Principal Lead - Plant Network Engineering

Kforce has a client that is seeking a Principal Lead, Plant Network Engineering in Plano, TX.

Summary:

We are seeking a hands-on Principal Lead, Plant Network Engineering to provide technical leadership across OT network environments supporting multiple manufacturing locations. This individual will establish standards, provide technical guidance and escalation support, improve service consistency, and partner across IT, OT, engineering, and plant stakeholders. The ideal candidate brings deep enterprise networking expertise combined with experience supporting OT/industrial networks in high-availability manufacturing environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership, coaching, and escalation support to plant-based OT Network Engineers
• Standardize network engineering processes, technical standards, documentation, and support models across multiple sites
• Advise leadership on technical direction, priorities, risks, capacity, and resource needs
• Monitor network service performance, including KPIs, backlog, workload, and service quality
• Provide hands-on support during complex incidents, deployments, maintenance windows, and critical network cutovers
• Lead technical coordination and communications for major or multi-site network incidents
• Partner with IT, OT, engineering, and operations teams to translate production requirements into practical network solutions
• Support hiring, onboarding, mentoring, and technical development of network engineers
• Drive continuous improvement across plant network operations and engineering standards
• Certifications such as CCNP/CCIE, CISSP, ISA/IEC 62443, PMP/PgMP, or ITIL 4
• 10+ years of progressive network engineering experience
• 5+ years of experience leading technical teams, including senior engineers
• Experience supporting OT, industrial, or manufacturing network environments
• Strong enterprise networking and secure network design expertise
• Experience with OT cybersecurity, network segmentation, and IDMZ concepts
• Experience supporting network services across multiple sites
• Strong troubleshooting experience within high-availability or production environments
• Experience supporting network deployments, maintenance windows, and cutovers
• Ability to communicate incidents, technical risks, and business impact to leadership
• Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers and driving technical accountability
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Technical Environment:

Experience across a combination of:

• Cisco SD-Access and Catalyst Center/DNA Center
• Cisco ISE, ACI, and Wireless
• SD-WAN
• Routing, switching, VLANs, and redundancy
• Firewalls and network security
• Network segmentation and IDMZ
• Industrial/OT networking
• Secure remote connectivity
• Network monitoring and troubleshooting
• High-availability network design

Preferred Qualifications:

• Large-scale OT deployments or plant modernization experience
• Automation, controls, or industrial networking experience
• IT/OT segmentation and Purdue Model knowledge
• ISA/IEC 62443 knowledge or certification
• Automotive or manufacturing industry experience
• Managed services experience
• Experience developing network standards or architecture guidance
• Lean or Kaizen experience
• Experience with ServiceNow, Jira, Microsoft Project, or Power BI

The pay range is the lowest to highest compensation we reasonably in good faith believe we would pay at posting for this role. We may ultimately pay more or less than this range. Employee pay is based on factors like relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, location, performance, union contract and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.

We offer comprehensive benefits including medical/dental/vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), and life, disability & ADD insurance to eligible employees. Salaried personnel receive paid time off. Hourly employees are not eligible for paid time off unless required by law. Hourly employees on a Service Contract Act project are eligible for paid sick leave.

Note: Pay is not considered compensation until it is earned, vested and determinable. The amount and availability of any compensation remains in Kforce's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified in its discretion consistent with the law.

This job is not eligible for bonuses, incentives or commissions.

Kforce is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.

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