The Art of Network Engineering

What happens when a network engineer realizes their biggest strength isn’t just technology, it’s communication?
In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff sits down with Patrick McCabe to discuss the transition from network engineering into product marketing and other vendor-side technical roles.
Pat shares stories from:
carrier-scale networking,
tier 3 operational support,
IPTV deployments at AT&T,
systems engineering,
sales,
and eventually product marketing leadership.
Together, they discuss:
why some engineers naturally gravitate toward communication-focused roles,
how soft skills accelerate technical careers,
the realities of outages and operational burnout,
the difference between engineering and product marketing mindsets,
and why AI is changing how technical professionals work.
This episode is especially relevant for engineers who enjoy:
teaching,
storytelling,
customer interaction,
content creation,
mentoring,
or translating technical complexity into business value.
If you’ve ever wondered what comes after network operations, this conversation offers an honest look at one possible path forward.
Topics discussed:
Product marketing, vendor careers, systems engineering, AI, technical communication, networking careers, maintenance windows, IPTV, AT&T networking, soft skills, sales engineering, and career growth in IT.
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AI infrastructure is reshaping networking faster than most engineers realize.
In this episode, Andy Lapteff sits down with Scott Robohn to discuss why traditional network engineers should start paying attention to AI networking, GPU infrastructure, and the massive changes happening inside modern data centers.
They explore:
Why AI workloads are changing networking requirements
GPU networking and lossless Ethernet
Ethernet vs InfiniBand
The rise of NeoCloud providers
Co-Packaged Optics (CPO)
Ultra Ethernet and emerging transport technologies
Why AI infrastructure behaves like “one giant computer”
How network engineers can start learning this technology today
This conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what actually matters for engineers trying to stay relevant as AI continues transforming the industry.
Whether you're a traditional network operator, automation engineer, architect, or someone curious about the future of networking, this episode will help you understand where the industry is heading next.
Guest: Scott Robohn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottrobohn/
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This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
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Andy Lapteff sits down in person with Tom Hollingsworth ahead of Networking Field Day 40 for a wide-ranging conversation about Tech Field Day, what makes a great delegate, how great technical conversations happen, and why curiosity remains one of the most important traits in networking.
Tom shares the “secret sauce” behind Field Day: strong content, the right audience, and logistics that make the experience valuable for both vendors and delegates. Andy and Tom also discuss AI in networking, the difference between AI for infrastructure and infrastructure for AI, how new voices get discovered in the tech community, and why putting yourself out there can change the trajectory of your career.
If you want to grow your presence in the networking industry or learn how to ask better technical questions, this episode is for you.
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In this episode, we break down why traditional job applications are failing and how networking communities like USNUA are becoming the fastest path to career growth in IT.
You’ll learn:
 Why applying online isn’t working 
 How real opportunities come from real conversations 
 Why community matters more than certifications 
You don’t get hired through applications. You get hired through people.
If you want to grow your career, this is the shift you need to make.
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For years, network engineers were told the same thing:
“Learn Python… or fall behind.”
But what if that’s no longer true?
In this episode, we walk through a real Hello World for AI in networking: connecting an AI agent to NetBox using Model Context Protocol (MCP) and querying network data in natural language.
No scripts.
No Python expertise.
Just results.
This is a live, unfiltered build, from cloning a repo to debugging JSON to finally asking:
“How many sites do I have in New York?”
…and getting an answer instantly.
What You’ll Learn:
 Why Python is no longer the entry point to network automation 
 What MCP is and how it connects AI to your network 
 How to query NetBox using natural language 
 How AI handles tasks that used to require scripts 
 Where human-in-the-loop still matters 
Why This Matters:
Most network engineers haven’t started automation, not because they don’t want to, but because the barrier felt too high.
AI just lowered it.
This episode shows you exactly where to start.
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This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
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