Job Description

Job Title: Principal Network Engineer

Location: Jackson, Michigan (Hybrid — 3 days/week on-site)

Contract Duration: 12+ months

W2 Employment

Job Summary:

The Principal Network Engineer is a strategic technical leader responsible for designing, optimizing, and securing enterprise network infrastructure. This role oversees large-scale network design initiatives, contributes to IT and security architecture, and ensures that the network maintains resiliency, high performance, and robustness in alignment with business goals. The Principal Network Engineer is a key member of the team delivering 7x24 operational support for both IT and OT systems.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, operate, and maintain functional networks (LAN, WLAN, WAN) with a strong emphasis on scalability, resiliency, and enterprise-wide performance.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve complex, tier-3 network issues; perform root-cause analyses to enable ongoing service stability.
• Develop and document network architectures, operational procedures, and technical guides for enterprise-wide team use.
• Develop and enforce network automation strategies employing Terraform, Ansible, Python, or PowerShell to maximize operational efficiency and resiliency.
• Maintain comprehensive technical documentation, including network configurations, operational routines, and project plans.
• Stay abreast of emerging networking technologies, industry trends, and evolving cyberthreats, and provide strategic recommendations to keep the enterprise’s network up to date and future-proof.
• Perform other duties as assigned or necessary.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Expert knowledge of routing and switching technologies, including BGP, OSPF, MPLS, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VXLAN, and EVPN.
• Deep expertise in designing and managing enterprise networks within a multicloud context (AWS, Azure, GCP) — VPC, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, and Cloud Load Balancers.
• Experience with SD-WAN, network virtualization, and Software-Defined Networking (Cisco ACI, VMware NSX, AWS Transit Gateway).
• Proficiency in network automation and scripting (Terraform, Ansible, Python, PowerShell) to enable operational excellence.
• Strong troubleshooting skills — able to identify, isolate, and resolve complex, multilayered network issues in a fast-paced enterprise environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborative team player who exemplifies humility, hunger, interpersonal acumen, and a strong service-centric approach.
• Ability to foster a culture of continuous improvement, balance business needs with operational excellence, and enable ongoing innovation.

Experience:

• 4–7 years of hands-on experience in cloud networking (AWS, Azure, or GCP) — required
• 4–7 years’ experience with SD-WAN, network segmentation, and automation tools — required
• 4–7 years’ experience leading technical projects — required
• 4–7 years’ experience designing and supporting large-scale enterprise networks, including hybrid clouds — required
• 7–10 years’ network engineering experience, including design, implementation, and maintenance of enterprise-scale networks — required
• Ability to troubleshoot technical Tier 2 and 3 escalation issues and identify solutions under pressure in a fast-paced environment — required

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