Principal Engineer – Network

CrowdStrike

. Own the IP and optical architecture for CrowdStrike's global backbone, including connectivity to traditional and neocloud providers .

Posted 10/12/2026full-timeRemote • California • United StatesLead💰 $195,000 - $290,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates extensive expertise in IP/MPLS core technologies and optical transport, with a strong focus on network automation and infrastructure-as-code strategies. Proven ability to lead large-scale backbone network architecture and operations while engaging with senior stakeholders and mentoring engineering teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

IP/MPLS Core TechnologiesOptical TransportNetwork AutomationCloud NetworkingAI Technologies

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

IS-ISMP-BGPSegment RoutingDWDMCoherent OpticsMPLS-TEDDoS MitigationCDNIaC StrategyNetwork Architecture

Soft Skills

MentoringStakeholder EngagementLeadership

Tools & Technologies

JuniperInfineraNokiaAristaCiscoAWSGCPOCIAzure

Certifications & Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Computer ScienceManagement Information Systems

Industry Keywords

FedRAMPNetwork OperationsTraffic EngineeringCapacity PlanningDemand Forecasting

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSAzureCloudGoogle Cloud Platform

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own the IP and optical architecture for CrowdStrike's global backbone, including connectivity to traditional and neocloud providers
Set the multi-year roadmap governing network evolution, including traffic engineering strategy, capacity planning, and demand forecasting
Drive major initiatives from funding case through implementation and long-term operational stewardship
Act as the senior escalation resource in the 24x7 on-call rotation for major incidents
Own platform selection for routing and optical hardware
Work directly with vendor engineering teams to influence their roadmaps
Engage director- and VP-level stakeholders across datacenter, application, and business teams
Set the direction for network automation, infrastructure-as-code, telemetry, and analytics strategy
Apply frontier and open-weight AI models to telemetry analysis and automated triage while keeping sensitive backbone data in-house
Review senior engineers' designs and set technical standards
Mentor senior engineers toward the principal level

Requirements

What you’ll need

US Citizenship or Green Card holder status
12+ years designing, building, and operating large-scale backbone networks, with ownership of architecture at global scale
Deep expertise in IP/MPLS core technologies: IS-IS, MP-BGP, segment routing (SR-MPLS/SRv6), PE/P architectures, MPLS-TE, VRFs, DDoS mitigation, CDN
Deep expertise in optical transport: DWDM, coherent optics (400G/800G), ROADM architectures, amplifier design (EDFA/Raman), dispersion management, alien wavelengths
Strong grounding in cloud networking: direct connectivity, multi-cloud routing, and hybrid cloud at scale across AWS, GCP, OCI, Azure, and neoclouds
Working depth in adjacent infrastructure domains including virtualization, containers, databases, message queuing, and large-scale provisioning
Proven ability to set network automation and IaC strategy
Familiarity with applying frontier and open-weight AI models to network operations, including self-hosting open-weight models where data sensitivity requires it
Experience operating or architecting networks within FedRAMP-authorized environments
Track record of selecting, testing, and deploying networking hardware and software organization-wide across major vendors including Juniper, Infinera, Nokia, Arista, and Cisco
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience
Proven experience utilizing AI technologies to enhance decision-making, streamline workflows and processes, improve efficiency, and drive business outcomes

Benefits

Comp & perks

Market leader in compensation and equity awards
Comprehensive physical and mental wellness programs
Competitive vacation and holidays for recharge
Paid parental and adoption leaves
Professional development opportunities for all employees regardless of level or role
Employee Networks, geographic neighborhood groups, and volunteer opportunities to build connections
Vibrant office culture with world class amenities
Health insurance
401k
Paid time off
Eligibility for bonuses
Equity grants