Principal Engineer

Verisign helps enable the security, stability, and resiliency of the internet. We are a trusted provider of internet infrastructure services for the networked world and deliver unmatched performance in domain name system (DNS) services. We are a mission focused, values driven company where each individual can contribute to building a stronger, more secure internet. We offer a dynamic and flexible work environment with competitive benefits and the ability to grow your career. Principal Engineer The Principal Engineer is responsible for developing, managing, and optimizing the organization's global Internet interconnection strategy. This role oversees settlement-free peering, paid peering, IP transit, Internet Exchange (IX) participation, traffic engineering, routing policy, and strategic relationships with network operators, content providers, cloud providers, carriers, and Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). The ideal candidate possesses strong technical networking expertise, business negotiation skills, and industry engagement experience to improve network performance, reduce transit costs, increase resiliency, and support the company's global connectivity objectives. Responsibilities Interconnection Strategy Develop and execute the global peering and interconnection strategy Identify opportunities to expand peering relationships and optimize transit utilization Drive network growth through strategic partnerships with ISPs, cloud providers, content networks, CDNs, carriers, and hyperscalers Evaluate new IX opportunities and regional expansion initiatives Establish KPIs for traffic offload, cost reduction, latency improvements, and resiliency Peering Management Negotiate and manage: Settlement-Free Peering Bilateral Peering Multilateral Peering Public Peering Private Peering Maintain peering policies and qualification requirements Manage relationships through: PeeringDB IX communities Industry forums Network operator groups Coordinate onboarding and operational support for new peers Resolve peering disputes, routing issues, and traffic imbalances Internet Exchange (IX) Operations Manage participation across global Internet Exchanges Evaluate IX performance and ROI Coordinate provisioning of: Cross-connects Port upgrades New exchange deployments Develop business cases for new IX expansion Maintain relationships with IX operators and executive leadership IP Transit Management Manage global transit providers and carrier relationships Conduct transit capacity planning Negotiate contracts and pricing Evaluate transit performance and redundancy requirements Develop strategies to reduce transit costs through increased peering Monitor traffic shifts between transit and peering environments Routing & Traffic Engineering Define and maintain routing policies Optimize traffic flows across: Peering Transit IX fabrics Private interconnections Manage traffic engineering initiatives using: BGP communities Local Preference MED AS Path Prepending Analyze traffic patterns and forecast growth Improve latency, packet loss, and path optimization Industry Engagement Represent the company at: NANOG RIPE APRICOT LACNIC ARIN APNIC Global Peering Forum Build executive-level relationships across the Internet ecosystem Participate in policy discussions and industry working groups Monitor industry trends affecting interconnection and Internet governance Cross-Functional Leaderships Partner with: Network Engineering Infrastructure Operations Security Product Management Legal Procurement Finance Develop executive reporting and dashboards Present interconnection strategy and performance metrics to senior leadership Required Technical Expertise Routing Protocols BGP-4 (Border Gateway Protocol) eBGP iBGP Route Reflectors Confederations BGP Communities Large Communities Flowspec Core Internet Protocols IPv4 IPv6 ICMP TCP/IP UDP MPLS Routing Technologies OSPF IS-IS Segment Routing EVPN VXLAN Internet Infrastructure Internet Exchanges (IX) Route Servers Route Collectors CDN Architectures Anycast DNS Infrastructure DDoS Mitigation Architectures Content Delivery Networks Routing Security RPKI ROA Validation ASPA BGPsec MANRS IRR Databases Route Filtering Prefix Filtering Monitoring & Analytics NetFlow sFlow IPFIX SNMP Telemetry Traffic Analytics Platforms Capacity Planning Tools Cloud & Interconnection Platforms AWS Direct Connect Azure ExpressRoute Google Cloud Interconnect Oracle FastConnect Equinix Fabric Megaport Business & Commercial Responsibilities Peering negotiations Transit contract negotiations Capacity planning and budgeting Vendor management Cost optimization initiatives SLA management Risk assessment and mitigation Executive reporting and forecasting Requirements Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Telecommunications, or related field 15+ years related engineering experience 7+ years of Internet networking experience 5+ years of peering, transit, or interconnection experience Experience managing relationships with ISPs, carriers, cloud providers, and IX operators Proven experience negotiating peering and transit agreements Experience operating large-scale global networks Preferred Certifications CCNP Service Provider CCIE Service Provider JNCIP-SP JNCIE-SP AWS Advanced Networking Specialty MANRS Certification Knowledge RPKI Deployment Experience This position is based in our Reston, VA office and offers a hybrid work schedule. The pay range is $180,700 - $244,500. The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is noted above, however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience. Verisign offers a discretionary bonus which is based on individual and company performance, and certain roles may be eligible for discretionary stock awards. Verisign is an equal opportunity employer. That means we recruit, hire, compensate, train, promote, transfer, and administer all terms and conditions of employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, protected veteran status, disability, or other protected categories under applicable law. Additional Information Our Careers Page Our Benefits Summary Verisign in the Community Our EEO Statement Our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants/Candidates Reasonable Accommodations Staffing agency policy: No fees will be paid for unsolicited resumes submitted to Verisign or our employees by third parties. #J-18808-Ljbffr