Principal Network Engineer

We have partnered with our client in the search for a Principal Network Engineer who has expertise in data center and on-premises networking.

This position is well-suited for an engineer who has stayed grounded in physical infrastructure rather than shifting toward cloud-first environments Job Type: Contract to Hire or Direct Hire Job Location: Hybrid - McKinney, TX This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

No Corp to Corp or 3rd party agencies.

Responsibilities:Design, deploy, and maintain high-performance networks across multiple on-premises data centers and hybrid platforms, while applying modern automation and monitoring strategies to ensure stability, scalability, and resilience.Assess and onboard data centers, ISPs, and networking hardwareConfigure and monitor network infrastructure, ensuring security, performance, and scalabilityAutomate infrastructure provisioning using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and configuration management toolsDrive efficient hardware usage through strategic capacity planningDeploy and manage observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana) with alerts for proactive troubleshootingEnsure secure and reliable deployment environments using centralized secrets management and automated patching.

Skills and Experience:Strong knowledge of networking protocols, architecture, services, and security practicesDeep understanding of Linux OS internals with a focus on network performance and tuningExperienced in building and managing networking infrastructure across physical data centers and public cloud integrationsHands-on experience with virtualization platforms and tuning for network reliabilityExperience using monitoring platforms like Datadog, CloudWatch, Site24x7, or DynatraceSkilled in configuring and troubleshooting network hardware/software and analyzing packet capturesProficiency with container ecosystems (Kubernetes, ECS, Docker, Helm)Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi)Configuration management experience with tools such as Ansible, Chef, or PuppetProficiency with version control tools (Git, Sourcehut, Mercurial)Experience working with CI/CD systems such as GitHub Actions, CircleCI, or ArgoFamiliarity with utilizing ticket management systems