
Principal Network Engineer
Abilene, TXJob$115–235K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today
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Job overview
The Principal Network Engineer designs, implements, and operates resilient L3/L4 network services across data centers and cloud environments. The role leads network and cloud architecture work, automation design, complex changes, and incident response; partners with SRE, platform, and security teams; and mentors junior engineers. It also contributes to secure, compliant, highly available services and cross-team standards.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Job Description
Designs, implements, and operates resilient L3/L4 network services across data centers and cloud environments with broader influence beyond the immediate team. Leads moderately complex projects, drives automation design discussions, and contributes to design and architecture improvements. Mentors junior engineers, provides input on team decisions, and collaborates with SRE, platform, and security partners to deliver secure, compliant, and highly available network services with measurable impact on both team and group outcomes.
Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
L3/L4 Network Topologies and Overlays:
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Lead designs for IP addressing, routing policies (BGP/OSPF/IS-IS), EVPN/VXLAN fabrics, and SDN overlays spanning on-prem and cloud.
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Define HA, ECMP, and traffic-engineering patterns; validate through lab/sandbox testing, failure modeling, and staged rollouts.
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Author design docs and drive reviews involving related teams; de-risk changes with method-of-procedure (MOP), rollback, and verification plans.
Cloud Networking Implementation and Operations:
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Implement and operate VPC/VNet topologies, subnets, routing tables, NAT, Transit/Hub-and-Spoke (e.g., TGW/VCN), PrivateLink/service endpoints, and inter-cloud connectivity.
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Design and tune L4/L7 load balancing and service insertion (proxies, firewalls) to meet defined SLOs and cost targets.
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Ensure consistent network policy and connectivity across environments using standard blueprints and golden configs.
Network Security Controls and Compliance Guardrails:
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Engineer segmentation (VRFs/security zones), ACLs/policies, encryption (IPsec/TLS), and DDoS/WAF integrations aligned to zero-trust.
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Embed compliance guardrails (change control, access least privilege, evidence collection) and partner with security/GRC to pass audits.
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Periodically review rulebases and routing policies; eliminate shadow/duplicate rules and reduce attack surface.
Automation, CI/CD, and Infrastructure as Code:
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Develop reusable Terraform modules and Ansible playbooks; enforce code reviews, linting, policy-as-code, and test gates in pipelines.
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Build validation and drift-detection tooling using APIs and scripting (e.g., Python); integrate automated rollbacks and canary changes.
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Champion GitOps practices, configuration data modeling, and inventory source of truth.
Cross-Team Collaboration and Operations Excellence:
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Partner with SRE, platform, and security teams on architecture reviews, incident response, post-incident remediation, and capacity planning.
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Lead portions of on-call response and complex change events; coordinate with related teams to minimize risk and downtime.
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Contribute to cross-LOB standards, reference architectures, and service onboarding patterns.
Documentation, Reviews, and Standards:
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Produce and maintain high-quality design docs, network diagrams, runbooks, and inventories; ensure traceability to requirements and controls.
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Facilitate and participate in design/change reviews; capture decisions and lessons learned; evolve patterns and modules accordingly.
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Mentor junior engineers via code/document reviews, pairing, and knowledge shares.
Job Qualifications
Network Engineering Expertise & Experience:
Core networking: Advanced knowledge of L2/L3/L4, IP addressing/subnetting, BGP/OSPF/IS-IS, EVPN/VXLAN, ECMP, QoS, NAT; strong DNS/DHCP fundamentals; IPv6 design and transition patterns.
Cloud networking: Proficiency with VPC/VNet, route tables, NAT gateways, PrivateLink/service endpoints, transit/peering, hybrid and inter-cloud connectivity; L4/L7 load balancing and service insertion.
Security and compliance: Zero-trust segmentation, ACLs/policies, IPsec/TLS, DDoS/WAF patterns; familiarity with audit frameworks and evidence practices; change/access control rigor.
Automation and IaC: Terraform and Ansible at module/playbook level; Git and CI/CD; scripting (e.g., Python); API-driven platforms; policy-as-code, unit/integration testing, and automated validation.
Observability: Designing and operationalizing SNMP/telemetry, NetFlow/IPFIX, flow logs; SLI/SLO definition; capacity modeling and performance tuning.
Operations: Seasoned in incident management, on-call, RCAs, and structured change management; able to lead complex maintenance events.
Collaboration and communication: Clear technical writing, effective reviews, and the ability to influence related teams; comfort presenting trade-offs to stakeholders.
Problem solving and innovation: Uses judgment on multi-variable problems; leads small-scale innovation/improvement initiatives; evaluates alternatives and fallout to ensure safe adoption.
Education and/or Experience:
11 years of experience in Network Engineering or related field
OR
Bachelor's of Technology (B.Tech) Degree/Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Mechnical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in network Engineering
OR
Master's of Technology (M.Tech) Degree/Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Mechnical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 year of experience in nework engineering or related field.
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Mechnical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field and 3 years of experience in nework engineering or related field.
Preferred Job Qualifications
Education and/or Experience:
11 years of experience in Network Engineering or related field
OR
Bachelor's of Technology (B.Tech) Degree/Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Mechnical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in network Engineering
OR
Master's of Technology (M.Tech) Degree/Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Mechnical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 year of experience in nework engineering or related field.
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Mechnical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field and 3 years of experience in nework engineering or related field.
Disclaimer:
Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.
Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only
US: Hiring Range in USD from: $114,600 to $234,600 per annum. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.
Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle's differing products, industries and lines of business.
Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.
Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:
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Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
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Short term disability and long term disability
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Life insurance and AD&D
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Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
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Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
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Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
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401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
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Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
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11 paid holidays
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Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
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Paid parental leave
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Adoption assistance
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Employee Stock Purchase Plan
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Financial planning and group legal
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Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance
The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted.
As part of Oracle's onboarding process and consistent with applicable law, US-based employees are required to complete identity verification, which involves the collection and processing of their biometric information. Accommodations to this requirement may be granted following an individualized assessment.
About Us
Only Oracle brings together the data, infrastructure, applications, and expertise to power everything from industry innovations to life-saving care. And with AI embedded across our products and services, we help customers turn that promise into a better future for all. Discover your potential at a company leading the way in AI and cloud solutions that impact billions of lives.
True innovation starts when everyone is empowered to contribute. That’s why we’re committed to growing a workforce that promotes opportunities for all with competitive benefits that support our people with flexible medical, life insurance, and retirement options. We also encourage employees to give back to their communities through our volunteer programs.
We’re committed to including people with disabilities at all stages of the employment process. If you require accessibility assistance or accommodation for a disability at any point, let us know by emailing [email protected] or by calling 1-888-404-2494 in the United States.
Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Oracle will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law.
How this job compares
Set against the 961 open Network Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$115–235K/yr
- Texas median$132–190K/yr35 salary ranges
- US median$136–215K/yr730 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $175K, is 9% above the Texas median midpoint ($160K) — in the middle half of Network Engineering salary ranges in Texas.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 66 open Network Engineering jobs in Texas and 961 across the US. 4% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 3 years of experience — less than three in four Network Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for (median 7 years, across 791 postings).
- Education
- 142 of the 961 open Network Engineering jobs (15%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 5, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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