Principal Engineer, Core Network

Principal Engineer, Core Network

Location Requirement:This position operates on a hybrid schedule (3 days in-office, 2 days remote). Candidates must be within 45 minutes of an office and able to regularly commute to work as required. This is not a fully remote opportunity.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Principal Engineer, Core Network to serve as the lead architect and technical visionary for our global network infrastructure.

In this highly impactful role, you will drive the evolution of next-generation networking technologies - including Segment Routing - while leveraging deep expertise in OSPF, ISIS, BGP, and MPLS to solve complex connectivity challenges at scale.

This is more than a technical leadership position. As a Principal Engineer, you'll play a critical role in shaping network strategy, ensuring stability and performance across enterprise-grade environments, and mentoring engineering talent to elevate the organization's technical capabilities. You'll bridge high-level business priorities with scalable, resilient, and increasingly automated network execution.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: Up to $160,000 depending on experience

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 4 01(k) with company match

• Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays

• Tuition reimbursement , f lexible spending and health savings account options

• Employee discounts on WOW! services in applicable service areas

• Career development opportunities and the ability to make a meaningful impact within a growing organization

What You'll Do

You will be responsible for designing, scaling, optimizing, and modernizing high-availability network infrastructure, including:

• Designing and scaling high-availability service provider or enterprise-grade networks
• Leading the transition to next-generation network architectures, including Segment Routing
• Optimizing core routing protocols including:
  
  • OSPF
  • ISIS
  • BGP
  
  to improve overall network performance and stability
• Architecting and maintaining MPLS-based services, including:
  
  • RSVP-TE
  • LDP
• Serving as the final escalation point during critical, large-scale network outages
• Mentoring both junior and senior engineers to raise the team's collective technical expertise
• Driving automation initiatives to reduce manual configuration efforts and minimize human error
• Performing additional duties as assigned

What You Bring

Minimum Required Education & Experience

• 7+ years of experience in large-scale network engineering and architecture
• Expert-level mastery of Link State routing protocols, including:
  
  • OSPF
  • ISIS
• Deep expertise in BGP, including:
  
  • iBGP
  • eBGP
  • Communities
  • Policy Routing
• Advanced knowledge of MPLS, including:
  
  • L2/L3 VPNs
  • Multicast
  • RSVP traffic engineering
• Strong understanding of:
  
  • Network Security
  • Quality of Service (QoS)
  • High-Availability Network Design
• Bachelor's or Associate degree in a field related to Computer Networking

Skills & Abilities for Success in This Role

Strategic Foresight

The ability to anticipate how architectural decisions made today will impact business performance and scalability over the next 3-5 years.

Influential Leadership

Confidence navigating complex stakeholder environments and building alignment around major infrastructure investments - even without direct authority.

Decisive Crisis Management

A calm-under-pressure mindset with the ability to lead teams through high-impact outages and restore service quickly and effectively.

Effective Mentorship

A genuine passion for developing engineering talent and helping junior team members grow into senior technical leaders.

Analytical Troubleshooting

A methodical, data-driven approach to solving highly complex networking challenges using logic, analysis, and packet-level insights.

Cross-Functional Communication

The ability to translate technical network concepts into business value for executives, stakeholders, and non-technical partners.

Physical Demands