Lead Principal Network Engineer - Nashville TN

At Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), we build and operate cloud infrastructure at global scale. OCI Dedicated Region25 (DR25) delivers the capabilities of an OCI cloud region directly within a customer-selected data center using a compact, modular architecture that can grow as customer demand increases.

We are seeking a Lead Principal Network Engineer to serve as a recognized technical authority for the DR25 physical networking program. This is a senior individual-contributor position with responsibility for establishing technical direction, leading complex cross-organizational programs, and driving network capabilities from early product requirements through architecture, implementation, qualification, deployment, and production operations.

The successful candidate will combine deep networking expertise with strong automation, operational, and technical-leadership skills. You will work across network engineering, hardware, compute, security, automation, monitoring, region build, operations, product management, and program management teams. Your work will materially influence the availability, security, scalability, and delivery efficiency of OCI Dedicated Region25.

Location - on-site Nashville TN

Key Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the end-to-end physical and logical network architecture for DR25, including compact launch configurations and modular expansion into larger data-center Clos fabrics.
• Lead architecture and design for IP addressing, BGP and OSPF routing policy, IPv6, high availability, ECMP, failure domains, traffic engineering, secure management access, and service connectivity.
• Translate product and business requirements into authoritative high-level and low-level designs, network models, deployment specifications, validation plans, and operational requirements.
• Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through production delivery, establishing milestones, identifying dependencies, managing technical risk, and communicating decisions to engineering and senior leadership.
• Build and govern network infrastructure-as-code, source-of-truth models, validation tools, and CI/CD controls using Python, APIs, Git-based workflows, and automation frameworks.
• Define repeatable reference architectures, golden configurations, test gates, and deployment patterns that enable consistent and safe delivery across DR25 regions.
• Drive production readiness through failure testing, staged rollouts, observability, capacity planning, operational runbooks, service handoffs, change procedures, and rollback strategies.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex network incidents and changes, leading root-cause analysis and driving durable engineering improvements that prevent recurrence.
• Establish monitoring and telemetry strategies covering availability, latency, loss, capacity, routing health, configuration compliance, and security signals.
• Evaluate new network platforms, optics, device software, and vendor capabilities; influence qualification requirements, product roadmaps, lifecycle decisions, and total cost of ownership.
• Advise product and engineering leadership on architecture choices and tradeoffs involving reliability, security, delivery speed, operational complexity, and cost.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, technical coaching, pairing, documentation reviews, and knowledge-sharing sessions while raising engineering standards across teams.
• Represent DR25 Network Engineering in architecture reviews, operational-readiness reviews, partner discussions, and other senior technical forums.

Required Qualifications

• Fifteen years of relevant network engineering experience; or a bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field and eleven years of experience; or a master’s degree and nine years of experience; or a doctorate and seven years of experience.
• Expert-level knowledge in at least one major networking specialty, such as data-center fabrics, routing, cloud networking, network automation, security, or network operations.
• Deep experience with BGP, OSPF, IPv4/IPv6, VxLAN, EVPN, ECMP, high-availability design, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, NAT, QoS, and data-center Ethernet fabrics.
• Demonstrated success architecting and operating large-scale, highly available data-center, service-provider, or cloud networks.
• Strong software and automation skills using Python or another modern programming language, APIs, Git, CI/CD, configuration modeling, and automated testing.
• Experience leading complex technical programs across engineering, operations, product, security, and deployment organizations.
• Proven ability to lead major production changes, troubleshoot complex failures, conduct root-cause analysis, and convert operational findings into lasting improvements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present architecture, risk, and business tradeoffs to senior technical and business leaders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Two or more years serving as a technical lead, with or without direct reports.
• Experience with network infrastructure-as-code, GitOps, Ansible, Terraform, YANG, OpenConfig, NETCONF, or comparable technologies.
• Proven experience partnering with cloud networking and platform teams to integrate virtual network services with physical underlay infrastructure in large-scale overlay environments.
• Experience with streaming telemetry, SNMP, gNMI, NetFlow/IPFIX, SLO development, capacity forecasting, and network performance analysis.
• Knowledge of network-security architecture, including segmentation, ACL lifecycle management, MACsec, IPsec, TLS, least privilege, and automated policy controls.
• Experience qualifying new network hardware, merchant-silicon platforms, optics, and network operating systems.
• Experience using AI-assisted engineering tools to improve modeling, validation, troubleshooting, documentation, or operational workflows.

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Disclaimer:

Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.

Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only

US: Hiring Range in USD from: $146,300 to $306,400 per annum. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.


Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle's differing products, industries and lines of business.
Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.

Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:
1. Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
2. Short term disability and long term disability
3. Life insurance and AD&D
4. Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
5. Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
6. Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
7. 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
8. Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
9. 11 paid holidays
10. Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
11. Paid parental leave
12. Adoption assistance
13. Employee Stock Purchase Plan
14. Financial planning and group legal
15. Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance

The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted.

Career Level - IC5