Senior Network Engineer - Contract - Columbia, SC

Senior Network Engineer
Location: Columbia, SC Onsite

Interview Process: 2 rounds, virtual and in person
Duration: 12 Months
Employment Type: Contract
Experience Required: 06+ Years

Project Scope:

The organization is seeking a highly experienced Senior Network Engineer to provide advanced engineering expertise for critical enterprise networking projects. The selected candidate will support infrastructure modernization, improve network resiliency, establish technical standards, and provide technical leadership to strengthen ongoing operational capabilities.

This is primarily an onsite position at the downtown Columbia, SC campus. Occasional remote work may be permitted, but the majority of work will be performed onsite.

The Senior Network Engineer will serve as a senior technical resource for enterprise network architecture, engineering, modernization, and operational excellence. The role will work closely with Enterprise Architecture, Network Operations, Information Security, Cloud Services, Facilities Planning, project teams, vendors, contractors, and campus stakeholders.

· Define and advance the long-term technical vision and architecture for the Enterprise Data Network (EDN).

· Provide architecture and engineering leadership for enterprise LAN, WAN, wireless, data center, cloud, hybrid networking, and network security technologies.

· Lead complex network infrastructure projects and modernization initiatives.

· Develop enterprise network architecture standards, engineering standards, reference architectures, technical roadmaps, and lifecycle recommendations.

· Design highly available and resilient network infrastructure across campus, data center, cloud, and external service environments.

· Advance network automation, orchestration, Infrastructure as Code, and deployment practices.

· Develop and improve network monitoring, observability, alerting, analytics, capacity planning, and operational metrics.

· Provide senior technical leadership for complex infrastructure issues, priority incidents, and architecture decisions.

· Coordinate network engineering initiatives with internal teams, vendors, contractors, and stakeholders.

· Evaluate emerging technologies and provide technical recommendations for procurement and long-term infrastructure planning.

· Provide knowledge transfer and documentation to support long-term operational sustainability.

Key Responsibilities:

· Provide technical and project leadership for enterprise network architecture, engineering, modernization, and implementation initiatives.

· Design and engineer scalable, resilient, and secure LAN, WAN, wireless, data center, cloud, VPN, firewall, and Network Access Control (NAC) solutions.

· Develop and maintain enterprise network architectures, engineering standards, technical roadmaps, network diagrams, and technical documentation.

· Review and validate network designs and engineering solutions developed by other technical staff.

· Analyze business and technical requirements and translate them into enterprise network designs and implementation strategies.

· Lead network modernization, lifecycle planning, capacity planning, and remediation of aging or at-risk infrastructure.

· Implement monitoring, observability, automation, orchestration, and operational metrics to proactively improve network health and performance.

· Serve as a Tier III escalation point for complex network incidents and engineering issues.

· Perform advanced troubleshooting and provide architecture-level guidance and resolution.

· Coordinate engineering activities with Network Operations, Information Security, Physical Network Infrastructure, Facilities Planning, project teams, contractors, consultants, and vendors.

· Evaluate emerging technologies and provide recommendations supporting infrastructure investments and long-term planning.

· Mentor Network Operations and other technical personnel.

· Provide knowledge transfer and engineering guidance.

· Participate in maintenance windows and after-hours support when required.

· Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Skills & Experience:

· 4+ years of experience with enterprise network architecture and engineering within complex, mission-critical environments.

· 4+ years of experience with LAN/WAN technologies, including Juniper enterprise routing and switching, TCP/IP, routing protocols, DNS, DHCP, and IPAM.

· 4+ years of experience leading complex network architecture and engineering initiatives from requirements and design through implementation, troubleshooting, and operational transition.

· 4+ years of experience with enterprise infrastructure modernization, lifecycle planning, capacity planning, resiliency, and high-availability design.

· 4+ years of experience with network security architecture and technologies, including Fortinet firewalls, VPN/SASE, Network Access Control (NAC), segmentation, and security policy implementation.

· 4+ years of experience with cloud and hybrid networking, including AWS or Microsoft Azure.

· 4+ years of experience with network automation, orchestration, scripting, and Infrastructure as Code concepts and technologies.

· 4+ years of experience with enterprise network monitoring, observability, analytics, metrics, and performance management.

Preferred Skills:

· Experience developing enterprise network strategy, architecture standards, reference architectures, and long-term technology roadmaps.

· Experience supporting network architecture and engineering in a complex higher-education environment.

· Experience with Aruba and Cisco enterprise switching and wireless technologies, including software-defined and centrally managed network architectures.

· Experience implementing enterprise observability, telemetry, automation, and proactive or self-healing infrastructure capabilities.

· Experience with virtualization, cloud networking, and hybrid cloud infrastructure.

· Experience coordinating infrastructure projects with facilities organizations, architects, contractors, consultants, and external engineering firms.

· Experience supporting enterprise cybersecurity, Zero Trust, network segmentation, and secure network architecture initiatives.

Education
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, Computer Engineering

Required Certifications

· JNCIP-ENT or higher

· Fortinet Certified Professional (FCP) or higher

· CCNP Enterprise or CCIE

· Aruba enterprise networking certification

· AWS or Microsoft Azure networking certification

· ITIL Foundation or higher

· CompTIA Security+