Senior Network Engineer

Tier 3 IP Network Engineer – L4

Location: Melbourne, FL

Work Arrangement: 100% Onsite

Employment Type: Contract-to-Hire

Duration: 6–12 months with potential for permanent conversion

Clearance: U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain Public Trust / MFN State Clearance

Schedule: Standard schedule with on-call rotation and planned after-hours maintenance as needed

Experience: 8+ years of network engineering experience

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Tier 3 IP Network Engineer / Network Planning Engineer to support critical IP backbone and customer network infrastructure. This is a hands-on engineering role responsible for designing, implementing, troubleshooting, and optimizing complex enterprise and carrier-grade IP/MPLS networks.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience with IP routing, MPLS, BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, VPLS, VRFs, L3VPN, and Cisco networking technologies, along with the ability to independently troubleshoot complex network issues in a high-pressure environment.

This position provides 3rd-level (highest-level) technical support for IP backbone and customer routing issues and will work closely with engineering, NOC, and customer-facing teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide Tier 3 / highest-level technical support for complex IP backbone and customer routing issues.
• Design, engineer, implement, and troubleshoot enterprise and carrier-grade IP/MPLS network solutions.
• Develop network architectures and solutions based on customer requirements and critical infrastructure needs.
• Create detailed network designs, diagrams, IP addressing plans, implementation plans, and technical documentation.
• Configure and troubleshoot advanced routing protocols and network technologies.
• Analyze network performance, capacity, and trends and recommend network upgrades and improvements.
• Troubleshoot complex BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, MPLS, VPLS, VRF, L3VPN, multicast, and Layer 2/Layer 3 issues.
• Participate in proof-of-concepts, service trials, network integration, and system testing.
• Develop and maintain engineering and NOC documentation and training materials.
• Establish and implement network engineering best practices.
• Identify opportunities for network automation, optimization, and capacity improvements.
• Collaborate with internal engineering teams, NOC teams, customers, and external partners to resolve technical challenges.
• Participate in inter-program technical initiatives and architecture discussions.
• Support network planning and recommend enhancements based on operational trends and recurring issues.
• Present technical solutions and recommendations to engineering and leadership teams.
• Mentor less-experienced network engineers.
• Participate in on-call support and planned maintenance activities, including occasional early morning or late-night work.
• Travel occasionally for requirements meetings, integration activities, and other project needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Networking, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of professional network engineering experience with IP networks.
• 6+ years of experience designing, developing, and implementing IP/MPLS network architectures.
• Strong hands-on IP configuration and troubleshooting experience.
• Experience with several of the following:
• BGP
• IS-IS
• OSPF
• EIGRP
• PIM / Multicast
• HSRP
• VPLS
• VRF / L3VPN
• MPLS
• Ethernet
• Experience developing and maintaining IP addressing plans.
• Experience designing, implementing, testing, and supporting enterprise networks.
• Experience with LAN, WAN, intranet, and large distributed communications networks.
• Strong understanding of Internet routing and BGP troubleshooting.
• Experience with BGP route policies, route leaking, AS path manipulation/prepending, local preference, communities, and related BGP attributes.
• Experience with OSPF redistribution, metrics/costs, route maps, and troubleshooting.
• Hands-on experience configuring and troubleshooting Cisco routing and switching platforms.
• Experience with Cisco ASR, ISR, and Nexus platforms is highly desirable.
• Experience with carrier-grade technologies such as MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, VPLS, and SDN/SD-WAN.
• Experience with network capacity planning, network upgrades, and performance optimization.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills for troubleshooting complex network issues.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong technical presentation and documentation skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Visio.
• Ability to work effectively in confidential and high-pressure environments.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain the required Public Trust / MFN State Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• CCNP or other advanced networking certification.
• CCIE or equivalent expert-level certification.
• Experience with Cisco IOS-XR and IOS-XE.
• Experience with Cisco GetVPN.
• Experience with Juniper, Arista, F5, or other leading network vendors.
• Experience with SD-WAN technologies.
• Network automation and scripting experience.
• Python or other network automation experience.
• Strong project management or technical leadership experience.
• Experience mentoring junior and mid-level network engineers.

Technical Environment

Candidates with experience in the following technologies are strongly encouraged to apply:

Cisco | IP/MPLS | BGP | IS-IS | OSPF | EIGRP | PIM | HSRP | VPLS | VRF | L3VPN | Carrier Ethernet | SD-WAN | SDN | Cisco IOS-XR | Cisco IOS-XE | ASR | ISR | Nexus | GetVPN | Visio