Principal Engineer, Network; Network Services

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Full Time Professional La Mirada, CA, US

30+ days ago Requisition

Salary Range: $ To $ Annually

Join the team that connects California to the world — advancing education and research statewide by providing the world‑class computing network essential for innovation, collaboration, and economic growth. Our organization operates the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high‑capacity computer network with more than 8,000 miles of optical fiber. The network serves over 20 million users across California, including the vast majority of K‑20 students, together with educators, researchers, and individuals at other vital public‑serving institutions.

The Principal Engineer, Network plays a strategic leadership role in designing, implementing, and evolving CENIC’s multiple networks, including CalREN, Pacific Wave, and the Western Regional Network. This position supports the organization through senior‑level technical expertise, complex problem‑solving, long‑term planning, and mentorship. The Principal Engineer, Network works across teams and with external partners to ensure the ongoing reliability, performance, and scalability of CENIC’s backbone and member‑facing infrastructure.

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• Lead the design and evolution of optical and Layer 2/3 backbone and access networks to support growing bandwidth, service, and resilience needs
• Create, publish, and maintain comprehensive written strategic and tactical goals and project plans for CENIC networks
• Evaluate and plan for the adoption of emerging network services, technologies, and protocols
• Set engineering direction through the authorship and enforcement of architectural standards, design templates, and configuration policies
• Conduct traffic and capacity analyses to inform long‑term infrastructure decisions
• Keep up‑to‑date with emerging trends and technologies in the networking industry and the larger research & education community
• Occasional travel to conferences to advocate for and connect with the community

• Serve as a senior technical authority and architectural decision‑maker for CENIC’s backbone and member‑serving networks and services
• Translate organizational strategy into technical roadmaps that align with long‑term infrastructure and service goals
• Lead the evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies to ensure network resiliency, scalability, and relevance
• Represent CENIC in high‑level external engagements, technical alliances, and initiatives within the wider research & education community
• Proactively identify systemic challenges or risks and drive coordinated solutions across departments
• Partner with the NOC, Security, and Program Management teams on design, deployment, and troubleshooting efforts

• Serve as a technical resource and mentor for engineers across the team
• Assist with technical reviews, training, and knowledge sharing

• Identify and implement opportunities for automation of provisioning, monitoring, and configuration workflows
• Contribute to the selection and improvement of network visibility and performance tools

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field with at least 10 years of advanced network engineering experience (ISP, research & education, enterprise‑scale backbones)
• Deep mastery of IP (BGP, OSPF, IS‑IS), MPLS (Segment Routing), VPN services (L2
  
  VPN, IPVPN), and traffic engineering concepts
• Proven track record designing and operating large‑scale IP and optical networks (100G+)
• Familiarity with the configuration, operation, and evaluation of major vendors, such as Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and Nokia
• Demonstrated ability to…