Freelance Core Network Engineer Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

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Job Posting Title:

Network Engineer, Senior

Location:

Dallas - Hospital

Additional Posting Details:

Monday - Friday

Business hours and after hours as needed

Candidates must be located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area or be willing to relocate upon hire

Job Description:

We are seeking a Senior Network Engineer to act as the lead technical authority for our enterprise network infrastructure. This role is deeply hands-on and responsible for driving network design standards, leading complex troubleshooting efforts, and executing high-impact engineering initiatives. The successful candidate will bring expert-level experience with Cisco enterprise networking, Palo Alto Networks firewalls, and advanced network services, along with proven proficiency in enterprise wireless networking. This role also plays a key part in developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and mentoring other network engineering staff.

This position is well aligned with a CCIE-level engineering role, requiring strong theoretical knowledge, practical implementation skills, and disciplined operational rigor.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead network engineer, providing technical direction and hands-on leadership across all aspects of the enterprise network

• Design, implement, and support complex Cisco-based campus, core, and wireless network architectures

• Act as the primary escalation point for advanced network issues, performing deep-dive troubleshooting and root-cause analysis

• Engineer, deploy, and maintain Palo Alto Networks firewalls, including policy design, advanced security features, and VPN services

• Design, deploy, and support enterprise wireless networks, ensuring high availability, performance, security, and seamless client connectivity

• Administer and enhance Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) for network access control, authentication, authorization, and profiling

• Utilize Cisco Catalyst Center to support network automation, assurance, configuration management, and operational visibility across wired and wireless environments

• Define and enforce network engineering standards, best practices, and design patterns

• Lead network lifecycle activities including upgrades, migrations, expansions, and hardware refreshes

• Create, maintain, and continuously improve standard operating procedures (SOPs), runbooks, and technical documentation

• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level network engineers

• Collaborate with security, infrastructure, and application teams to ensure stable and secure network integration

• Participate in on-call rotation and provide expert-level support during critical network incidents

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on enterprise network engineering experience

• Expert-level knowledge of Cisco enterprise networking technologies

• Extensive experience with Palo Alto Networks firewalls in production environments

• Strong operational experience with Cisco ISE, including NAC policy design and troubleshooting

• Proficiency with Cisco Catalyst Center for wired and wireless network operations

• Proven proficiency with enterprise wireless networking, including design, deployment, and troubleshooting

• Advanced understanding of:

  • Routing and switching protocols

  • Wireless RF fundamentals and client behavior

  • Network resiliency and high availability

  • Network security architecture and segmentation

• Proven ability to troubleshoot complex, multi-domain network issues independently

• Strong documentation skills, with experience authoring SOPs, standards, and operational guides

• Ability to lead technical initiatives end-to-end with minimal oversight

Preferred Qualifications

• CCIE (Enterprise, Security) or CCNP Enterprise, or equivalent demonstrated experience

• Palo Alto Networks certifications (PCNSE preferred)

• Experience with enterprise wireless platforms (Cisco Wireless, including controller-based or SDA environments)

• Experience with network automation and scripting (Python, REST APIs, Ansible)

• Experience supporting large-scale or mission-critical enterprise environments

• Familiarity with SD-Access and advanced campus architectures