Principal Network Engineer

About the role

We are looking for a Principal Network Engineer to serve as the senior technical authority for enterprise networking, security, and connectivity at our client’s Charlotte office. This contract‑to‑hire position will lead the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of highly available, secure network solutions across branch locations, data centers, cloud services, and digital banking platforms.

Key responsibilities

• Design, implement and maintain enterprise‑class network architectures for branch, campus, data center, cloud and remote workforce connectivity.
• Develop strategic network roadmaps aligned with digital transformation, growth and cybersecurity initiatives.
• Architect redundant routing, switching, wireless, SD‑WAN, VPN and perimeter security solutions.
• Lead technology evaluations, proof‑of‑concepts and infrastructure modernization efforts.
• Create network standards, reference architectures, engineering guidelines and operational procedures.
• Serve as subject‑matter expert for Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet platforms, designing next‑generation firewall architectures.
• Implement Zero Trust principles and network segmentation strategies.
• Mentor network engineers and act as escalation point for operational support teams.

Required profile

• Proven senior‑level experience as a network engineering leader in large, complex environments.
• Deep expertise with Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks security platforms.
• Strong collaboration skills with Information Security, Infrastructure Engineering, Cloud Operations and business stakeholders.
• Ability to drive modernization initiatives while ensuring regulatory compliance and cybersecurity protection.

Required skills

• Fortinet security solutions
• Palo Alto Networks firewalls
• SD‑WAN design and implementation
• VPN technologies
• Routing and switching
• Wireless networking
• Zero Trust architecture
• Network segmentation
• Enterprise network architecture
• Perimeter security