ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Principal Network Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

SAIC

Principal Network Engineer

San Diego, CA · Hybrid

$120K - $160K/yr

ORA_ON_SITE Description SAIC is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to support defense communication network systems ON-SITE in San Diego, CA . Join our innovative team and contribute to mission ...

Roblox

Principal Network Engineer

San Mateo, CA

As a Principal Network Engineer, you will work cross-functionally to plan the growth of Roblox's global production network to support rapid user growth. In this role, you are responsible for ...

SAIC

Principal Network Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$120K - $160K/yr

ORA_ON_SITE Description SAIC is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to support defense communication network systems ON-SITE in San Diego, CA . Join our innovative team and contribute to mission ...

Graphcore

Principal Network Engineer

Milpitas, CA · On-site

The Principal Network Engineer will be responsible for maintaining network fabrics and topologies in AI data centers, collaborating with the Network architecture team to ensure high-quality network ...

SAIC

Principal Network Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$120K - $160K/yr

Description SAIC is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to support defense communication network systems ON-SITE in San Diego, CA . Join our innovative team and contribute to mission-critical ...

Roblox

Principal Network Engineer

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$295K - $345K/yr

As a Principal Network Engineer, you will work cross-functionally to plan the growth of Roblox's global production network to support rapid user growth. In this role, you are responsible for ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsPrincipal Network Engineer JobsPrincipal Network Engineer Jobs in California

Principal Network Engineer information

See California salary details

$20.7K

$131.5K

$201.8K

How much do principal network engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal network engineer in California is $131,498.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $115,500.00 and $155,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Principal Network Engineer vs Network Architect?

AspectPrincipal Network EngineerNetwork Architect
CredentialsBS in Computer Science or related, Cisco/Juniper certificationsBS in Computer Science or related, Cisco/Juniper certifications
Work EnvironmentDesign, implement, and troubleshoot network solutions within organizationsDesign overall network infrastructure and architecture for organizations
Employer & Industry UsageUsed across industries for senior technical rolesUsed in enterprise and large organizations for planning network systems
Common Search & ComparisonOften compared for senior technical expertiseCompared for strategic network planning roles

The main difference is that a Principal Network Engineer focuses on implementing and troubleshooting network solutions, while a Network Architect designs the overall network architecture and strategy. Both roles require similar certifications and work in similar environments, but their core responsibilities differ in scope and focus.

What are the main challenges Principal Network Engineers face when leading large-scale network projects?

Principal Network Engineers often encounter challenges such as coordinating cross-functional teams, designing scalable solutions that align with business goals, and managing the integration of emerging technologies into existing infrastructure. Balancing competing priorities—like security, performance, and budget constraints—while ensuring minimal downtime is a common part of the role. Effective communication and leadership skills are essential, as Principal Network Engineers frequently serve as the technical authority and must guide both junior engineers and stakeholders through complex decisions.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Principal Network Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Principal Network Engineer, you need deep expertise in network architecture, routing and switching, security protocols, and typically a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with enterprise networking hardware, software-defined networking (SDN), firewalls, and certifications such as CCNP or CCIE are essential. Outstanding problem-solving, leadership, and communication skills help you manage complex projects and guide technical teams. These competencies are critical to ensuring reliable, secure, and scalable network infrastructures that support organizational goals.

What are Principal Network Engineers?

Principal Network Engineers are senior-level professionals responsible for designing, implementing, and managing complex network infrastructures within an organization. They lead network architecture initiatives, oversee security protocols, and ensure high availability and performance of network systems. In addition, they often mentor junior engineers, set technical standards, and collaborate with other IT teams to align network solutions with business goals. Their expertise is crucial for maintaining reliable and scalable connectivity in large enterprises.

What Does a Principal Network Engineer Do?

As a principal network engineer, you are responsible for the daily operations of a computer system. Your responsibilities are to install, organize, and support systems for an organization. The systems you work with often aid a company in its communications, as with local area networks and wide area networks. Other duties include the installation of hardware, regular system maintenance, and optimization of network performance. You might also train individuals in the use of relevant software or hardware. In some cases, you might help with email and data storage.

More about Principal Network Engineer jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Principal Network Engineer jobs in California? The most popular types of Principal Network Engineer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Principal Network Engineer jobs in California? For Principal Network Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Principal Network Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Principal Network Engineer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Principal Network Engineer jobs in CA? For Principal Network Engineer jobs in CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Principal Network Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Principal Network Engineer job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 93% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $131,498 per year, or $63.2 per hour.

Principal Network Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

San Diego, CA

$103K - $155K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Life, PTO

Re-posted 14 days ago

Northrop Grumman rating

8.2

Company rating: 8.2 out of 10

Based on 357 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

86th of 536 rated manufacturers

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be availableCLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: NoCLEARANCE TYPE: SecretTRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescriptionAt Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our organization is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter.

We are looking for you to join our team as a Principal Network Engineer based out of San Diego, CA. As a Principal Network Engineer at Northrop Grumman, you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation. Through the use of Model-based Engineering, DevSecOps and Agile practices we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter. Our success is grounded in our ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation. The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation.

What You'll get to Do:

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Perform as a consultant in highly specialized, leading edge information technologies and methodologies
  • Perform hardware and software installation, configuration, and maintenance
  • Comply with cyber requirements, which may include routine system checks for antivirus, logging, and network system services
  • Recommend and implement approved system enhancements that will improve the performance and reliability of the system including installing, upgrading/patching, monitoring, problem resolution, and configuration management
  • Solve complex problems across disciplines in an Agile, Networking, and Software environment
  • Opportunity to travel for system installations, test support, and customer demos

Qualifications:

Basic Qualifications for Principal Network Engineer:

  • Bachelors degree in science, engineering, or related discipline with 5 years of experience; OR 3 years of relevant experience with a Masters degree; OR 1 year of experience with STEM PhD degree
    • An additional 4 years of relevant experience can be considered in lieu of a Bachelor degree.
  • Ability to apply Zero Trust principles including microsegmentation and identity-based policy enforcement.
  • Familiarity with SASE concepts and the convergence of SD-WAN with cloud-delivered security services.
  • Experience with designing and operating networking constructs across at least two of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
  • Working knowledge of Kubernetes networking including CNI choice, ingress, and NetworkPolicy.
  • Experience with Use Terraform to declare and manage cloud and on-prem network infrastructure as code.
  • Knowledge of how to operate intent-based and AIOps platforms for predictive network operations.
  • Experience managing network infrastructure as code using Terraform with state management and CI/CD integration.
  • Must be a US Citizen
  • Clearance: The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S Government Secret clearance is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Knowledge of HAIPE deployment and integration with classified network underlays.
  • Experience applying DISA STIGs to network operating systems and Linux platforms with documented remediation.
  • Experience planning and executing traffic generation campaigns using Spirent, Ixia, or PacketStorm.
  • Ability to automate network configuration, state collection, and traffic engineering in Python.
  • Experience diagnosing and resolving SSH and crypto negotiation issues across modern Linux and legacy network OS.

This position is contingent upon clearance, customer approval, and funding.

Primary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 - $155,400.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

What Northrop Grumman employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

Northrop Grumman logo

About Northrop Grumman

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible.

Industry

Space research administration

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Falls Church, VA, US

Year founded

1939

View All Northrop Grumman Jobs

Apply