Principal Network Engineer, Routing and Switching

Prominent Global Solutions (PGS)

. Own the enterprise routing and switching architecture, including core, distribution, access, WAN edge, and data center interconnect designs .

Posted 10/13/2026full-timeFort Meade • Maryland • United StatesLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expert-level hands-on experience in designing and troubleshooting enterprise routing and switching infrastructure, with a strong focus on TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, and high-availability design. Proven ability to lead complex network engineering projects and mentor technical teams while ensuring adherence to configuration standards and best practices.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Enterprise Routing And Switching DesignTCP/IP And BGP ExpertiseNetwork Architecture EvaluationProject Management And LeadershipIAT Level II Or Higher Certification

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Routing ProtocolsSwitching ArchitectureNetwork Design DocumentationHigh-Availability DesignVLAN ConfigurationLink AggregationQoS StrategiesMPLSNetwork TroubleshootingSoftware-Defined Networking

Soft Skills

Excellent Communication SkillsMentoring And GuidanceOrganizational SkillsCollaboration

Tools & Technologies

CiscoArubaPalo AltoDellInfobloxBrocadeVisioPowerPointCameo

Certifications & Qualifications

IAT Level IISecurity+CISSP

Industry Keywords

LANWANWLANVPNCybersecurityCloud-Connected EnvironmentsTechnical EscalationNetwork ModernizationDoD Secret Clearance

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudCyber SecurityFirewallsSwitchingTCP/IP

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own the enterprise routing and switching architecture, including core, distribution, access, WAN edge, and data center interconnect designs
Define routing architecture and policy standards across BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, and static routing
Define Layer 2 and high-availability architecture, including VLAN, spanning-tree, link aggregation, redundancy, VRF, segmentation, multicast, and QoS strategies
Evaluate network architecture, identify gaps and improvement opportunities, estimate effort, assess risk, and develop engineering plans
Provide network architecture specifications, evaluate emerging technologies, and perform needs assessments
Establish and enforce configuration standards, design patterns, and technical baselines
Drive strategic engineering projects from concept through implementation, validation, and transition to operations
Develop implementation plans, schedules, cutover strategies, contingency plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, communications, and change documentation
Lead network modernization efforts including segmentation, IPv4/IPv6 transition, optimization, connectivity consolidation, lifecycle replacement, automation, and software-defined networking adoption
Coordinate change windows, maintenance, testing, validation, and rollback procedures
Partner with architecture, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and technical SME teams
Serve as the final technical escalation point for complex routing, switching, transport, and performance problems
Provide technical direction, mentoring, and guidance to network engineers, administrators, and analysts; review designs and implementation work
Organize technical priorities and manage concurrent efforts against schedules
Improve engineering processes, documentation standards, playbooks, runbooks, technical standards, and execution models
Develop and maintain logical and physical designs, architecture diagrams, routing standards, addressing plans, configuration baselines, implementation plans, test plans, risk and dependency registers, playbooks, runbooks, and operations transition documentation

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience and 12+ years of prior relevant experience, or Master's degree with 10+ years of experience
Specific experience, education, and training may be considered in lieu of a degree
Current IAT Level II or higher certification, such as Security+ or CISSP
Expert-level hands-on experience designing, engineering, and troubleshooting enterprise routing and switching infrastructure in large, complex environments
Deep knowledge of TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, route policy and redistribution, VLANs, spanning tree, link aggregation, VRFs, MPLS, multicast, QoS, NAT, and high-availability design
Experience evaluating enterprise network architectures and developing improvement plans across LAN, WAN, WLAN, routing, switching, firewalls, VPN, proxies, software-defined networking, and cloud-connected environments
Experience leading network engineering projects from planning through implementation, including requirements analysis, dependency management, risk reduction, contingency planning, execution oversight, validation, and operational transition
Experience serving as a senior technical lead directing the work of other network engineers, administrators, or analysts
Hands-on experience with two or more of Cisco, Aruba, Palo Alto, Dell, Infoblox, and Brocade
Experience documenting logical and physical network designs, implementation plans, risks, dependencies, decision points, and technical recommendations using tools such as Visio, PowerPoint, Cameo, or similar
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting architecture recommendations, implementation plans, risks, and status to technical leadership, stakeholders, and approval boards
Active DoD Secret clearance

Benefits

Comp & perks

Hybrid work arrangement once acclimated to the position
Current IAT Level II or higher certification, such as Security+ or CISSP
Active DoD Secret clearance requirement