We are seeking an experienced Senior Network Engineer for a 12-month contract position based in Waco, Texas. This role is responsible for the architecture, design, implementation, and optimization of enterprise network infrastructure across multiple locations within a rapidly growing manufacturing organization. As a senior technical leader, you will own complex network solutions end to end, drive strategic network initiatives, mentor engineers, and serve as the highest point of escalation for critical network issues - ensuring high availability, performance, and security across all network services. A central focus of this role is leading the organization's standardization on the Juniper platform, driving the migration and unification of network infrastructure to Juniper (Junos) across all sites.
Responsibilities
- Serve as senior technical lead and top escalation point for LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, and firewall environments
- Architect and design scalable, resilient, and secure network solutions across multiple sites
- Lead the company-wide standardization and migration of network infrastructure onto the Juniper (Junos) platform across all sites
- Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex network incidents, outages, and performance issues
- Define and oversee network monitoring, capacity planning, and availability strategies using enterprise tools
- Lead incident response and direct on-call escalations
- Lead deployment and configuration of network infrastructure (switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs)
- Own the network aspects of site buildouts, relocations, and upgrades (MDF/IDF, circuits, redundancy)
- Establish and govern change management standards for network changes
- Define and enforce standardized Juniper (Junos) configurations across all sites
- Design and maintain firewall architecture, network segmentation, and secure access controls
- Drive compliance with corporate security policies (e.g., MFA, NAC, Zero Trust)
- Lead vulnerability remediation and serve as network subject-matter expert for audits (SOX, ISO, etc.)
- Lead network-related projects (cloud connectivity, tenant migrations, SD-WAN rollout)
- Manage vendor and service provider relationships (e.g., ISPs, hardware vendors), including evaluation and selection
- Establish documentation standards for network designs, diagrams, and standard operating procedures
- Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level engineers
- Own the long-term network roadmap and lead architecture decisions
- Identify and drive initiatives to improve performance, reliability, and cost efficiency
- Champion network automation to reduce manual effort and operational risk
Qualifications
- Required
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
- 10+ years of hands-on network engineering experience, including senior or lead responsibilities
- Proven experience designing and leading enterprise network architectures
- Expert knowledge of TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, and routing protocols (OSPF, BGP)
- Expert knowledge of switching technologies (Layer 2/3)
- Expert knowledge of firewalls and VPN technologies
- Deep, hands-on expertise with Juniper enterprise network hardware and Junos OS (e.g., EX, QFX, MX, SRX)
- Working knowledge of Cisco, Fortinet, and Aruba platforms to support transition and interoperability during standardization
- Advanced proficiency with network monitoring and troubleshooting tools
- Extensive experience with SD-WAN technologies
- Cloud networking experience (Azure, AWS)
- At least 2 Advanced certifications such as:
- Juniper JNCIP / JNCIE (strongly preferred)
- CCNP / CCIE
- Fortinet NSE 4 or higher