Contract Python Network Automation Jobs in Chicago, IL

Building trusted markets - powered by our people
At Cboe Global Markets, we inspire our people to solve complex challenges together because what we do matters. We provide the financial infrastructure that powers the global economy. As a leading provider of market infrastructure and tradable products, Cboe delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to market participants around the world.
We're building meaningful ways to support professional and personal development while strengthening the trust we've earned as a global market leader. Our teams are empowered to share ideas, actively pursue them and bring on a challenge. As champions of internal mobility and access to opportunity, we encourage our people to "go for it" and equip our managers with the training to coach their teams to the next level. We strive to provide employees a safe space to network, share ideas and create opportunities.
To support strong partnership and team connection, this role follows a four day in office work model.
Location Overview
Cboe HQ is located in the historic Old Post Office district, it's a landmark that blends classic architecture with modern amenities. The building features expansive spaces with high ceilings and large windows, offering an abundance of natural light and panoramic views of the city skyline and the Chicago River.
With its prime location in the heart of downtown, the OPO Building provides easy access to major transportation hubs, including Union Station and multiple CTA lines, making it convenient for commuters. The building is home to a variety of amenities, including restaurants, a fitness center, and collaborative workspaces, creating a vibrant and dynamic work environment in one of Chicago's most iconic areas.
Role Overview
Cboe Global Markets is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to serve as a deep technical anchor for our global network infrastructure. This role is responsible for shaping the design, scalability, and long-term evolution of highly distributed, latency-sensitive trading networks across on-prem and cloud environments. The Principal Engineer brings expert-level knowledge of deterministic packet forwarding, advanced routing design, and ultra-low latency architecture, combined with the ability to operate independently and own complex problems end-to-end.
This individual partners closely with Network Engineering leadership and cross-functional architecture teams to lead high-complexity initiatives, conduct rigorous pre-implementation testing and validation, and establish best practices that drive consistency and reliability across the environment. They function as a technical leader without formal authority-mentoring senior engineers, influencing design decisions, and raising the overall engineering bar across the organization.
Success in this role requires both deep technical expertise and strong communication skills. The Principal Engineer must be able to translate complex architectural decisions, trade-offs, and risks into clear, actionable insights for both engineering teams and senior leadership. The ideal candidate holds (or is actively pursuing) a CCIE certification, writes production-quality Python, and is comfortable working with modern observability platforms such as Prometheus and Grafana to drive data-informed engineering decisions.
Your responsibilities will be:

• Design and evolve low-latency, highly resilient network architecture across global data center, co-location, and cloud-connected environments, with a focus on deterministic packet forwarding, scalability, and operational consistency

• Lead advanced routing design and implementation across complex global environments, including BGP, OSPF, MPLS, multicast, hybrid cloud connectivity, traffic engineering, and high-availability network patterns

• Conduct deep technical research, lab validation, and pre-implementation testing for major network initiatives, working closely with engineering and software development teams to evaluate hardware capabilities, identify design constraints, and optimize exchange performance based on findings

• Lead high-complexity strategic projects from design through execution, producing detailed technical designs, migration runbooks, capacity plans, and implementation guidance for large-scale network changes

• Develop and maintain Python-based network automation to support configuration management, change validation, testing, and operational efficiency, with direct experience using both API-driven and SSH-based automation approaches

• Partner across infrastructure, security, application, and business teams to align network design and delivery with technical requirements, operational goals, and broader organizational priorities, including support for budgeting and planning related to network hardware and software investments

• Serve as a senior technical leader and mentor across the engineering organization, driving architecture reviews, design standards, knowledge sharing, and technical development for other engineers

• Operate effectively in a fast-moving, dynamic environment where priorities can shift, balancing long-term architectural direction with immediate engineering and operational needs

• Contribute to monitoring and telemetry strategy by helping define meaningful visibility requirements and supporting the use of tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or similar platforms where they improve operational insight and troubleshooting

• Support the development of technical standards, design documentation, and regulatory or audit-facing materials when needed, including documentation that may be used to support SEC or other regulatory review processes

The ideal candidate has

• 10+ years of hands-on network engineering experience in mission-critical, low-latency environments, with a strong track record operating and evolving high-performance network infrastructure

• Deep expertise in low-latency and deterministic network design, including practical experience analyzing latency, jitter, and end-to-end traffic behavior in production environments

• Advanced knowledge of routing protocols at scale, including BGP, OSPF, MPLS, and multicast (PIM-SM/SSM), with proven experience designing resilient, highly available global networks

• Strong understanding of network hardware and platform capabilities across major vendors, with the ability to evaluate limitations and optimize design decisions through hands-on research and lab validation

• Experience designing and supporting hybrid cloud connectivity, including AWS networking constructs such as Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, VPCs, and route integration

• Proven experience building and maintaining Python-based network automation, including API-driven and SSH-based approaches for configuration management, testing, and operational efficiency

• Working knowledge of observability and telemetry concepts, with exposure to platforms such as Prometheus, Grafana, or similar tools for network visibility and performance analysis

• Strong background in leading technical research, proof-of-concept validation, and pre-implementation design for large-scale network initiatives

• Solid understanding of network security fundamentals, including segmentation, access control, and zero-trust principles as they apply to network design

• Experience operating in fast-paced, highly dynamic environments, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities while maintaining a strong focus on execution and delivery

• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, influence technical direction, and contribute to engineering standards and best practices across an organization

• Experience contributing to technical documentation, design standards, or materials supporting regulatory or audit processes is a plus

Preferred certifications:

• Cisco CCIE (Routing & Switching or Data Center) or near-equivalent experience

• AWS Advanced Networking Specialty or similar

• Arista, Juniper, or other advanced vendor certifications

Benefits and Perks of working for Cboe Global Markets
We value the total wellbeing of our people - including health, financial, personal and social wellness. We believe standard benefits like health insurance and fair pay are a given at any organization. Still, you should know we offer:

• Fair and competitive salary and incentive compensation packages with an upside for overachievement

• Generous paid time off, including vacation, personal days, sick days and annual community service days

• Health, dental and vision benefits, including access to telemedicine and mental health services

• 2:1 401(k) match, up to 8% match immediately upon hire

• Discounted Employee Stock Purchase Plan

• Tax Savings Accounts for health, dependent and transportation

• Employee referral bonus program

• Volunteer opportunities to help you give back to your communities

Some of our associates' favorite benefits and perks include:

• Complimentary lunch, snacks and coffee in any Cboe office

• Paid Tuition assistance and education opportunities

• Generous charitable giving company match

• Paid parental leave and fertility benefits

• On-site gyms and discounts to other fitness centers

• Paid Time Off

#LI-CJ
This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship now or in the future.
Salary Ranges (applicable for US locations only)
At Cboe, we are committed to providing a competitive, transparent, and market-informed total rewards program. The anticipated base salary range for this role is $163,625-$240,625, with actual compensation determined by job-related factors such as skills, relevant experience, education, internal alignment, and location.
This role may also be eligible for annual incentive compensation and, where applicable, participation in Cboe's long-term equity programs.
Additional information about Cboe's total rewards program, including benefits and other compensation components, can be found here: Total Rewards at CBOE.
Any communication from Cboe regarding this position will only come from a Cboe recruiter who has a @cboe.com email or via LinkedIn Recruiter. Cboe does not use any other third party communication tools for recruiting purposes.