Network Engineer

Location/Remote: Hybrid in Kissimmee, FL, 34741 (3 days per week onsite).

Employment Type: 6-month Contract (W-2 or 1099/IC) -- possibility to extend

Compensation: Up to $48/hour W2 or up to $57/hour 1099/IC (commensurate with experience)

Benefits: Medical, LTD/STD, HSA/FSA, term life, supplemental health insurance options, 401(k) available for W-2 employees (including family coverage if needed).

This Network Engineer II contract role supports enterprise LAN/WAN and firewall operations, with a focus on keeping the network stable, secure, and available. Success in this role means independently troubleshooting production issues, executing network changes cleanly, and communicating clearly with stakeholders from intake through resolution. You’ll contribute quickly by owning operational tasks, documenting outcomes, and helping drive upgrades and improvements.

Responsibilities:

• Administer, implement, and troubleshoot enterprise LAN/WAN connectivity to maintain reliable network performance and uptime.
• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot firewalls, including policy changes, rule reviews, and incident response support.
• Drive root-cause analysis for network outages and performance degradation, documenting findings and implementing corrective actions.
• Execute network changes, upgrades, and hardware refresh activities, including planning, validation, and post-change verification.
• Monitor network health and logs to proactively identify risks, capacity constraints, and security-related anomalies.
• Develop and maintain network documentation, including diagrams, configurations, change records, and standard operating procedures.
• Coordinate onsite network support activities, including troubleshooting physical connectivity and coordinating with vendors as needed.
• Partner with internal teams to gather requirements, schedule maintenance windows, and communicate status, impacts, and resolution timelines.

Required Skills:

• 5+ years of network engineering experience supporting enterprise environments.
• Hands-on experience implementing, administering, and troubleshooting LAN/WAN networks.
• Hands-on experience administering, configuring, and troubleshooting firewalls in production environments.
• CCNA certification or equivalent hands-on Cisco networking experience, including routing/switching fundamentals and operational troubleshooting.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with infrastructure cabling, including troubleshooting physical layer connectivity issues in onsite environments.
• Strong root-cause analysis and production support troubleshooting experience, with a track record of driving issues to closure.
• Experience delivering network migrations, upgrades, or hardware refresh projects with minimal disruption to end users.
• Scripting experience (PowerShell, VBScript, or similar) to automate routine tasks, validations, or reporting.
• Firewall certifications (CCSA, Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, or similar).
• Voice/data networking experience, including supporting QoS or voice-related connectivity considerations.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers through troubleshooting, documentation, and operational best practices.