Job DescriptionAs a Principal Network Development Engineer, you will serve as a senior technical leader for network acquisition and connectivity delivery across OCI's global infrastructure.
You will operate at the intersection of network architecture, telecommunications, optical infrastructure, service providers, data center engineering, deployment, and operations. You will take complex connectivity requirements and turn them into technically sound, deployable solutions while leading engineering decisions through delivery, validation, activation, and production readiness.
This role requires deep network engineering expertise, strong technical leadership, and the ability to drive complex problems across organizations and external suppliers.
ResponsibilitiesWhat You'll Do- Provide senior technical leadership for complex global connectivity programs supporting OCI regions, AI infrastructure, capacity expansion, and strategic network deployments.
- Own technical outcomes across the lifecycle of carrier circuits, dark fiber, lit fiber, wavelengths, optical transport, Internet transit, peering, backbone connectivity, cross-connects, and data center interconnects.
- Translate high-level network architecture and business requirements into detailed technical delivery requirements and implementation strategies.
- Lead technical design reviews covering topology, physical paths, diversity, demarcation, transport, interfaces, optics, capacity, routing, resiliency, and operational readiness.
- Identify design and delivery risks early and drive engineering decisions that prevent downstream deployment and operational issues.
- Define technical acceptance standards and validation requirements for network infrastructure delivered by external providers.
- Lead complex Layer 1 through Layer 3 troubleshooting across fiber, optical transport, Ethernet, routing, and provider networks.
- Serve as a senior escalation point for systemic or high-impact connectivity issues.
- Lead deep-dive root cause analysis and drive permanent corrective actions across Oracle and supplier engineering organizations.
- Act as a technical authority in supplier engagements, challenging proposed solutions and ensuring services meet OCI engineering, reliability, scalability, and operational requirements.
- Partner with Program Managers to assess technical risk, establish delivery strategy, make tradeoffs, and develop recovery plans for critical infrastructure.
- Lead cross-functional engineering efforts involving network architecture, backbone, Internet, optical, capacity, deployment, operations, data center teams, and suppliers.
- Develop technical standards, design patterns, acceptance criteria, Methods of Procedure, runbooks, and engineering best practices that can be applied globally.
- Identify systemic gaps in network acquisition and delivery and lead technical improvements that increase quality, predictability, and operational readiness.
- Influence supplier capabilities, technical roadmaps, testing methodologies, and service offerings based on OCI requirements.
- Lead or contribute to technical evaluation of new carriers, services, hardware, optical technologies, and connectivity solutions.
- Define requirements for automation and tooling that improve network delivery, validation, monitoring, inventory accuracy, and troubleshooting.
- Partner with software and automation teams to ensure engineering requirements are translated into scalable tools and workflows.
- Use AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate technical analysis, troubleshooting, documentation, and solution development while maintaining engineering rigor.
- Provide technical coaching and mentorship to NDEs, Program Managers, and partner teams.
- Raise the technical bar for NAT and serve as a trusted technical advisor across the organization.
Critical Focus Areas- Global carrier and service provider networking
- Optical transport, DWDM, dark fiber, lit fiber, and wavelengths
- Internet transit, peering, and inter-domain networking
- Backbone and metro connectivity
- Network architecture and resiliency
- Circuit and fiber acceptance
- Layer 1 through Layer 3 troubleshooting
- Supplier technical leadership
- Network readiness and production acceptance
- Root cause analysis and systemic remediation
- Technical standards and engineering governance
- Automation requirements and AI-assisted engineering
Qualifications- Extensive experience designing, building, operating, or delivering large-scale networks within hyperscale cloud, Tier 1 ISP, telecommunications, service provider, or comparable environments.
- Expert-level knowledge in at least one networking domain such as routing, optical transport, Internet, backbone, or data center networking, with strong knowledge across multiple adjacent domains.
- Deep understanding of network architectures and network device behavior.
- Strong knowledge of routing and networking protocols including BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS, TCP/IP, IPv4, and IPv6.
- Deep experience troubleshooting complex network problems across physical, optical, Ethernet, transport, and routing layers.
- Strong understanding of optical networking, fiber infrastructure, structured cabling, cross-connects, transceivers, and physical network design.
- Experience with Internet peering, transit, inter-domain networking, backbone infrastructure, or large-scale service provider connectivity.
- Experience translating high-level architectures into detailed technical designs and implementation requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives involving multiple engineers and cross-functional organizations.
- Experience working directly with supplier engineering teams to resolve technical issues and improve infrastructure solutions.
- Demonstrated ability to serve as an escalation point and lead root cause analysis for complex or large-scale network events.
- Strong technical judgment and ability to evaluate tradeoffs involving architecture, resiliency, performance, cost, schedule, and operational complexity.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate technical issues and recommendations to engineering and senior leadership audiences.
- Experience with scripting or programming and a strong understanding of software development and network automation concepts.
- Experience defining technical requirements for automation, tooling, monitoring, or operational systems.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience designing or delivering carrier connectivity at global scale.
- Deep experience with dark fiber, lit fiber, DWDM, optical transport, wavelengths, metro fiber, or long-haul networks.
- Experience with OTDR, optical power testing, fiber characterization, acceptance testing, and complex optical troubleshooting.
- Experience working directly with major telecommunications carriers, ISPs, fiber providers, optical vendors, or colocation providers.
- Experience with network diversity, route engineering, physical path analysis, and resiliency requirements.
- Experience with Internet peering, transit architecture, BGP policy, and inter-domain networking.
- Experience supporting hyperscale AI or GPU infrastructure.
- Familiarity with Broadcom and NVIDIA/Mellanox-based networking platforms.
- Familiarity with YANG, OpenConfig, NETCONF, gNMI, telemetry, and model-driven networking.
- Experience influencing supplier technical roadmaps, hardware adoption, testing strategies, or service capabilities.
- Experience using AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate troubleshooting, analysis, documentation, scripting, and engineering workflows.
- Demonstrated mentorship and technical leadership across engineering organizations.
QualificationsMinimum Job QualificationsEducation and/or Experience:11 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development
OR
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or related field AND 7 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or related field AND 5 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or related field. AND 3 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development.
Job Skills:Same skills as prior level.
Preferred Job QualificationsEducation and/or Experience:12 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development
OR
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or related field AND 8 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or related field AND 6 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or related field AND 4 years of experience in network engineering, electrical engineering, cloud programming, or networking research and development.
Network Provider Experience:3 years of experience working in a large internet service provider (ISP) or cloud provider environment.
Network Modeling Experience:3 years of experience working with network modeling and programming (e.g., YANG, OpenConfig, NETCONF, Terraform, Python).
Testing and Automation Experience:5 years of experience working in testing and automation at the system level.
Physical Network Support Experience:4 years of experience in large-scale physical network support.
Virtual Cloud Networking Experience:3 years of experience in large-scale virtual cloud networking.
OCI/AWS or other Similar Cloud Associate:Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) or Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certification within 6 months of hire.
