Principal / Lead Network Engineer
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Job Type: Long-Term Contract
Work Setting: Onsite
Position Overview
We are supporting a large-scale airport technology environment that requires skilled IT professionals to help maintain, enhance, and support critical computer and information systems across multiple airport facilities. These long-term contract opportunities involve working within a complex, mission-critical infrastructure that supports airport operations, security, communications, and enterprise technology services. Successful candidates will play a key role in ensuring the reliability, performance, and continuous improvement of IT systems in a dynamic operational environment.
Responsibilities
Lead the design, development, configuration, and implementation of complex enterprise network architectures.
Provide Tier 3 escalation support for advanced networking issues, including root-cause analysis and remediation.
Review and approve network designs, engineering drawings, and technical specifications for infrastructure projects.
Oversee day-to-day network operations, performance monitoring, optimization, and system reliability.
Manage network lifecycle activities including hardware refresh planning, inventory management, and maintenance schedules.
Develop and maintain network standards, configuration baselines, and operational documentation.
Provide technical leadership, assign tasks, and mentor junior and mid-level network engineers.
Coordinate with vendors, contractors, and internal teams to support deployments, upgrades, and troubleshooting efforts.
Ensure network security best practices, segmentation strategies, and compliance with organizational policies.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance network performance, availability, and scalability.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Requirements
10+ years of progressive experience in enterprise network engineering, including senior or lead-level responsibilities.
Expert-level knowledge of enterprise LAN, WAN, WLAN, routing and switching, firewalls, VPNs, and network security.
Proven experience designing and implementing complex network architectures in large-scale or mission-critical environments.
Strong ability to troubleshoot and resolve advanced networking issues and serve as the final escalation point.
Experience reviewing engineering drawings, technical specifications, and infrastructure project documentation.
Demonstrated leadership experience mentoring engineers and coordinating technical work assignments.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
Relevant advanced certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP, or PCNSE are highly preferred.
Experience with Extreme Networks technologies is a plus.