Job Description
Tier 3 IP Network Engineer – L4
Location: Melbourne, FL
Work Arrangement: 100% Onsite
Employment Type: Contract-to-Hire
Duration: 6–12 months with potential for permanent conversion
Clearance: U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain Public Trust / MFN State Clearance
Schedule: Standard schedule with on-call rotation and planned after-hours maintenance as needed
Experience: 8+ years of network engineering experience
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced Tier 3 IP Network Engineer / Network Planning Engineer to support critical IP backbone and customer network infrastructure. This is a hands-on engineering role responsible for designing, implementing, troubleshooting, and optimizing complex enterprise and carrier-grade IP/MPLS networks.
The ideal candidate will have strong experience with IP routing, MPLS, BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, VPLS, VRFs, L3VPN, and Cisco networking technologies, along with the ability to independently troubleshoot complex network issues in a high-pressure environment.
This position provides 3rd-level (highest-level) technical support for IP backbone and customer routing issues and will work closely with engineering, NOC, and customer-facing teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide Tier 3 / highest-level technical support for complex IP backbone and customer routing issues.
- Design, engineer, implement, and troubleshoot enterprise and carrier-grade IP/MPLS network solutions.
- Develop network architectures and solutions based on customer requirements and critical infrastructure needs.
- Create detailed network designs, diagrams, IP addressing plans, implementation plans, and technical documentation.
- Configure and troubleshoot advanced routing protocols and network technologies.
- Analyze network performance, capacity, and trends and recommend network upgrades and improvements.
- Troubleshoot complex BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, MPLS, VPLS, VRF, L3VPN, multicast, and Layer 2/Layer 3 issues.
- Participate in proof-of-concepts, service trials, network integration, and system testing.
- Develop and maintain engineering and NOC documentation and training materials.
- Establish and implement network engineering best practices.
- Identify opportunities for network automation, optimization, and capacity improvements.
- Collaborate with internal engineering teams, NOC teams, customers, and external partners to resolve technical challenges.
- Participate in inter-program technical initiatives and architecture discussions.
- Support network planning and recommend enhancements based on operational trends and recurring issues.
- Present technical solutions and recommendations to engineering and leadership teams.
- Mentor less-experienced network engineers.
- Participate in on-call support and planned maintenance activities, including occasional early morning or late-night work.
- Travel occasionally for requirements meetings, integration activities, and other project needs.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Networking, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or a related technical discipline.
- 8+ years of professional network engineering experience with IP networks.
- 6+ years of experience designing, developing, and implementing IP/MPLS network architectures.
- Strong hands-on IP configuration and troubleshooting experience.
- Experience with several of the following:
- BGP
- IS-IS
- OSPF
- EIGRP
- PIM / Multicast
- HSRP
- VPLS
- VRF / L3VPN
- MPLS
- Ethernet
- Experience developing and maintaining IP addressing plans.
- Experience designing, implementing, testing, and supporting enterprise networks.
- Experience with LAN, WAN, intranet, and large distributed communications networks.
- Strong understanding of Internet routing and BGP troubleshooting.
- Experience with BGP route policies, route leaking, AS path manipulation/prepending, local preference, communities, and related BGP attributes.
- Experience with OSPF redistribution, metrics/costs, route maps, and troubleshooting.
- Hands-on experience configuring and troubleshooting Cisco routing and switching platforms.
- Experience with Cisco ASR, ISR, and Nexus platforms is highly desirable.
- Experience with carrier-grade technologies such as MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, VPLS, and SDN/SD-WAN.
- Experience with network capacity planning, network upgrades, and performance optimization.
- Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills for troubleshooting complex network issues.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong technical presentation and documentation skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Visio.
- Ability to work effectively in confidential and high-pressure environments.
- Must be a U.S. and able to obtain the required Public Trust / MFN State Clearance.
Qualifications
- CCNP or other advanced networking certification.
- CCIE or equivalent expert-level certification.
- Experience with Cisco IOS-XR and IOS-XE.
- Experience with Cisco GetVPN.
- Experience with Juniper, Arista, F5, or other leading network vendors.
- Experience with SD-WAN technologies.
- Network automation and scripting experience.
- Python or other network automation experience.
- Strong project management or technical leadership experience.
- Experience mentoring junior and mid-level network engineers.
Technical Environment
Candidates with experience in the following technologies are strongly encouraged to apply:
Cisco | IP/MPLS | BGP | IS-IS | OSPF | EIGRP | PIM | HSRP | VPLS | VRF | L3VPN | Carrier Ethernet | SD-WAN | SDN | Cisco IOS-XR | Cisco IOS-XE | ASR | ISR | Nexus | GetVPN | Visio