge Network Security Solutions
- SISAS 300-208 — Implementing Cisco Secure Access Solutions
- SIMOS 300-209 — Implementing Cisco Secure Mobility Solutions
- SITCS 300-210 — Implementing Cisco Threat Control Solutions
Cisco · DevNet & Orchestration 2020–2023
- Cisco Network Services Orchestrator / NSO (2020)
- DevNet Associate — Network Automation & Programmability (2022)
- DevNet Professional — Network Automation & Programmability (2023)
Fortinet 2024–2025
- NSE 7 — SD-WAN 7.2 (2024)
- FCSS — Enterprise Firewall 7.4 Administrator (2025)
Cloud Networking 2020–2022
- AWS Networking — VPC, Routing & Hybrid Connectivity (2020)
- AWS Advanced Networking (2020)
- Azure Networking — VNet, VPN Gateway, Load Balancer & NSG (2022)
Security & Application Delivery 2017–2022
- JUNOS / Juniper Security (2017)
- F5 Configuring BIG-IP LTM v13.1.01 (2018)
- F5 Administering BIG-IP v13.1.01 (2018)
- F5 Configuring BIG-IP DNS v13.1.01 (2018)
- Palo Alto Networks Firewall 8.1 — EDU-210 (2019)
- Ethical Hacking / CEH v12 (2022)
Virtualization, Storage & IT Services 2015–2017
- VMware VCP — Data Center Virtualization v6 / VCP-DCV6 (2015)
- ITIL v3 (2015)
- EMC Data Domain System Administration (2017)
Development 2016
- Xcode Programming — Objective-C / Cocos2d (2016)
CBT Nuggets 2022
- Advanced Network Automation with Cisco and Python
- Python for Network Engineers
- Fortinet NSE 4 FortiOS 7.x
- Cisco ENCOR 350-401
- Cisco DEVCOR 350-901
- Ansible Network Automation EX457
Experience
A career in technology since 2006, supporting client environments across Latin America, the United States and Europe. Hands-on work with Cisco, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks and Juniper, combining implementation, support and automation.
April 2024 - present
Field Engineer
Consulting Services S.R.L.
- Assess infrastructure and identify technical requirements and improvement opportunities across enterprise networks and security.
- Implement, configure, commission and validate Cisco, Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks solutions.
- Provide advanced support and troubleshoot complex connectivity, networking and security incidents.
- Perform preventive maintenance, manage changes and execute maintenance windows.
- Prepare implementation procedures, configuration documentation and operational records.
June 2021 - present · part time
Senior Network Engineer & DevNet Automation
Mentes Inquietas
- Plan, configure and maintain network infrastructure remotely for clients across Latin America, the United States and Europe.
- Develop and use custom scripts and automation templates to streamline recurring operational tasks.
- Prepare implementation plans, test procedures and technical documentation.
- Implement projects and contribute to design, planning changes to reduce disruption.
November 2022 - December 2024
Senior Network & Security Engineer
Plus-IT Argentina S.A.
- Configure and maintain routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, VPNs and QoS policies.
- Implement projects, coordinate technical work with clients and prepare implementation plans and test procedures.
- Develop Python 3 scripts and templates to automate networking tasks.
- Perform hardening, firmware upgrades, patching and preventive and corrective maintenance across Cisco, Juniper, Extreme, F5, Fortinet and Citrix ADC.
- Implement monitoring with Elastic Stack, Kibana, Prometheus, Grafana and Zabbix.
October 2023 - October 2024
Monitoring & Orchestration
IDFE Consulting · client Red Link
- Implement and administer Zabbix, Grafana and ELK to monitor critical services.
- Administer Linux, analyse resources and logs, and troubleshoot connectivity and applications.
- Automate tasks with Bash, Ansible and Python and plan activities with the client.
- Achieved a measured 40% reduction in critical-incident response time through automated alerting and remediation.
- Saved more than 30 hours per month, measured, through scripts for deploying and configuring new instances.
May 2018 - August 2021
Network Security Field Engineer
Logicalis Argentina
- Implement networking and security across Greenfield and Brownfield projects, contributing to design, commissioning and testing.
- Cisco 2K/3K/4K/6K switching: VSS, StackWise, STP, IGMP snooping, VACL, HSRP and EtherChannel.
- ISR4K, ASR1K and ASR903 routing: BGP, EIGRP, OSPF, NBAR2, QoS, NetFlow, MPLS and PTP.
- DMVPN and FlexVPN; WLC 5508 wireless, SSO and FlexConnect; Nexus 7K, vPC and SPAN.
- Automate tasks with Python 3, perform hardening and maintain multivendor infrastructure during coordinated maintenance windows.
April 2017 - May 2018
Managed Services Operations
Logicalis Argentina
- Administer LAN/WAN networks and Cisco, Juniper, Extreme, F5 and Fortinet equipment for multiple clients.
- Configure and maintain Site-to-Site and Client-to-Site VPNs.
- Automate backups and perform preventive and corrective maintenance on networking and security equipment.
June 2006 - April 2017
Datacenter Network Engineer
Level 3 Communications Argentina
- Operate data center infrastructure and administer LAN/WAN networks, VPNs and multivendor equipment.
- Administer Windows Server and Linux/Unix; troubleshoot client systems, applications and services.
- Provide proactive monitoring with Nagios, Cacti and SolarWinds; use HPOV, NNMI and WhatsUp.
- Automate network backups and administer Veritas NetBackup.
- Administer SunOne, Exchange, Lotus Notes, Postfix and Qmail email platforms.
What I do
Support across the technical lifecycle: assessment, implementation, commissioning, troubleshooting and continuous improvement. Solutions grounded in the environment and its operational requirements.
Enterprise networking
Implementation and administration of LAN, WAN and data center connectivity. Routing, switching, VPNs and high availability, supported by change planning and technical validation.
Cisco · Juniper · BGP · OSPF · SD-WAN · QoS
Network security
Firewall configuration, hardening and advanced support for secure connectivity. Policy management and maintenance across multivendor platforms.
Fortinet · Palo Alto Networks · Cisco · VPN
Network Automation
Scripts and automation workflows for configuration, backups and recurring tasks. Repeatable procedures, version control and DevNet tools.
Python · Ansible · Nornir · pyATS · Netmiko · NAPALM
Observability and operations
Critical-service monitoring, Linux administration and incident troubleshooting. Alerting and documentation to support more predictable operations.
Zabbix · Grafana · ELK Stack · Prometheus · Linux
Pro Skills
Networking, automation, infrastructure and complementary technical knowledge.
Routing & Switching
Cisco · Juniper · Extreme · BGP · OSPF · EIGRP · MPLS · QoS · HSRP · VSS · StackWise
Network Security
Fortinet · Palo Alto Networks · Cisco · Firewalls · Hardening · SD-WAN · DMVPN · FlexVPN
Network Automation
Python · Ansible · Nornir · pyATS · Netmiko · NAPALM
APIs & Data Models
REST APIs · NETCONF · RESTCONF · YANG
Infrastructure as Code
Terraform · AWS CloudFormation · Ansible
Scripting
Bash · Python · Shell Scripting
Git & CI/CD
Git · GitHub · GitLab · Jenkins · GitLab CI/CD
Containers & Orchestration
Docker · Kubernetes
Network Management
Cisco NSO · FortiManager · Palo Alto Panorama
Configuration Management
Puppet · Chef · SaltStack
Observability & Monitoring
ELK Stack · Kibana · Grafana · Zabbix · Prometheus
Cloud Networking
AWS VPC · Routing · Hybrid Connectivity · Azure VNet · VPN Gateway · Load Balancer · NSG
Virtualization & Data Center
VMware / VCP-DCV6 training · Cisco Nexus 7K · vPC · SPAN · EMC Data Domain
Operating Systems
Linux: CentOS · Red Hat · Debian · Oracle · Slackware · Ubuntu / Windows Server · macOS
Remote Administration
SSH · CLI · Console / Serial · RDP · VNC · TeamViewer
Wireless & Application Delivery
Cisco WLC 5508 · SSO · FlexConnect · F5 BIG-IP LTM / DNS · Citrix ADC
Focus
Technical areas across networking, security and operations.
LAN / WAN
BGP · OSPF · HSRP · EtherChannel
SECURITY
Firewalls · Hardening · VPN
AUTOMATION
Python · Ansible · Nornir · pyATS
DATA CENTER
Cisco Nexus · vPC · Switching
WIRELESS
WLC · FlexConnect · SSO
OPERATIONS
Assessment · Change management
Contact
Tell me about your environment, technical requirements and scope. We can start with a conversation about your network and security infrastructure.
+54 9 11 2638 2441
Open chat
rnunez@mentes-inquietas.com
Ricardo E. Núñez Olazábal
Buenos Aires, Argentina · LATAM / USA / Europe