What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principal Network Engineer position at NextGen | GTA: A Kelly Telecom Company?
Principal Operations Engineer
Summary
Senior technical expert responsible for the design, stability, automation, and escalation support of large-scale network infrastructure. Heavy focus on Cisco/Juniper platforms, complex troubleshooting, and leading operational best practices.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as the top escalation point for major network incidents; perform deep packet and root cause analysis.
- Maintain, optimize, and troubleshoot large-scale routing, switching, and security platforms (Cisco IOS/IOS-XE/NX-OS, Juniper MX/EX/QFX/SRX/PTX).
- Support network architecture with operational input; contribute to high-availability designs.
- Lead deployments, upgrades, and configuration management across multi-vendor environments.
- Build automation tools using Python, Ansible, and shell scripting.
- Maintain documentation, runbooks, and network diagrams.
- Mentor engineers and collaborate with vendors on escalated TAC/JTAC issues.
Required Experience
- 10 years in large-scale network operations/engineering (service provider or similar).
- Expert-level routing, switching, MPLS (LDP, RSVP-TE, VPLS, MVPN), BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, QoS, and security technologies (IPsec, NAT, firewall).
- Fluent in Junos OS and Cisco operating systems.
- Strong automation and scripting capability (Python, Ansible).
- Hands-on with monitoring and diagnostic tools (Wireshark, SolarWinds, Grafana).
- CCIE and JNCIE required.
- Bachelor’s in a relevant field; Master’s preferred.
Other Details
- May require shift work to support 24/7 NOC operations.
- Primarily desk/computer-based role with standard office mobility.