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

Candidate
location: Candidate MUST be a SC resident. No Relocation Allowed
Additional details: Candidates must be US Citizens

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+