Core Network Architect · CCIE Candidate

Kyle Watson

Building the networks that the internet runs on.

17 years of experience across enterprise networking, data centres, and service providers. Currently architecting core network infrastructure at Vodacom Business via Three6Five, and pursuing CCIE to sharpen what I already know.

▲ Available for opportunities 📡 CCIE in progress 📍 South Africa 17 Years Experience
Get in touch → View experience
17
Years in Tech
10+
Years Networking
6
Certifications
SP
CCIE Track
// 01. about

Who I am

I'm a Senior Network Engineer and Core Network Architect based in South Africa. I translate the complexity of large-scale networks into infrastructure that organisations can rely on - from enterprise LAN/WAN to service provider MPLS cores.

My 17-year career started in systems and customer support, which gave me a deep appreciation for how infrastructure decisions ripple out into real-world user experience. For the past decade, I've been focused on enterprise networking, data centres, and service provider environments.

I'm currently working as a contractor at Vodacom Business through Three6Five, where I lead on complex network deployments, troubleshooting, and mentoring junior engineers. Outside of work, I'm building toward my CCIE and building tools that make network operations smarter.

# current_config.yaml
role: "Senior Network Engineer"
employer: "Three6Five @ Vodacom Business"
location: "South Africa"
study: "CCIE Service Provider"
interests:
  - network_automation
  - service_provider_tech
  - ai_tooling
🏢
Three6Five
Senior Network Engineer · Contractor @ Vodacom Business
🎓
University of South Africa (UNISA)
Tertiary Education
📍
South Africa
Nationwide
🔬
17 Years in Tech
7 in Systems / Support · 10 in Enterprise Networking
📡
CCIE Candidate
Currently in active lab prep - Service Provider track
500+
LinkedIn Connections
Active in the networking community
// 02. skills

What I work with

Technical depth across routing, switching, service provider, automation, and observability tooling.

🌐

Routing & Switching

BGP OSPF IS-IS EIGRP MPLS L3VPN VPLS Segment Routing QoS STP/RSTP 802.1Q
🏗️

Platforms & OS

Cisco IOS-XE Cisco IOS-XR Cisco NX-OS Cisco IOS ASR Series Nexus 9K ISR Series Catalyst
🖥️

Data Centre

VMware vCenter vSphere Docker VXLAN EVPN vPC FabricPath Containerlab
⚡

Automation & Tooling

Python Netmiko Paramiko REST APIs Ansible LibreNMS Icinga2 Grafana Oxidized SNMP
// 03. certifications

Credentials

Industry certifications spanning networking, systems, and infrastructure.

CCIE - Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert
Service Provider Track · Active Candidate
In Progress
Cisco Certified Specialist - SP Core
Service Provider · Cisco
Active
Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core
Enterprise · Cisco
Active
CCNA - Routing and Switching
Routing & Switching · Cisco
Active
MCSA - Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate
Microsoft
Active
CompTIA Network+
Networking Fundamentals · CompTIA
Active
CompTIA A+
IT Fundamentals · CompTIA
Active
// 04. experience

Work history

17 years across IT support, systems engineering, and enterprise/service provider networking.

Senior Network Engineer / Core Network Architect
2020 → Present
Three6Five · Contractor @ Vodacom Business
Technical lead on complex network deployments at enterprise and service provider scale. Responsible for architecture, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of core network infrastructure at Vodacom Business. Mentoring junior engineers and leading cross-functional escalations. Contributing to network automation initiatives and operational tooling improvements.
IOS-XE IOS-XR MPLS BGP Service Provider Network Automation Mentoring
Network Engineer - Enterprise & Data Centre
~2014 → 2020
Enterprise Networking · South Africa
10 years total in enterprise networking, data centre operations, and service provider environments. Deep hands-on work with Cisco routing and switching platforms across campus, WAN, and DC environments. Designed, deployed, and operated network infrastructure for large enterprise clients.
NX-OS vPC OSPF EIGRP VMware Data Centre
Systems Engineer / IT Support Specialist
~2007 → 2014
IT Support & Systems · South Africa
7 years in systems engineering and customer-facing IT support. Built foundational knowledge of Windows infrastructure, networking fundamentals, and enterprise desktop/server environments. This grounding in how end-to-end IT works continues to inform infrastructure decisions today.
Windows Server Active Directory MCSA CompTIA A+ Systems
// 06. contact

Get in touch

💼
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/kyle-watson-8a804693
→
✉️
Email
kyle@kylewatson.co.za
→

Open to conversations

Whether it's a complex networking challenge, an architecture discussion, or exploring opportunities, I'm happy to connect. I'm particularly interested in service provider, core network, and automation-heavy roles.

Connect on LinkedIn →