Principal Network Engineer

GTN Technical Staffing

McKinney (TX)

On-site

USD 140,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

Disability insurance

Job summary

A leading company in network security is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to design and manage secure, scalable networking solutions. This senior role involves overseeing network architecture across data centers and cloud environments, ensuring high standards for uptime and security. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in Linux networking and infrastructure automation, with a focus on operational excellence and performance monitoring.

Qualifications

Strong background in Linux networking and infrastructure automation.
Experience with hybrid cloud architectures and network stability.
Proficiency in tools like Terraform and Ansible for infrastructure management.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and implementation of high-availability network architecture.
Manage network configuration, patching, and performance tuning.
Deploy and maintain observability tools for network performance.

Skills

Linux networking

Infrastructure automation

Hybrid cloud architectures

Network performance monitoring

Security best practices

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Prometheus

Grafana

Datadog

Job description

GTN Technical Staffing provided pay range

This range is provided by GTN Technical Staffing. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$140,000.00/yr - $180,000.00/yr

Direct message the job poster from GTN Technical Staffing

Director of Recruiting and Delivery @ GTN Technical

Job Title: Principal Network Engineer

Location: Onsite – McKinney, TX (with flexibility)

Compensation: $140,000 – $170,000 (based on experience)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Overview

We are seeking a Principal Network Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and management of secure, scalable, and high-performing networking solutions across multiple data centers and cloud environments. This senior-level role will play a key part in building reliable and efficient network infrastructure to support a broad range of business-critical systems.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in Linux networking, infrastructure automation, and hybrid cloud architectures. This position is based onsite in McKinney, TX, with some flexibility.

Purpose & Mission

The infrastructure engineering team is responsible for delivering a reliable, secure, performant, and cost-effective networking foundation. The Principal Network Engineer ensures that networking operations meet high standards for uptime, security, and scalability across diverse environments.

Core Responsibilities

Evaluate, onboard, and manage data centers and ISP providers.
Design, implement, and maintain high-availability network architecture across on-prem and cloud environments.
Lead network configuration, patching, performance tuning, and upgrade activities.
Conduct capacity planning and ensure optimal hardware utilization.

Automation & Infrastructure as Code

Use tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, and Ansible to manage networking infrastructure as code.
Automate provisioning and configuration processes to ensure consistency and repeatability.

Monitoring & Observability

Deploy and maintain observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog) for network performance and uptime.
Set up robust alerting to support proactive troubleshooting and resolution.

Operational Excellence

Manage configuration, patching, and updates across network hardware and systems.
Apply security best practices across network layers, including firewall rules, segmentation, and encryption.

Technical Expertise

Advanced knowledge of Linux internals, especially for networking stability and performance.
Deep understanding of network layers, routing, protocols, VPNs, and cloud interconnects.
Experience designing and managing hybrid network infrastructure across data centers and cloud platforms.
Proficiency with container platforms (Kubernetes, ECS, Docker, Helm).
Expertise in infrastructure-as-code tools and config management systems (Terraform, Ansible, OpenTofu, Puppet, Chef).
Strong observability and monitoring tool experience (CloudWatch, Datadog, New Relic, Prometheus, etc.).
Skilled in analyzing packet captures and troubleshooting network hardware and software.
Coaches and mentors peers, leads from behind.
Balances short- and long-term priorities effectively.
Writes clear, concise technical documentation.
Fosters cross-functional collaboration through empathy and strong communication.
Makes thoughtful, data-driven decisions and advocates for best practices.

Bonus Qualifications

Familiarity with Linux performance tuning tools (e.g., eBPF, Brendan Gregg’s toolkit).
Enthusiastic about post-incident reviews and continuous improvement.
Knowledge of modern CI/CD pipelines and version control platforms.

Seniority level