Principal Network Engineer| Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Remote

Principal Network Engineer

Optum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting-edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care's most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives.

Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

As a Principal Network Engineer within our Core Infra & Ops Platforms division, you will architect, implement, and evolve our global internet edge infrastructure. In this role, you will drive routing policies, traffic engineering strategies, and DDoS mitigation mechanisms to ensure a resilient, secure, and high-performing network footprint. You will lead technical innovations by leveraging software-defined solutions, hybrid cloud connectivity, and advanced automation platforms to build a scalable, highly automated, and self-healing network ecosystem.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely
* from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

• Internet Edge Architecture:
  Design, implement, and evolve the organization's internet edge architecture including transit connectivity, peering, traffic engineering strategies, and edge redundancy
• Routing Design & Operations:
  Develop and maintain stable, scalable routing policy frameworks across the network using protocols such as BGP
• Traffic Engineering & DDoS Mitigation:
  Optimize routing policies for transit providers and peering relationships, and design routing-based mitigation mechanisms (e.g., RTBH, BGP Flow Spec, and external mitigation integration)
• Hybrid Connectivity:
  Design and support resilient routing and route control between on-premises data centers and cloud environments
• Advanced Troubleshooting:
  Investigate and resolve complex routing and connectivity issues using packet captures, control-plane analysis, and telemetry data
• Network Automation & Innovation:
  Evaluate emerging trends and leverage enterprise-approved AI, scripting, and automation tools to streamline workflows, optimize operations, and drive continuous improvement
• Documentation & Standards:
  Maintain detailed network documentation, routing policy standards, and architecture diagrams to support operational clarity
• Technical Leadership:
  Provide mentorship and technical guidance to network engineers, review the work of others, and develop innovative architectural approaches

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

• Bachelor's degree or 4+ years of equivalent network engineering experience
• 10+ years of network engineering experience with a strong focus on large-scale routing and internet edge environments
• Deep expertise in BGP path selection, policy design, route reflectors, communities (including large communities), multipath, traffic engineering, and convergence tuning
• Experience designing highly available internet edge environments, multi-homing with multiple transit providers, and peering at internet exchange points (IXPs)
• Experience implementing and operating routing-based DDoS mitigation techniques (such as RTBH, BGP Flow Spec, and traffic diversion)
• Understanding of routing security practices including prefix filtering, RPKI origin validation, and route leak prevention
• Experience designing hybrid cloud routing using AWS Direct Connect, Azure Express Route, or Google Cloud Interconnect
• Experience using telemetry, Net Flow/sFlow/IPFIX, and routing analytics tools to monitor traffic patterns and detect anomalies
• Willingness to participate in an on-call rotation and perform maintenance or changes during off-hours when required

• Active CCNP, CCIE, or equivalent level network…