Network Architect III

Job Summary
Our client, a leading communications provider, is seeking a Network Engineer III to join their team. This is a contract position that is located Hybrid in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

This Network Architect supports the Cyber Resilience & Disaster Recovery team, which is responsible for ensuring critical infrastructure remains operational during major outages, ransomware attacks, and disaster recovery events. The team engineers and maintains enterprise data center networking across on-prem environments while expanding networking into AWS and GCP.

This is a hands-on senior engineering role—not a management position. The hiring manager is looking for someone who is passionate about networking, eager to learn, and comfortable working in a collaborative, highly professional environment. The team works onsite in Denver Monday–Thursday (WFH Fridays).

Core Responsibilities

• Design, implement, maintain, and optimize enterprise network infrastructure across on-premise data centers, branch locations, and hybrid cloud environments
• Configure, monitor, and troubleshoot routing and switching technologies to ensure network stability, performance, and scalability across multi-site environments
• Deploy, administer, and support Palo Alto firewalls, including policy management, NAT, VPN configuration, threat prevention, URL filtering, and security rule optimization
• Manage and maintain network security technologies, including firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, segmentation controls, and secure remote access solutions
• Support network segmentation and isolation strategies to protect sensitive data, critical systems, and regulatory compliance requirements
• Implement and support secure connectivity between on-premise infrastructure, cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, and remote users
• Configure and maintain load-balancing solutions to support high availability, efficient traffic distribution, and optimal application performance
• Support the deployment and operational management of technologies such as SD-WAN, SDN, and other modern networking solutions to improve agility and efficiency
• Monitor network health, availability, and capacity
• Perform performance analysis, troubleshooting, and proactive tuning to minimize downtime and service disruptions
• Create and maintain network documentation, including diagrams, configurations, standard operating procedures, and implementation plans
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, cloud engineering, systems, and application teams to ensure network solutions meet technical, business, and security requirements
• Develop and implement network automation solutions using scripting and infrastructure-as-code tools to streamline provisioning, configuration management, compliance checks, and repetitive operational tasks
• Leverage tools such as Python, Ansible, Terraform, or APIs to automate network deployments, firewall policy administration, monitoring, and reporting
• Evaluate and support emerging technologies that improve network operations, visibility, and service reliability
• Stay current on networking, security, and automation best practices to continuously modernize the network environment

Required Skills/Experience (Must-Haves)

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years of progressive experience in network engineering supporting enterprise-level network environments
• Strong hands-on experience with routing and switching technologies and configurations in enterprise environments (e.g., Cisco, Juniper, or similar platforms)
• Proven experience managing and troubleshooting Palo Alto firewalls, including security policies, NAT, VPNs, and advanced threat prevention features
• Strong knowledge of network security technologies, including firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, segmentation, and secure access controls
• Experience supporting secure networking solutions across both on-premise and cloud environments, including AWS and Azure
• Familiarity with SDN, SD-WAN, and modern network design principles
• Experience with load balancing, high availability design, and performance optimization
• Hands-on experience with network automation using scripting languages such as Python and automation tools/frameworks such as Ansible, Terraform, or REST APIs
• Experience with network monitoring, capacity planning, performance analysis, and root cause troubleshooting
• Relevant industry certifications such as CCNP, PCNSE, AWS Certified Advanced Networking, Azure Network Engineer Associate, or similar are highly desirable

Key Competencies & Behaviors

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills
• Strong technical skills

Work Environment

• Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado
• Hybrid (4 days onsite, 1 day remote)

Compensation & Benefits
Pay Range: The approximate pay range for this position is between $49.00 and $70.00. Please note that the pay range provided is a good faith estimate. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to background, knowledge, skills, and location. We comply with local wage minimums.
Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance Plans
Employee-Owned Profit Sharing (ESOP)
401K offered
    
About KellyMitchell
At KellyMitchell, our culture is world class. We’re movers and shakers! We don’t mind a bit of friendly competition, and we reward hard work with unlimited potential for growth. This is an exciting opportunity to join a company known for innovative solutions and unsurpassed customer service. We're passionate about helping companies solve their biggest IT staffing & project solutions challenges. As an employee-owned, women-led organization serving Fortune 500 companies nationwide, we deliver expert service at a moment's notice.
 
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