Principal Engineer, Core Network

WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone • Augusta, GA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

We’re looking for a Principal Engineer, Core Network to serve as the lead architect and technical visionary for our global network infrastructure. In this highly impactful role, you will drive the evolution of next-generation networking technologies — including Segment Routing — while leveraging deep expertise in OSPF, ISIS, BGP, and MPLS to solve complex connectivity challenges at scale. This is more than a technical leadership position. As a Principal Engineer, you’ll play a critical role in shaping network strategy, ensuring stability and performance across enterprise-grade environments, and mentoring engineering talent to elevate the organization’s technical capabilities. You’ll bridge high-level business priorities with scalable, resilient, and increasingly automated network execution. If you thrive in high-performance environments and enjoy solving some of the toughest networking challenges, this opportunity offers the chance to make a lasting impact.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in large-scale network engineering and architecture
• Expert-level mastery of Link State routing protocols, including: OSPF ISIS
• Deep expertise in BGP, including: iBGP eBGP Communities Policy Routing
• Advanced knowledge of MPLS, including: L2/L3 VPNs Multicast RSVP traffic engineering
• Strong understanding of: Network Security Quality of Service (QoS) High-Availability Network Design
• Bachelor's or Associate degree in a field related to Computer Networking
• Strategic Foresight: The ability to anticipate how architectural decisions made today will impact business performance and scalability over the next 3–5 years.
• Influential Leadership: Confidence navigating complex stakeholder environments and building alignment around major infrastructure investments — even without direct authority.
• Decisive Crisis Management: A calm-under-pressure mindset with the ability to lead teams through high-impact outages and restore service quickly and effectively.
• Effective Mentorship: A genuine passion for developing engineering talent and helping junior team members grow into senior technical leaders.
• Analytical Troubleshooting: A methodical, data-driven approach to solving highly complex networking challenges using logic, analysis, and packet-level insights.
• Cross-Functional Communication: The ability to translate technical network concepts into business value for executives, stakeholders, and non-technical partners.

Responsibilities

• Designing and scaling high-availability service provider or enterprise-grade networks
• Leading the transition to next-generation network architectures, including Segment Routing
• Optimizing core routing protocols including: OSPF ISIS BGP to improve overall network performance and stability
• Architecting and maintaining MPLS-based services, including: RSVP-TE LDP
• Serving as the final escalation point during critical, large-scale network outages
• Mentoring both junior and senior engineers to raise the team’s collective technical expertise
• Driving automation initiatives to reduce manual configuration efforts and minimize human error
• Performing additional duties as assigned

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree