Principal Network Service Engineer

The Principal Network Service Engineer is the senior technical authority responsible for the reliability, performance, and continuous improvement of enterprise network services. This role owns the operational integrity of network platforms across their full lifecycle, ensuring services are secure, highly available, and aligned with business SLAs.

Acting as the escalation point and technical leader, the Principal Network Service Engineer bridges design, delivery, and operations, translating complex incidents and operational learnings into measurable service improvements.

Key Responsibilities

Network Service Ownership

· Act as service owner for core network platforms (LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, cloud connectivity).

· Ensure services meet defined SLAs, OLAs, availability, and performance targets.

· Own and evolve support models, runbooks, and operational standards.

· Drive consistency and quality across global or multi-site network environments.

Operational Excellence & Stability

· Serve as the highest technical escalation point for complex network incidents.

· Lead major incident response, technical triage, and resolution.

· Conduct and own root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring or critical issues.

· Identify systemic weaknesses and drive preventative improvements.

Continuous Improvement & Automation

· Translate incident trends and service data into proactive improvement initiatives.

· Champion monitoring, observability, and alerting enhancements.

· Drive adoption of automation and self-healing mechanisms where applicable.

· Reduce incident volume and mean time to restore (MTTR) over time.

Technical Leadership & Governance

· Provide operational input into architectural designs and new solutions.

· Validate that new network services are operationally supportable before go-live.

· Define and enforce operational standards, tooling, and documentation.

· Mentor senior engineers and act as a technical role model within the service organization.

Vendor & Service Partner Management

· Technically manage managed service providers and network vendors.

· Challenge vendors on incident handling, RCA quality, and service improvements.

· Ensure vendor solutions align with internal operational requirements.

Service Transition & Lifecycle

· Ensure complete documentation, monitoring, and support readiness.

· Manage service lifecycle activities including upgrades, decommissioning, and technology refreshes.

Required Technical Experience

· Deep experience operating enterprise-scale network services, including:

o LAN / WLAN (campus & datacenter)

o WAN / MPLS / Internet

o SD-WAN platforms

o Cloud connectivity (Azure ExpressRoute)

· Strong hands-on expertise in network troubleshooting and diagnostics

· Solid understanding of network security operations, including:

o Firewalls, segmentation, VPNs, Zero Trust concepts

· Experience supporting environments built on:

o Cisco / Fortinet / Aruba

· Familiarity with:

o Network monitoring and observability tools

o Change, incident, and problem management processes

Required Skills & Competencies

· Expert-level problem solving and incident leadership

· Ability to operate calmly and decisively during major incidents

· Strong analytical mindset with focus on root causes, not symptoms

· Excellent communication skills — from technical deep-dives to executive summaries

· Strong documentation discipline (runbooks, SOPs, RCAs)

· Ability to influence without authority across teams and vendors

Experience & Qualifications

· 10+ years in network engineering / operations roles

· 3+ years in a senior, lead, or principal service role

· Relevant certifications (desirable):

o CCNP / CCIE

o ITIL (Foundation or higher)

o Azure Network Engineer Associate or equivalent

Hybrid working model (Porto office & remote flexibility) 

Opportunity to work on Swiss-market healthcare and laboratory platforms with real clinical impact 

International, collaborative, and regulated product environment 

Competitive compensation and benefits 

Long-term ownership of a strategic healthcare product