Senior OT Network Engineer

Appathon; Georgetown (KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Appathon seeks a seasoned OT Network Architect to lead secure, resilient OT and industrial network infrastructures in a Georgetown, KY site. You will drive deployment, segmentation, IDMZ, and secure connectivity between IT and OT environments, while mentoring teams and coordinating with production engineering and maintenance.

This role demands deep expertise in industrial networking and high-availability design.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field; or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive network engineering experience.
• OT/industrial network environment experience is required.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise networking, architecture, and secure design.
• Hands-on routing, switching, VLANs, firewalls, segmentation, and redundancy.

Responsibilities

• Lead the deployment, implementation, and adoption of OT network infrastructure.
• Design secure, resilient network architectures for industrial environments.
• Support plant-floor, automation, controls, and edge-connected systems.
• Participate in network cutovers, maintenance, deployments, and readiness planning.
• Ensure network implementations minimize disruption to manufacturing operations.
• Incorporate OT cybersecurity requirements into network architecture and implementation.
• Support firewall configuration and secure IT-OT connectivity.
• Provide escalation support for OT and enterprise network incidents.
• Mentor and train support personnel on OT networking fundamentals.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering or related field

Tools

CCNA

CCNP

CISSP

Job description

Serve as the onsite network engineering resource for OT-related initiatives.

Lead the deployment, implementation, and adoption of OT network infrastructure.

Design and implement secure, resilient network architectures for industrial and manufacturing environments.

Support plant-floor, automation, controls, and edge-connected systems.

Participate in network cutovers, maintenance activities, deployments, and operational readiness planning.

Ensure network implementations minimize disruption to critical manufacturing operations.

OT Security & Network Architecture

Incorporate OT cybersecurity requirements into network architecture and implementation.

Implement and support network segmentation, IDMZ architecture, secure connectivity, and access control practices.

Support firewall configuration and secure communication between enterprise IT and OT environments.

Apply high-availability and redundancy principles to critical plant network infrastructure.

Contribute to OT network standards, architecture guidance, implementation practices, and technical documentation.

Network Operations & Troubleshooting

Provide escalation support for complex OT and enterprise network incidents.

Troubleshoot routing, switching, connectivity, wireless, firewall, and network performance issues.

Coordinate issue resolution with internal technical teams, plant personnel, and external vendors.

Support network monitoring and proactively identify reliability and performance concerns.

Assist with maintenance windows and after-hours support when required.

Stakeholder Collaboration & Technical Leadership

Serve as a liaison between IT, plant engineering, production, maintenance, operations, and other technical teams.

Translate manufacturing and production requirements into secure and effective network solutions.

Provide technical guidance to local IT and operational teams.

Mentor and train support personnel on OT networking fundamentals, standards, and troubleshooting.

Drive assigned initiatives and technical tasks through successful completion.

Enterprise LAN/WAN networks

OT and industrial network environments

Network segmentation and secure network architecture

IDMZ (Industrial Demilitarized Zone) architecture

Firewalls and secure connectivity

VLANs, routing, switching, and redundancy

Network monitoring and troubleshooting

Industrial/manufacturing wireless networking

High-availability network design

Plant-floor and automation system connectivity

Industrial networking and communication protocols

Requirements

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, and/or equivalent professional experience.

10+ years of progressive network engineering experience.

Demonstrated experience supporting OT, industrial, plant-floor, or manufacturing network environments.

Strong knowledge of enterprise networking, network architecture, and secure network design.

Strong hands‑on knowledge of routing, switching, VLANs, firewalls, segmentation, and network redundancy.

Experience troubleshooting complex network issues within high‑availability or production‑critical environments.

Experience supporting network deployments, maintenance windows, cutovers, and ongoing operational activities.

Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across IT, engineering, operations, and plant teams.

Ability to train and mentor technical support personnel and operational teams.

Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Strong ownership and execution skills with the ability to independently drive technical tasks through completion.

Preferred Qualifications

Significant experience within manufacturing, automotive, industrial, or plant-floor environments.

Knowledge of OT cybersecurity principles, including IDMZ and network segmentation strategies.

Experience supporting automation, controls, or industrial systems networking.

Experience with large‑scale OT network deployments, plant expansions, or modernization initiatives.

Experience collaborating with production engineering, maintenance, automation, and operations teams.

Relevant certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, CISSP, or comparable networking/security certifications.

Work Model: 100% Onsite - Georgetown, KY

Hours: Standard business hours

After-Hours Requirements: Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required for deployments, maintenance windows, and cutovers.

Skills

firewalls high‑availability infrastructure IDMZ architecture manufacturing environments network segmentation routing switching