Senior IP/Layer 3 Implementation Engineer
Location: Dallas, TX or Remote U.S. (within 40 miles of a major airport in the U.S.)
Position Summary
Our client is seeking a Senior IP/Layer 3 Implementation Engineer to lead the deployment, integration, testing, migration, and operational turn-up of complex IP/MPLS and packet-optical networks for utility, telecommunications, data center, and enterprise customers.
This role is responsible for translating approved network designs into successful production implementations. The engineer will work closely with customers, project managers, network architects, OEM vendors, and operations teams to install, configure, test, troubleshoot, and migrate multi-vendor Layer 3 and transport networks. The ideal candidate possesses extensive hands-on experience implementing carrier-class routing, MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, EVPN, Segment Routing, packet-optical transport, and network automation technologies.
The Senior Implementation Engineer serves as a technical leader on customer deployments, providing implementation planning, installation leadership, migration support, acceptance testing, troubleshooting, and operational knowledge transfer while ensuring projects are delivered according to design specifications and customer expectations.
Key Responsibilities
Network Deployment & Integration
- Lead the implementation and turn-up of IP/MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, EVPN, Segment Routing, and packet-optical transport networks.
- Install, configure, validate, and troubleshoot routing, switching, and transport infrastructure in production environments.
- Deploy Layer 2 and Layer 3 services including MPLS VPNs, EVPN, Segment Routing, Carrier Ethernet, multicast, QoS, and traffic engineering.
- Integrate routed networks with DWDM, ROADM, OTN, and IPoDWDM transport environments.
- Perform software upgrades, network expansions, hardware replacements, and service turn-ups.
Migration, Testing & Acceptance
- Plan and execute customer migrations from legacy SONET/SDH, TDM, and MPLS-TP environments to modern packet-based architectures.
- Develop implementation plans, MOPs, test procedures, and rollback strategies.
- Conduct FAT, SAT, service validation, failover testing, and customer acceptance testing.
- Lead maintenance-window activities including upgrades, cutovers, migrations, and network optimization initiatives.
- Troubleshoot issues across IP, Ethernet, MPLS, transport, and optical layers.
Customer & Project Engagement
- Serve as the primary technical resource during customer deployments and implementation projects.
- Conduct design reviews, implementation workshops, and operational readiness assessments.
- Coordinate with project managers, network architects, OEM vendors, and customer engineering teams.
- Provide implementation status updates, project documentation, and post-deployment knowledge transfer.
- Support escalated troubleshooting and operational transition activities.
Automation & Operational Excellence
- Implement and support network management, orchestration, and automation platforms.
- Utilize APIs, scripting, and automation tools to improve deployment efficiency and operational consistency.
- Develop implementation standards, best practices, and repeatable deployment procedures.
- Mentor junior engineers and provide technical leadership during complex customer engagements.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a related technical field.
- 7+ years of hands-on experience implementing, integrating, and troubleshooting large-scale IP/MPLS and packet transport networks.
- Experience supporting utility, telecommunications, service provider, enterprise, or data center networking environments.
- Strong experience performing production network migrations, cutovers, and maintenance-window activities.
- Ability to travel as required to support customer deployments.
Technical Requirements
IP/MPLS & Routing: Expert-level experience with BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS, LDP, RSVP-TE, Segment Routing (SR-MPLS), EVPN, VPLS, L2VPN/L3VPN, multicast, QoS, traffic engineering, BFD, fast reroute, and high-availability network architectures.
Carrier Ethernet & Service Delivery: Strong experience deploying Carrier Ethernet, Ethernet OAM, MEF services, MPLS-TP, VLAN-based solutions, and enterprise or wholesale service offerings.
Packet-Optical & Optical Networking: Experience integrating IP networks with IPoDWDM, DWDM, ROADM, OTN, coherent optics, 100G/400G transport technologies, and packet-optical infrastructures.
Utility & Telecommunications Networks: Experience implementing networks supporting SCADA, teleprotection, substation communications, NERC CIP environments, service provider backbones, metro networks, mobile backhaul, 5G transport, data center interconnect, and enterprise services.
Network Automation & Management: Experience with network management systems, orchestration platforms, SNMP, NETCONF/YANG, REST APIs, streaming telemetry, Python, Ansible, SDN, and NFV technologies.
Implementation & Troubleshooting: Proven ability to perform network turn-ups, migrations, cutovers, acceptance testing, protocol analysis, service validation, and troubleshooting across Layer 1-3 environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- CCNP, JNCIP, Nokia SRA, or equivalent certification required.
- CCIE, JNCIE, Nokia SRE, or equivalent expert-level certification strongly preferred.
- Experience implementing multi-vendor IP/MPLS and packet-optical environments.
- Experience with utility telecommunications networks or Tier 1/Tier 2 service providers.
- Experience with network lifecycle management, automation, and operational transformation initiatives.
- Professional services, systems integration, or network consulting experience preferred.
- Experience leading customer-facing implementation projects and mentoring junior engineers.