IRE Network Engineer

Job Title: IRE Network Engineer
Location: Hybrid - Chicago, IL
Duration: 6 months
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Network Engineer to lead the design, automation, and modernization of enterprise network infrastructure across hybrid environments. This role is responsible for building highly resilient, secure, software-defined network architectures spanning on-premises data centers, private cloud, and public cloud platforms.
The ideal candidate possesses deep expertise in network engineering, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform), scripting, network isolation, micro-segmentation, and cloud networking. This individual will partner closely with Cloud Engineering, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, SRE, and Application teams to deliver secure, scalable, and automated networking solutions aligned with Zero Trust principles.
Key Responsibilities
Enterprise Network Engineering
• Design, implement, and support highly available enterprise network infrastructure across:
o On-premises data centers
o Private cloud platforms
o AWS
o Microsoft Azure
• Engineer resilient Layer 2/Layer 3 network architectures including:
o Routing
o Switching
o BGP
o OSPF
o VXLAN/EVPN
o SDN technologies
• Design network architectures supporting critical enterprise resiliency and disaster recovery.
Infrastructure Automation
• Build Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions using Terraform.
• Develop reusable Terraform modules and standardized deployment patterns.
• Automate network provisioning and configuration management.
• Integrate automation into Git-based CI/CD pipelines.
• Eliminate manual networking activities through automation-first engineering.
Scripting & Automation
Develop automation using:
• Python
• PowerShell
• Bash
• REST APIs
Automate:
• Network provisioning
• Configuration validation
• Compliance verification
• Drift detection
• Operational reporting
• Health monitoring
Network Isolation & Segmentation
Lead enterprise initiatives involving:
• Network isolation strategies
• Secure enclave design
• Air-gapped environments
• Isolated Recovery Environments (IRE)
• Secure management networks
• Recovery network architectures
Design secure separation between:
• Production
• Non-production
• Recovery environments
• Cyber Recovery environments
• Management networks
Micro-Segmentation
Design and implement enterprise micro-segmentation utilizing technologies such as:
• VMware NSX
• Illumio
• Cisco Secure Workload (formerly Tetration)
• Cloud-native security groups
• Azure Network Security Groups
• AWS Security Groups
• Network ACLs
Responsibilities include:
• East-West traffic control
• Zero Trust network architectures
• Least-privilege network access
• Dynamic policy enforcement
• Application dependency mapping
Cloud Networking
Engineer networking solutions across:
AWS
• VPCs
• Transit Gateway
• Direct Connect
• Route Tables
• PrivateLink
• Network Firewall
Azure
• VNets
• ExpressRoute
• Virtual WAN
• Azure Firewall
• NSGs
• Application Gateway
• Azure Load Balancer
Security Engineering
Collaborate with Cyber Security to implement:
• Zero Trust networking
• Network Access Control
• Secure remote connectivity
• Firewall architecture
• IDS/IPS
• DDoS protection
• Secure DNS
• Certificate management
• Encryption in transit
Resiliency Engineering
Design networking solutions supporting:
• High Availability
• Disaster Recovery
• Active-Active architectures
• Active-Passive architectures
• Multi-region cloud deployments
• Automated failover
• Resilient routing
• Critical application recovery
Monitoring & Observability
Implement enterprise network observability using tools such as:
• ThousandEyes
• SolarWinds
• Dynatrace
• Splunk
• Grafana
• Prometheus
• Cloud-native monitoring solutions
Develop dashboards, KPIs, and automated alerting for proactive network operations.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of enterprise network engineering experience.
• 5+ years supporting hybrid cloud networking.
• 3+ years of Terraform Infrastructure as Code experience.
• Strong experience with Python, PowerShell, or Bash scripting.
• Extensive experience with enterprise routing and switching.
• Experience implementing software-defined networking (SDN).
• Hands-on experience designing network isolation and secure segmented environments.
• Experience implementing micro-segmentation in enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of Zero Trust networking principles.
• Experience supporting mission-critical enterprise platforms.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in large financial institutions or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience supporting hybrid multi-cloud environments.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes/OpenShift networking.
• Experience with VMware NSX or Cisco ACI.
• Familiarity with GitHub, GitLab, or Azure DevOps pipelines.
• Experience with disaster recovery and cyber recovery networking.
• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code governance and policy-as-code.
• Experience with immutable infrastructure and resilient network architectures.
Preferred Certifications
• CCNP Enterprise or CCIE
• AWS Advanced Networking – Specialty
• Microsoft Azure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700)
• HashiCorp Terraform Associate
• VMware VCP-NV (NSX)
• Palo Alto PCNSE
• CISSP (preferred)
Key Competencies
• Enterprise network architecture
• Hybrid cloud networking
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
• Python, PowerShell, and Bash scripting
• Network automation
• Zero Trust architecture
• Network isolation
• Micro-segmentation
• Cloud networking (AWS & Azure)
• SDN technologies
• Enterprise resiliency
• Disaster Recovery networking
• Cyber Recovery networking
• Infrastructure security
• CI/CD integration
• Cross-functional leadership
• Excellent communication and executive presentation skills
Years of Experience: 15.00 Years of Experience