Principal Network Engineer

Harvey Nash; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Paid Time Off

401k match

Job summary

Harvey Nash Inc. in Chicago or New York is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to anchor our global, low-latency trading network.

The role emphasizes deterministic forwarding, advanced routing design, and end-to-end ownership across on-prem and cloud environments. You will mentor engineers, drive architecture and pre-implementation testing, and collaborate with security, infrastructure, and software teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in network engineering in mission-critical, low-latency environments.
• Expertise in deterministic network design, latency analysis, and traffic behavior.
• Proven routing knowledge including BGP/OSPF/MPLS/multicast at scale.
• Hands-on HW/SW evaluation, lab validation, and pre-implementation testing.

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve low-latency, highly resilient network architecture worldwide.
• Lead advanced routing design and implementation across complex environments.
• Perform pre-implementation testing and collaboration with software teams.
• Develop Python-based network automation for configuration management.

Skills

Low-latency networking

Deterministic routing

Python scripting

Network automation

Mentoring engineers

Technical leadership

Observability tools

Tools

Prometheus

Grafana

Automation APIs (SSH/REST)

Job description

Job Title: Principal Network Engineer

Location: Chicago IL 60605/ New York City, NY -- 4 days onsite, 1 day remote

Perm/FTE role

Job Summary

Onsite 4x a week in Chicago or NYC

Our challenge is finding folks with direct HFTexperience. THIS IS A MUST HAVE

• The role requires experience with financialservices, exchange or high-frequency trading environments, includinglow-latency networking, multicast, FPGA-based switches, high-precision timingand troubleshooting production issues. -
• The principal engineer must be able to workacross architecture, network engineering, technical project management anddetailed troubleshooting systems. ownership, accountability and driving workthrough to completion.
• Fintech or high-frequency trading experience,Layer 1 switching, latency monitoring, ASICs, buffer utilization, multicasttable sizes, and vendor equipment testing. -

JobDescription

RoleOverview

Seeking a Principal Network Engineer to serve as a deep technical anchor forour global network infrastructure.

• This role is responsible for shaping the design,scalability, and long-term evolution of highly distributed, latency-sensitivetrading networks across on-prem and cloud environments.
• The Principal Engineer brings expert-levelknowledge of deterministic packet forwarding, advanced routing design, andultra-low latency architecture, combined with the ability to operateindependently and own complex problems end-to-end.
• This individual partners closely with NetworkEngineering leadership and cross-functional architecture teams to leadhigh-complexity initiatives, conduct rigorous pre-implementation testing andvalidation, and establish best practices that drive consistency and reliabilityacross the environment.
• They function as a technical leader withoutformal authority—mentoring senior engineers, influencing design decisions, andraising the overall engineering bar across the organization.
• Success in this role requires both deeptechnical expertise and strong communication skills.
• The Principal Engineer must be able to translatecomplex architectural decisions, trade-offs, and risks into clear, actionableinsights for both engineering teams and senior leadership.
• The ideal candidate holds (or is activelypursuing) a CCIE certification, writes production-quality Python, and iscomfortable working with modern observability platforms such as Prometheus andGrafana to drive data-informed engineering decisions.

Your responsibilities will be:

1. Design and evolve low-latency, highly resilientnetwork architecture across global data center, co-location, andcloud-connected environments, with a focus on deterministic packetforwarding, scalability, and operational consistency
2. Lead advanced routing design and implementationacross complex global environments, including BGP, OSPF, MPLS, multicast,hybrid cloud connectivity, traffic engineering, and high-availabilitynetwork patterns
3. Conduct deep technical research, lab validation, andpre-implementation testing for major network initiatives, working closelywith engineering and software development teams to evaluate hardwarecapabilities, identify design constraints, and optimize exchangeperformance based on findings
4. Lead high-complexity strategic projects from designthrough execution, producing detailed technical designs, migrationrunbooks, capacity plans, and implementation guidance for large-scalenetwork changes
5. Develop and maintain Python-based network automationto support configuration management, change validation, testing, andoperational efficiency, with direct experience using both API-driven andSSH-based automation approaches
6. Partner across infrastructure, security, application,and business teams to align network design and delivery with technicalrequirements, operational goals, and broader organizational priorities,including support for budgeting and planning related to network hardwareand software investments
7. Serve as a senior technical leader and mentor acrossthe engineering organization, driving architecture reviews, designstandards, knowledge sharing, and technical development for otherengineers
8. Operate effectively in a fast-moving, dynamicenvironment where priorities can shift, balancing long-term architecturaldirection with immediate engineering and operational needs
9. Contribute to monitoring and telemetry strategy byhelping define meaningful visibility requirements and supporting the useof tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or similar platforms wheretheyimprove operational insight and troubleshooting
10. Support the development of technical standards,design documentation, and regulatory or audit-facing materials whenneeded, including documentation that may be used to support SEC or otherregulatory review processes

The ideal candidate has

1. 10+ years of hands-on network engineering experiencein mission-critical, low-latency environments, with a strong track recordoperating and evolving high-performance network infrastructure
2. Deep expertise in low-latency and deterministicnetwork design, including practical experience analyzing latency, jitter,and end-to-end traffic behavior in production environments
3. Advanced knowledge of routing protocols at scale,including BGP, OSPF, MPLS, and multicast (PIM-SM/SSM), with provenexperience designing resilient, highly available global networks
4. Strong understanding of network hardware and platformcapabilities across major vendors, with the ability to evaluatelimitations and optimize design decisions through hands-on research andlab validation
5. Experience designing and supporting hybrid cloudconnectivity, including AWS networking constructs such as Direct Connect,Transit Gateway, VPCs, and route integration
6. Proven experience building and maintainingPython-based network automation, including API-driven and SSH-basedapproaches for configuration management, testing, and operationalefficiency
7. Working knowledge of observability and telemetryconcepts, with exposure to platforms such as Prometheus, Grafana, orsimilar tools for network visibility and performance analysis
8. Strong background in leading technical research,proof-of-concept validation, and pre-implementation design for large-scalenetwork initiatives
9. Solid understanding of network security fundamentals,including segmentation, access control, and zero-trust principles as theyapply to network design
10. Experience operating in fast-paced, highly dynamicenvironments, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities whilemaintaining a strong focus on execution and delivery
11. Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, influencetechnical direction, and contribute to engineering standards and bestpractices across an organization
12. Experience contributing to technical documentation,design standards, or materials supporting regulatory or audit processes isa plus

Preferred certifications:

1. Cisco CCIE (Routing & Switching or Data Center)or near-equivalent experience
2. AWS Advanced Networking Specialty or similar
3. Arista, Juniper, or other advanced vendorcertifications

A reasonable, good faith The anticipated base paycompensation range for this position is$200,000 to$250,000 per year as base

Benefits:

Full time employees are eligibleFor Health Insurance, Paid Time Off, and 401k match

* The pay range listed above reflects the expectedstarting salary /Pay rate for this role. This range may be adjusted based onmarket conditions, location, and other relevant factors. The Company willdetermine the final starting salary/Pay rate in consultation with the selectedcandidate(s), in full compliance with applicable laws