Rajdeep Reddy Kothapally

Data center and network infrastructure technician with 4+ years of hands-on experience installing, supporting, testing, and troubleshooting enterprise network hardware across data center, healthcare, and financial environments. Experienced with rack-level device deployment, copper/fiber cabling exposure, cable testing and patching, switch-port provisioning, hardware break-fix, asset documentation, and 24x7 operational support. Comfortable with physically demanding, safety-focused environments, flexible schedules, after-hours response, and regional travel.

Network Engineer at Cognizant (2025-05 – Present)

• Installed, configured, and maintained enterprise network hardware including Cisco Nexus switches, Juniper routers, and Palo Alto firewalls across U.S. data center environments, supporting 99.99% service availability.
• Performed network cable testing, patching, patch-panel management, and port/VLAN-level hardware changes to validate physical connectivity and restore service.
• Executed rack-level hardware provisioning, break-fix troubleshooting, and equipment quality checks using SolarWinds, Cisco Prime, and Wireshark, keeping priority incident MTTR under 60 minutes.
• Followed established hardware installation, change, validation, and documentation procedures through ServiceNow, supporting successful production deployments and maintenance activities.
• Worked with infrastructure, network, security, and application teams during hardware installations and incident response while maintaining safety, security, and site operating standards.

Junior Network Engineer at Optum (2024-11 – 2025-05)

• Monitored and maintained network and data center hardware supporting LAN/WAN, VPN, and firewall services, identifying equipment faults, latency, and physical connectivity issues.
• Resolved Tier 1/Tier 2 hardware and connectivity incidents for 1,000+ users through ServiceNow, meeting 95% of 4-hour SLA targets with prompt break-fix support.
• Performed cable and hardware diagnostics using network test tools, Wireshark, and Splunk to isolate faulty connectivity paths and reduce critical-incident MTTR by 30%.
• Supported scheduled maintenance, hardware validation, port checks, documentation, and operational handoffs in 24x7 healthcare infrastructure environments.

Network Engineer at Infosys (2021-11 – 2023-02)

• Performed hands-on switch-port assignments, VLAN changes, network cable testing, and physical connectivity validation on Cisco hardware supporting 500+ users.
• Assisted with network hardware monitoring and device health checks using SolarWinds and PRTG, helping identify packet loss, access failures, and equipment-related connectivity issues.
• Executed Tier 1 hardware and network diagnostics using ping, traceroute, Wireshark, and cable testing methods, resolving 10+ connectivity tickets per month.
• Maintained hardware inventories, Visio cabling/network diagrams, and asset documentation with 100% accuracy to support deployment, audit, and recovery activities.
• Supported high-availability network hardware deployments using Cisco ACI, ASR routers, and Palo Alto firewalls in production data center environments.

Master of Science in Information Technology – Wilmington University (2025-05)

Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering – Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology (2022-06)