Principal Network Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Principal Network Engineer

Why Texas Association of School Boards

Established in 1949, TASB has grown alongside Texas to meet the evolving needs of the school boards it serves.

Today, 500 employees work together to promote educational excellence for Texas public schoolchildren. TASB offers high-quality services that help 1,023 school districts operate more efficiently and effectively in serving more than 5.5 million public school students statewide.

We feel privileged to work alongside talented team members who are passionate about putting people first and empowering local school district leaders. The TASB team is adaptable and responsive to the needs of our members. 

Our culture is reflected in TASB Together, which guides the way we work and encourages employees to learn, grow, and contribute in alignment with our TASB Mission:

The Texas Association of School Boards promotes educational excellence for Texas schoolchildren through the advancement of good governance, valuable learning experience for school leaders, and public school advocacy. We also provide high-quality services and programs to school districts – helping them operate more efficiently and effectively . 

As part of its commitment to employee growth and development, TASB offers competitive pay and rich benefits, including a 2:1 match of retirement contributions up to 5% after one year, (which means that if you contribute 5% to the plan, TASB will contribute 10%), onsite daycare, onsite gym, wellness program, tuition reimbursement, remote and hybrid work options for certain roles, flexible schedules, and more. 

Every role at TASB thoughtfully complements our commitment to supporting school boards and championing public education across Texas. If you consider your work exceptional and share the values that help TASB support school boards, keep reading!

About You

As a Principal Network Engineer, you will serve as TASB's most senior individual-contributor authority on enterprise networking, owning both the architecture and the hands-on engineering of a multi-entity, hybrid Azure/on-premises environment with compliance-sensitive segmentation requirements. You will build the multi-year network modernization roadmap and personally implement it, leading TASB's platform migration from Cisco to Juniper while keeping the existing Cisco environment fully stable throughout the transition.

A Typical Day 

• Own and evolve enterprise network architecture and the multi-year technology roadmap, including platform standards, topology design, and lifecycle planning for switching, routing, and security infrastructure
• Lead the design, planning, and execution of the Cisco-to-Juniper platform migration, including risk assessment, cutover planning, and post-migration validation
• Collaborate with the Information Security team on network security policy, firewall rule management, and traffic flow analysis, and mentor supporting network staff
• If you’re still reading, we’d love to meet you!

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Own and continuously evolve enterprise network architecture and the multi-year technology roadmap, including platform standards, topology design, and lifecycle planning for switching, routing, and security infrastructure
• Lead the design, planning, and execution of network platform migrations and major technology transitions, including risk assessment, cutover planning, and post-migration validation
• Design and implement network segmentation strategies — including trust zones, VLANs, NAC, and 802.1X to enforce security boundaries and meet entity-specific and regulatory isolation requirements
• Perform hands-on configuration, deployment, and troubleshooting of switching, routing, and firewall infrastructure across campus, datacenter, and edge environments
• Architect and maintain hybrid connectivity between on-premises infrastructure and Microsoft Azure, including VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, VNets, NSGs, and multi-subscription routing
• Serve as the escalation point for complex network incidents, performing root cause analysis and driving remediation for issues affecting production systems
• Provide technical mentorship and day-to-day guidance to network administration staff, building team capability on current and emerging platforms
• Develop and maintain network documentation, standards, and diagrams, ensuring architecture decisions are captured and repeatable
• Evaluate emerging network technologies and vendor products, and recommend investments aligned to organizational strategy and budget
• Manage network-related change control activities, including change proposals, testing, and coordination with the Change Advisory Board
• Collaborating with the Information Security team on network security policy, firewall rule management, and traffic flow analysis
• Present architecture strategy, project status, and technology investment recommendations to IT leadership and other non-technical stakeholders
• Participate in an on-call rotation and provide after-hours support for critical network incidents as needed

Skills For Success

Education and Experience: 

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Required certifications: JNCIP-ENT (JNCIE-ENT preferred) and CCNP Enterprise or CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure; Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate strongly preferred; or ability to obtain required certifications within the first 12 months of employment as a condition of employment
• 10+ years of progressive enterprise networking experience 
• 5+ years of network architecture and design ownership; not participation, but accountable decision-making
• Hands-on experience deploying and administering Juniper EX Series switching and SRX Series security platforms, and administering Cisco Catalyst and Nexus platforms, in a production enterprise environment
• Experience designing and implementing network segmentation, trust zones, VLANs, NAC, and 802.1X in a multi-entity or multi-tenant environment, ideally with compliance-aware requirements such as FINRA or SOC2
• Experience with Microsoft Azure hybrid networking in multi-subscription environments, including VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, NSGs, and hub-spoke topologies

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability leading or executing a network platform migration in a production enterprise environment. 
• Ability to operate as a senior individual contributor in a lean team
• Skilled in Juniper EX Series (access/distribution/core switching), SRX Series (stateful firewall, routing, security policy). 
• Knowledge with Network security policy design, firewall rule management, traffic flow analysis
• Ability to present architecture and investment recommendations to non-technical leadership
• Knowledgeable in nonprofit, public sector, or multi-affiliate organizational environments

The TASB Difference

• Enjoy competitive pay and rich benefit offerings
• Be part of a collaborative environment where every contribution impacts Texas public schoolchildren 
• Thrive in a culture that promotes bringing your whole self to work every day and emphasizes healthy boundaries and work-life balance
• Learn and grow individually and together through frequent professional development, wellness seminars, and more
• Work alongside transparent leaders with an open and consistent feedback approach
• Celebrate as a team with meaningful (and fun) events and tokens of appreciation throughout the year

Posting Notices

• Salary commensurate with experience
• The health and safety of our employees and members is our top priority
• The Association is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against an individual based on any of the following personal characteristics protected by law: race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including in relation to marital status, pregnancy, pay, sexual orientation or gender identity), age, disability, genetics or veteran status
• This position does not qualify for visa sponsorship
• Any job offer is contingent upon receipt of results of a satisfactory background check

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