Principal Network Developer

Description

As a Principal Network Development Engineer within NAT, you will serve as a senior technical leader for network acquisition, connectivity delivery, and activation across OCI’s global infrastructure. You will guide the engineering execution of connectivity supporting OCI regions, AI infrastructure, capacity expansion, backbone growth, and strategic network deployments.

You will operate at the intersection of network architecture, telecommunications, optical infrastructure, service providers, data center engineering, deployment, and operations. Your scope will span carrier circuits, dark and lit fiber, DWDM and wavelength services, optical transport, Internet transit, peering, backbone connectivity, cross-connects, and data center interconnects. You will translate complex network designs and business requirements into clear technical specifications, implementation approaches, and acceptance criteria for internal teams and infrastructure partners.

At the Principal level, you will lead engineering decisions across programs and deployments, resolve ambiguous technical requirements, and evaluate tradeoffs involving capacity, performance, resiliency, physical route diversity, operational supportability, and delivery constraints. You will partner with architecture and engineering teams to identify implementation gaps early and use delivery and operational experience to influence future designs, technical standards, and supplier requirements.

You will establish the technical requirements for circuit acceptance, fiber and optical validation, turn-up, activation, and production readiness. You will guide teams in evaluating test evidence, resolving deficiencies, and documenting readiness decisions, exceptions, and remediation requirements before operational handoff. As a senior technical escalation point, you will lead the resolution of complex Layer 1 through Layer 3 issues across OCI teams and external providers, drive root cause analysis, and ensure recurring failures result in corrective actions and engineering improvements.

You will work closely with Program Managers to assess technical risks, dependencies, blockers, and recovery options across the delivery portfolio. You will strengthen NAT’s engineering practices through reusable standards, Methods of Procedure, runbooks, acceptance frameworks, accurate infrastructure records, and clear operational handoffs. You will also guide the use of automation, scripting, telemetry, database management tools, and AI-assisted engineering to improve validation, troubleshooting, data quality, and delivery efficiency while maintaining engineering rigor and validating outputs.

This role requires deep network engineering expertise, sound technical judgment, and the ability to drive complex outcomes across organizations and external suppliers. You will influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and raise engineering standards across NAT, with an emphasis on repeatable practices that improve connectivity quality, reliability, and readiness at global scale.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities

What You'll Do

• Provide senior technical leadership for complex global connectivity programs supporting OCI regions, AI infrastructure, capacity expansion, and strategic network deployments.

• Own technical outcomes across the lifecycle of carrier circuits, dark fiber, lit fiber, wavelengths, optical transport, Internet transit, peering, backbone connectivity, cross-connects, and data center interconnects.

• Translate high-level network architecture and business requirements into detailed technical delivery requirements and implementation strategies.

• Lead technical design reviews covering topology, physical paths, diversity, demarcation, transport, interfaces, optics, capacity, routing, resiliency, and operational readiness.

• Identify design and delivery risks early and drive engineering decisions that prevent downstream deployment and operational issues.

• Define technical acceptance standards and validation requirements for network infrastructure delivered by external providers.

• Lead complex Layer 1 through Layer 3 troubleshooting across fiber, optical transport, Ethernet, routing, and provider networks.

• Serve as a senior escalation point for systemic or high-impact connectivity issues.

• Lead deep-dive root cause analysis and drive permanent corrective actions across Oracle and supplier engineering organizations.

• Act as a technical authority in supplier engagements, challenging proposed solutions and ensuring services meet OCI engineering, reliability, scalability, and operational requirements.

• Partner with Program Managers to assess technical risk, establish delivery strategy, make tradeoffs, and develop recovery plans for critical infrastructure.

• Lead cross-functional engineering efforts involving network architecture, backbone, Internet, optical, capacity, deployment, operations, data center teams, and suppliers.

• Develop technical standards, design patterns, acceptance criteria, Methods of Procedure, runbooks, and engineering best practices that can be applied globally.

• Identify systemic gaps in network acquisition and delivery and lead technical improvements that increase quality, predictability, and operational readiness.

• Influence supplier capabilities, technical roadmaps, testing methodologies, and service offerings based on OCI requirements.

• Lead or contribute to technical evaluation of new carriers, services, hardware, optical technologies, and connectivity solutions.

• Define requirements for automation and tooling that improve network delivery, validation, monitoring, inventory accuracy, and troubleshooting.

• Partner with software and automation teams to ensure engineering requirements are translated into scalable tools and workflows.

• Use AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate technical analysis, troubleshooting, documentation, and solution development while maintaining engineering rigor.

• Provide technical coaching and mentorship to NDEs, Program Managers, and partner teams.

• Raise the technical bar for NAT and serve as a trusted technical advisor across the organization.

Critical Focus Areas

• Global carrier and service provider networking

• Optical transport, DWDM, dark fiber, lit fiber, and wavelengths

• Internet transit, peering, and inter-domain networking

• Backbone and metro connectivity

• Network architecture and resiliency

• Circuit and fiber acceptance

• Layer 1 through Layer 3 troubleshooting

• Supplier technical leadership

• Network readiness and production acceptance

• Root cause analysis and systemic remediation

• Technical standards and engineering governance

• Automation requirements and AI-assisted engineering

Qualifications

• Extensive experience designing, building, operating, or delivering large-scale networks within hyperscale cloud, Tier 1 ISP, telecommunications, service provider, or comparable environments.

• Expert-level knowledge in at least one networking domain such as routing, optical transport, Internet, backbone, or data center networking, with strong knowledge across multiple adjacent domains.

• Deep understanding of network architectures and network device behavior.

• Strong knowledge of routing and networking protocols including BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS, TCP/IP, IPv4, and IPv6.

• Deep experience troubleshooting complex network problems across physical, optical, Ethernet, transport, and routing layers.

• Strong understanding of optical networking, fiber infrastructure, structured cabling, cross-connects, transceivers, and physical network design.

• Experience with Internet peering, transit, inter-domain networking, backbone infrastructure, or large-scale service provider connectivity.

• Experience translating high-level architectures into detailed technical designs and implementation requirements.

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