Network Controls Engineer (Sponsorship Offered)

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Network & Controls Engineer

Job Description

The Network & Controls Engineer designs, deploys, and supports the communication paths that connect fleet devices and control systems to customer networks, enabling secure and reliable connectivity for operating solar plants. This role works across VPNs, firewalls, routers, and industrial protocols to ensure robust site connectivity and effective integration with SCADA and control systems. This position will be able to offer sponsorship for a candidate that is on a visa.

Responsibilities

• Design and review site connectivity for new and existing solar plant locations, including routers, firewalls, VPNs, and cellular or leased‑line links.
• Assist in developing network topologies that align with customer standards and site requirements, focusing on IP addressing schemes, routing, and segmentation between operational technology and IT networks.
• Prepare clear connectivity and configuration packages, including IP plans, port requirements, and firewall rules, for internal stakeholders and customer review.
• Implement and test VPN tunnels, firewall rules, and routing policies to provide secure remote access to fleet devices and control systems.
• Support the configuration of on‑site network equipment such as routers, switches, and cellular gateways using established templates and guidelines.
• Coordinate closely with customer IT and operations teams to satisfy security and connectivity requirements while maintaining operational reliability.
• Monitor connectivity to field sites and help triage network issues such as packet loss, latency, routing problems, and firewall blocks.
• Use logs, traceroutes, packet captures, and monitoring dashboards to diagnose and resolve network incidents in a structured and timely manner.
• Collaborate with Technical Services, firmware, and applications teams to distinguish network‑related issues from device or application problems.
• Support reliable transport of SCADA and industrial protocols, including Modbus, OPC‑UA, DNP3, and similar standards, between site equipment and control centers.
• Assist in validating that required data points and control paths are available, accurate, and behaving as expected after network or configuration changes.
• Help document standard patterns and best practices for connecting to customer SCADA and historian systems.
• Apply secure‑by‑default practices to site connectivity, including least‑privilege access, restricted ports, use of jump hosts, and multi‑factor authentication where applicable.
• Follow defined change‑management processes, including submitting requests, obtaining approvals, adhering to maintenance windows, and documenting changes.
• Contribute to standard runbooks, templates, and procedures for common network changes and site onboarding activities.
• Maintain accurate records of site network designs, configurations, and changes in internal tools and repositories.
• Provide concise status updates on ongoing work, risks, and completed changes to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Identify recurring issues and propose improvements to templates, monitoring capabilities, or automation to enhance reliability and efficiency.

Essential Skills

• 1–2 years of experience in network engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Electronics & Communications with a strong networking focus, including internships and project work.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Communications, Computer Engineering, Network Engineering, or a closely related field is preferred.
• Solid understanding of core networking concepts, including IP addressing and subnetting, routing, VPNs, firewalls, NAT, and DNS.
• Experience configuring or supporting network devices such as routers, firewalls, switches, and cellular gateways in production or lab environments.
• Exposure to SCADA systems and industrial protocols such as Modbus, OPC‑UA, DNP3, or similar power‑industry standards is strongly preferred.
• Ability to use basic network diagnostic tools, including ping, traceroute, netstat, and packet capture utilities, and to interpret their results effectively.
• Ability to read and work from network diagrams and to document network designs and changes clearly for both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Comfort collaborating with customer IT, operations, and engineering teams and participating in remote troubleshooting sessions.
• Strong foundational knowledge of networking for industrial environments, including site connectivity, routing, and secure remote access.
• Attention to detail and a structured approach to change management, documentation, and incident resolution.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Familiarity with NERC CIP or other power‑industry cybersecurity and compliance frameworks.
• Experience with scripting or automation tools, such as Python, shell scripting, or infrastructure‑as‑code platforms, to support growth into advanced platform and network roles.
• Understanding of industrial control systems and field‑deployed controllers used in solar or power‑generation environments.
• Experience working with SCADA integration patterns and connecting to historian systems.
• Ability to contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, including enhancements to templates, monitoring systems, and automation workflows.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to provide clear status updates and documentation for stakeholders.
• Collaborative mindset and willingness to work across technical services, firmware, applications, and customer teams.

Work Environment

This role operates in a technology‑driven environment that supports solar plant operations through secure and reliable networking. You will work primarily with network and security technologies such as routers, switches, firewalls, VPNs, cellular gateways, SCADA systems, and industrial protocols including Modbus, OPC‑UA, and DNP3. The position involves a mix of design work, configuration tasks, remote troubleshooting, and documentation, with frequent collaboration across IT, operations, and engineering teams. Work is typically performed in an office or remote setting using standard networking and monitoring tools, with a focus on structured change management and adherence to cybersecurity best practices.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Nashville, TN.

The pay range for this position is $35.00 - $41.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Nashville,TN.

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 16, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.