Freelance Network Engineer Remote Jobs in Minnesota

Who We Are

KLDiscovery provides technology-enabled services and software to help law firms, corporations, and government agencies solve complex data challenges. With offices in 26 locations across 17 countries, KLDiscovery is a global leader in delivering best-in-class data management, information governance, and eDiscovery solutions to support the litigation, regulatory compliance, and internal investigation needs of clients. 

We are actively seeking a Principal Network Engineer.

Job location: Hybrid, but candidate must be located within a commutable distance of our data center in Eden Prairie, MN for up to 10% onsite work.

U.S. Persons requirement: As per ITAR (22 CFR 120.62), candidates must be a U.S. Person (citizen or lawful permanent resident) at the time of application.

Position Overview: The Principal Network Engineer is the senior-most individual contributor in the Networking team and KLDiscovery's deepest network domain expert. This role carries ultimate technical accountability for the availability, security, and performance of KLDiscovery's global network infrastructure, and owns the strategic trajectory of the team's journey toward zero unplanned network downtime. The Principal Network Engineer provides the most authoritative network domain input into Enterprise Architecture and is accountable for ensuring the Networking team designs and operates in full conformance with those standards. This role leads the most complex network initiatives, serves as the organization's senior escalation point, and provides mentoring and technical direction across the Networking team. This role participates in a 24x7x365 on-call rotation.

Essential Job Functions:

• Network Domain Authority, Zero Downtime Strategy & EA Conformance

• SDWAN Strategy & Network Security Architecture

• Senior Escalation, Incidents & Vendor Strategy

• Input provider to the Enterprise Architecture Team, Cross-Team Leadership, Projects & Documentation

• Capacity Planning & Lifecycle Management

Skills & Qualifications

• 8+ years in enterprise network engineering with demonstrated architectural ownership across global WAN, LAN, firewall, SDWAN, and datacenter environments in a high-availability production context; prior principal or senior technical lead individual contributor experience required

• Expert-level knowledge of WAN protocols: MPLS, OSPF, BGP, SD-WAN, PTPs

• Expert-level knowledge of Layer 2 technologies: STP, VPC, MLAG, 802.3ad, ARP

• Expert-level knowledge of load balancing, NAT/PAT, ACLs, and traffic shaping

• Demonstrated experience designing and owning global enterprise network infrastructure with availability and resilience as primary design criteria across WAN, LAN, firewall, wireless, SDWAN, and datacenter domains

• Expert-level network security design: zero-trust principles, segmentation strategy, firewall policy frameworks, and VPN architecture

• Demonstrated hardware and software lifecycle management discipline: asset inventory, end of life tracking, and proactive remediation planning

• Expert level troubleshooting and analytical thinking: ability to rapidly isolate root cause across complex multi-domain network environments using structured diagnostic methods and tool-driven analysis

• Demonstrated network capacity planning experience: bandwidth modeling, growth forecasting, and infrastructure constraint identification across enterprise WAN, LAN and datacenter environments

• Experience supporting 24x7 global production environments; on-call availability required

Preferred Skills: CCNP/CCIE or equivalent; ITIL V3/4; experience with Cisco, Cisco Meraki, Palo Alto Networks, and/or HPE Aruba; SDWAN platform experience (Silver Peak/HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, or equivalent); Cloudflare or equivalent cloud-delivered security/network services experience; Azure and/or AWS cloud networking experience; prior experience in eDiscovery, legal technology, or a similarly regulated environment

Education: Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or equivalent experience

Driving Career Growth, Benefit Excellence: The KLD Advantage

At KLD we invest in employees and their families by placing their wellbeing first. We offer competitive total compensation that includes base pay, bonus potential, inclusive benefits, wellness programs, and perks. We use market and industry data to inform pay decisions while considering geography and labor markets, individual experience, and business needs. Individual compensation will vary, although a reasonable estimate of the current annualized base pay range for this position is $120,000 to $140,000.

• This position is 90% remote, and we offer a high-performance laptop computer, options for wireless headset or external speaker, up to two 24" 2K monitors, and a mobile phone for business use.

• Generous paid time off, that offers options to help employees maintain a work-life balance, such as vacation, paid sick leave, parental leave, paid jury leave and more!

• Comprehensive health, dental, vision and supplemental benefits package that includes life insurance, short- and long-term disability, to promote the health of our employees.

• A focus on continuous professional development through various training and education reimbursement programs.

• A diverse and inclusive workplace where we all learn, grow, and achieve the greatest heights...together.

• Free, fun, interactive and incentivized global wellness program that promotes the wellbeing of our employees plus offers a wide range of perks and discounts!

• Free Employee Assistance Program (EAP) because we all could use a little help and support every now and then.

• 401(k) with employer match to help our employees achieve financial success.

• KLD supports the communities where our employees live and offers a paid community service day for employees to volunteer with what resonates with them.

• To keep our furry, 4-legged family members healthy, KLD employees can opt in for Pet Insurance.

We Provide Equal Employment Opportunity

At KLDiscovery we believe that inclusion and diversity make us stronger. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees that enhances wellbeing and belonging. We welcome and celebrate individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other protected status. We are happy to support you with any accommodation request at any stage in our hiring process.