Senior Network Engineer

CloudCover•Hampton, NJ

20d•Hybrid

About The Position

CloudCover is seeking a Senior Network Engineer with direct prior experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or broader life sciences industry for a six-month, full-time hybrid consulting engagement in Hampton, New Jersey. The engineer will design, build, and optimize secure Azure cloud network infrastructure for life sciences clients, leading hands-on delivery of enterprise hybrid and cloud networking, including landing-zone connectivity, hybrid integration, network security, and automation. The work is performed alongside delivery leads and client IT teams in regulated GxP environments where documentation, change control, and audit readiness are important. The engagement is described as six months in the detailed role description and as 6–12 months in the initial summary. The role is on-site at the Hampton office Monday through Thursday and remote on Fridays, with availability during core Eastern Time business hours. Occasional evening or weekend work may be needed for scheduled maintenance windows and cutovers. The engineer works as an independent contractor, determines how to meet agreed deliverables, supplies their own computer and remote workspace, and is responsible for their own taxes, insurance, and benefits. Engagement terms, rate, and deliverables are governed by a separate consulting agreement and statement of work.

Requirements

Direct prior experience working in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or broader life sciences industry; candidates without life sciences experience do not meet the requirements.
At least 8 years of enterprise network engineering experience, including at least 4 years designing and supporting Azure networking in production.
Deep hands-on expertise with ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, VNet peering, UDRs, and BGP routing.
Strong experience with Azure Firewall and/or enterprise firewall platforms such as Palo Alto, Fortinet, or Check Point, including NVA deployments in Azure.
Proficiency with Terraform and/or Bicep, plus scripting in PowerShell, Azure CLI, or Python.
Solid understanding of TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, load balancing, network segmentation, and zero-trust architecture.
Ability to work independently as a contractor, managing time and deliverables with minimal supervision.
Ability to work on-site in Hampton, New Jersey four days per week, Monday through Thursday, for the full engagement.
Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700), Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), or Azure Administrator (AZ-104).
Cisco CCNP/CCIE, Palo Alto PCNSE, or equivalent networking certifications.
Experience in life sciences or other regulated industries, including familiarity with GxP, computer system validation (CSV), and 21 CFR Part 11 considerations.
Experience with Azure Virtual WAN, SD-WAN integration, Microsoft Entra ID, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
Background supporting connectivity for laboratory, manufacturing, or clinical systems.

Responsibilities

Design and implement Azure network topologies, including hub-and-spoke and/or Virtual WAN, VNets, subnetting, peering, user-defined routes, and IP address management aligned with Azure landing-zone best practices.
Build and maintain ExpressRoute and site-to-site or point-to-site VPN connectivity between on-premises data centers, laboratory and manufacturing sites, and Azure, including BGP routing and redundancy design.
Configure and manage Azure Firewall and/or third-party network virtual appliances, NSGs and ASGs, Application Gateway with WAF, Azure Front Door, DDoS protection, and Private Endpoints/Private Link to enforce segmentation and zero-trust principles.
Design hybrid name resolution using Azure Private DNS and DNS Private Resolver, and implement load balancing and traffic routing for business-critical applications.
Develop and maintain reusable network deployments using Terraform and/or Bicep, integrated with Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines.
Implement network monitoring and diagnostics using Network Watcher, Azure Monitor, and Log Analytics; troubleshoot connectivity, latency, and routing issues and drive root-cause resolution.
Plan and execute network readiness for workload migrations to Azure, including cutover planning, maintenance windows, and rollback procedures.
Apply Azure Policy and security baselines, and produce design specifications, configuration records, and test evidence supporting infrastructure qualification and change control in GxP environments.
Create runbooks, network diagrams, and as-built documentation, and transition operational ownership to client IT teams by engagement close.
Take end-to-end accountability for designs from whiteboard through deployment and documentation, and communicate technical trade-offs to client IT leaders, quality teams, and non-technical stakeholders.