Mahmoud A.-Senior IT Infrastructure Project Manager — Network & Security Background
Check rate
Experience
Senior Network & Security Architect (Founder)
ZeroTrust Network & Security
- Founded an independent consultancy delivering network operations, cybersecurity, implementation, and troubleshooting services across the Netherlands, Europe, UK, Turkey, and the Middle East.
- Administered and configured enterprise and industrial network environments, including Cisco and HP Aruba/HPE switching; delivered changes, expansions, migrations, and on-site hardware installation.
- Applied structured analysis to resolve routing, switching, firewall, segmentation, and connectivity disruptions for enterprise and industrial clients.
Head of Implementation Engineering, Testing & Commissioning, NOC & Operations, and Facility Engineering
Verizon
- Led 15 implementation engineers and managed NOC operations; owned projects end to end from equipment ordering, design and site preparation through installation, testing, commissioning, documentation and NOC handover.
- Planned and delivered network changes, expansions, upgrades and migrations while protecting service continuity and customer SLAs.
- Led 10+ M&A network integrations across 4,000+ devices without customer-facing outages.
- Maintained 99.999% availability across a 14-country MEA backbone for 17 consecutive years (200+ PoPs, transcontinental IP/MPLS); reduced latency by 18% through topology redesign, telemetry and routing optimization.
- Coordinated multi-vendor delivery and handover across Cisco, Juniper, HP, Ciena, Alcatel and Ericsson platforms; ensured operational readiness and acceptance before handover to the IP Global team and NOC, minimizing post-handover incidents.
- Core member of the global IP/backbone team: configured, tested and commissioned backbone routers, core routers and switches; designed and tested firewall policy maps across the backbone and all 27 data centers.
- Acted as Data Center Operations Manager and Facility Engineer for 27 data centers: facility checks, capacity reviews, power/cooling assessments, equipment additions, cabling and readiness evaluations.
- Held troubleshooting and escalation responsibility for backbone, core and data centers; used ETMS to log, track, escalate and resolve faults; resolved ISP interconnection and on-site customer issues.
- Managed SOC L1–L3 operations, incident-response playbooks, threat hunting and ransomware defense; resolved firewall security issues across all 27 data centers.
Head of Implementation Engineering & Operations Team
Orange
- Led the implementation and operations team, directing end-to-end delivery of carrier-grade IP/MPLS infrastructure across Egypt and France: planning, configuration, implementation, testing, commissioning and operational handover.
- Led the merger of two French ISP acquisitions, harmonizing BGP and firewall rule bases across 4,000+ devices in 90 days with zero SLA violations.
- Developed European backbone topologies and directed upgrades across Cisco, Juniper, HP and Ciena platforms; coordinated with ISPs and used fault-management systems to resolve interconnection and service issues.
- Held troubleshooting responsibility for backbone, core and data center environments.
Network Designer & Operations Manager / Transmission Engineer
Verizon
- Developed European backbone topologies and directed international backbone upgrades across Cisco, Juniper, and Ciena platforms.
- Provided global transmission and network operations support, troubleshooting connectivity and infrastructure issues in mission-critical environments.
Industry experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.
Experienced in Telecommunication and Professional Services.
Business area experience
See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.
Experienced in Information Technology, Project Management, Operations, and Procurement.
Summary
Project and programme leader for complex IT infrastructure delivery with 27+ years in carrier-grade and enterprise environments. For 18 years at Verizon and 4 years at Orange, led multi-disciplinary teams and owned projects end to end: equipment ordering, design, planning, site installation, testing, commissioning, documentation and handover into live operations. Experienced in coordinating internal teams, external vendors, suppliers and ISPs across countries, running migrations and M&A integrations of 4,000+ devices without customer-facing outages, and keeping service continuity and SLAs intact during change. Strong enough technically (network, firewall/security, data center) to challenge plans and translate technical status for management, while leaving architecture decisions with the responsible technical leads.
Skills
- Project Control And Planning: End-To-End Project Ownership From Ordering To Noc Handover; Installation, Testing, Commissioning, Documentation And Acceptance Stages With Defined Handover Criteria.
- Coordination Of Parallel Work And Providers: Directed 15 Implementation Engineers Across The Middle East And Africa; Coordinated Cisco, Juniper, Hp, Ciena, Alcatel And Ericsson Equipment And Delivery, Isps, The Global Ip Team And Noc.
- Migrations, Cutover And Change In Live Operations: Led 10+ M&A Network Integrations Across 4,000+ Devices With No Customer-Facing Outages; Merged Two French Isps Across Bgp And Firewall Rule Bases In 90 Days With Zero Sla Violations; Maintained 99.999% Availability.
- Risk, Issue And Escalation Management: Fault Resolution, Escalation Handling And Incident Response Across The Backbone And 27 Data Centers; Tracked And Escalated Faults Through The Etms Fault-Management System.
- Documentation And Operational Handover: Configuration Records, Test Results, Commissioning Reports, Acceptance Documentation And Operational Handover Packages; Operational Readiness Before Noc Ownership.
- Security-Critical Environments: Firewall Policy Design And Testing Across The Global Backbone And 27 Data Centers; Firewall Security Issues, Threat Mitigation And Soc L1–L3 Operations.
- Technical Foundation: Network (Mpls, Bgp, Ospf, Vxlan, Sd-Wan), Firewall/Security, Data Center And Facility Operations (Power, Cooling, Cabling, Capacity); B.Sc. Electrical Engineering.
- Management Communication: Reporting And Handover To Global Ip, Noc And Customer Stakeholders; Head Of Department With Team Leadership Across Multiple Countries.
- Network: Cisco Ios-Xr / Nx-Os, Asr, Juniper Junos, Hp Aruba/Hpe, Ciena; Vlan, Stp, Lacp, Ospf, Bgp, Mpls, Vxlan, Sd-Wan.
- Security: Zero Trust / Ztna, Ot/It Micro-Segmentation, Cisco Ise, Cisco Firepower/Asa, Fortinet Fortigate, Palo Alto Ngfw, Incident Response.
- Infrastructure: Data Center Operations And Facility Engineering, Optical/Transmission (Dwdm, Sdh/Sonet), Aws / Azure Networking.
- Tools And Process: Etms Fault Management; Documentation, Test And Acceptance Reporting; Handover To Operations.
Languages
Education
Technische Hochschule Mannheim
B.Sc. · Electrical Engineering · Mannheim, Germany · 3.7
Certifications & licenses
CCNP Routing and Switching
Statistics
Experience
Expertise
Qualifications
Frequently asked questions
Have questions? Find more information here.
Mahmoud is based in Waalwijk, Netherlands and can operate in on-site, hybrid, and remote work models.
Mahmoud speaks the following languages: Arabic (Native), German (Native), English (Advanced), Dutch (Elementary).
Mahmoud has at least 27 years of experience. During this time, Mahmoud has worked in at least 4 different roles and for 3 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 7 years and 9 months. Note that Mahmoud may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.
Based on recent experience, Mahmoud would be well-suited for roles such as: Senior Network & Security Architect (Founder), Head of Implementation Engineering, Testing & Commissioning, NOC & Operations, and Facility Engineering, Head of Implementation Engineering & Operations Team.
Mahmoud's most recent position is Senior Network & Security Architect (Founder) at ZeroTrust Network & Security.
In recent years, Mahmoud has worked for ZeroTrust Network & Security and Verizon.
Mahmoud is most experienced in industries like Telecommunication and Professional Services.
Mahmoud is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Project Management, and Operations. Mahmoud also has some experience in Procurement.
Mahmoud has recently worked in industries like Telecommunication and Professional Services.
Mahmoud has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology, Operations, and Procurement.
Mahmoud holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from Technische Hochschule Mannheim.
Mahmoud has 1 certificate: CCNP Routing and Switching.
Mahmoud is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.
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Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 29 Oct 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
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