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# Principal Engineer, Network (Network Services)

- **Company:** Corporation For Education Network Initiatives In California
- **Location:** La Mirada, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Access Network, Border Gateway Protocol, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Multi-protocol Systems, Network Planning and Design, Routing, Network Service, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Juniper, Templating, Information Technology, Performance Monitor, Cisco
- **Published:** October 12, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.juju.com/job/15_d3be89e511

## About the Role

* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field with at least 10 years of advanced network engineering experience (ISP, research & education, enterprise-scale backbones)
 * Deep mastery of IP (BGP, OSPF, IS-IS), MPLS (Segment Routing), VPN services (L2VPN, IPVPN), and traffic engineering concepts
 * Proven track record designing and operating large-scale IP and optical networks (100G+)
 * Familiarity with the configuration, operation, and evaluation of major vendors, such as Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and Nokia
 * Demonstrated ability to guide others: mentor engineers, lead peer reviews, and drive adoption of best practices
 * Strong communication skills for engaging collaborators, senior leadership, and external stakeholders
 * Background in research & education, public sector, or nonprofit backbone networks
 * Experience in capital planning, vendor selection, or managing high-impact network rollouts

## Description

The Principal Engineer, Network plays a strategic leadership role in designing, implementing, and evolving CENIC's multiple networks, including CalREN, Pacific Wave, and the Western Regional Network. This position supports the organization through senior-level technical expertise, complex problem-solving, long-term planning, and mentorship. The Principal Engineer, Network works across teams and with external partners to ensure the ongoing reliability, performance, and scalability of CENIC's backbone and member-facing infrastructure., Network Planning and Design

 * Lead the design and evolution of optical and Layer 2/3 backbone and access networks to support growing bandwidth, service, and resilience needs
 * Create, publish, and maintain comprehensive written strategic and tactical goals and project plans for CENIC networks
 * Evaluate and plan for the adoption of emerging network services, technologies, and protocols
 * Set engineering direction through the authorship and enforcement of architectural standards, design templates, and configuration policies
 * Conduct traffic and capacity analyses to inform long-term infrastructure decisions
 * Keep up-to-date with emerging trends and technologies in the networking industry and the larger research & education community
 * Occasional travel to conferences to advocate for and connect with the community

Technical Leadership

 * Serve as a senior technical authority and architectural decision-maker for CENIC's backbone and member-serving networks and services
 * Translate organizational strategy into technical roadmaps that align with long-term infrastructure and service goals
 * Lead the evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies to ensure network resiliency, scalability, and relevance
 * Represent CENIC in high-level external engagements, technical alliances, and initiatives within the wider research & education community
 * Proactively identify systemic challenges or risks and drive coordinated solutions across departments
 * Partner with the NOC, Security, and Program Management teams on design, deployment, and troubleshooting efforts

Mentorship and Internal Support

 * Serve as a technical resource and mentor for engineers across the team
 * Assist with technical reviews, training, and knowledge sharing

Automation and Tooling

 * Identify and implement opportunities for automation of provisioning, monitoring, and configuration workflows
 * Contribute to the selection and improvement of network visibility and performance tools