Principal Network Engineer

Network architect in Collegeville PA or Raleigh NC to be onsite

Network architect
Collegeville PA or Raleigh NC to be onsite

6 months contract

Pay $70 to 75/hr

The Principal Network Engineer will be a technical leader responsible for designing implementing and optimizing enterprise network solutions that enable cloud-first strategies with a strong emphasis on Wide Area Network (WAN) technologies critical network services and traffic management. This role ensures secure scalable and high-performing connectivity across hybrid and multi-cloud environments supporting mission-critical applications and services globally.

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud-Integrated Network Design
  • Architect and deploy WAN solutions optimized for hybrid and multi-cloud environments (AWS Azure GCP).
  • Implement SD-WAN technologies to enhance cloud connectivity performance and cost efficiency.
  • Design secure interconnects between on-premises data centers and cloud platforms.
• Critical Network Services
  • Manage and optimize DNS DHCP IPAM and load balancing across on-prem and cloud environments.
  • Ensure high availability and redundancy for critical services supporting cloud workloads.
• Traffic Management & Optimization
  • Implement QoS and traffic engineering policies to prioritize cloud-based applications.
  • Monitor and analyze network performance across global and cloud networks identifying bottlenecks and optimizing throughput.
• Security & Compliance
  • Integrate Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) frameworks to unify networking and security services.
  • Apply Zero Trust principles to network design ensuring identity-based access and continuous verification.
  • Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements for cloud networking.
• Leadership & Mentorship
  • Serve as a subject matter expert for network and cloud engineering teams.
  • Provide guidance on emerging technologies such as SASE Zero Trust and network automation.

Basic Qualifications: We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science Information Technology or related field.
• 10 years of experience in network engineering with 5 years in a senior or principal role.
• Experience in WAN technologies (SD-WAN MPLS VPN) and routing protocols (BGP OSPF).
• Knowledge of critical network services (DNS DHCP IPAM) and traffic management techniques.
• Experience with cloud networking (AWS VPC Azure Virtual Network GCP networking).
• Experience with SASE solutions (e.g. Zscaler Prisma Access Cisco Umbrella) and Zero Trust architectures.
• Experience with automation and orchestration tools (Terraform Ansible Python scripting).

Preferred Qualifications: If you have the following characteristics it would be a plus:

• Masters degree in Computer Science Information Technology or related field.
• Relevant certifications (CCNP CCIE AWS Advanced Networking Specialty Azure Network Engineer Associate) strongly preferred.
• Strategic thinking with a cloud-first and security-first mindset.
• Advanced technical expertise and problem-solving skills.
• Strong leadership communication and collaboration abilities.