About the role

Position Summary

We are seeking a Lead SME Engineer on Contract who provides advanced technical leadership for global Network & Security operations. Serving as the highest escalation point in a 24x7 environment, the role ensures the stability, security, and performance of enterprise systems, while mentoring engineers and driving continuous improvements in operational processes

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

Serve as top-level escalation for complex network/security incidents.
Lead major incident resolution, RCA, and post-incident improvements.
Ensure high availability, performance, and security of global platforms.

Network & Security Engineering

Provide deep expertise in routing/switching, LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, data center networking, firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS, ISE, Zero Trust, cloud networking, load balancing, DNS, and DDoS protection.
Support hybrid cloud/on-prem connectivity.
Review and validate network designs, configurations, and implementation plans.

Operational Excellence

Support 24x7 follow-the-sun operations and after-hours escalations.
Drive monitoring optimization, automation, and reduced MTTR.
Collaborate with SRE and platform teams on reliability initiatives.
Ensure readiness for upgrades, maintenance, and deployments.
Maintain runbooks, SOPs, diagrams, and documentation.
Implement automation and IaC (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation).
Support ITSM processes (change, incident, problem).

Mentorship

Coach mid-level engineers across global shifts.
Act as technical authority and promote best practices.

Collaboration & Governance

Work with Architecture/Security/Engineering teams on roadmaps and tech adoption.
Ensure compliance with security policies and audit requirements.
Communicate effectively with leadership, vendors, and partners.

Basic Qualifications

8+ years in enterprise Network/Security engineering.
Experience in 24x7 global operations.
Strong hands-on skills in networking, firewalls, VPNs, cloud.
Proven incident response leadership.
Ability to make strong technical decisions under pressure.
Ready to work on contract

Preferred Qualification

Certifications (CCIE, cloud networking, etc.).
Automation/scripting experience (Python, Ansible, Terraform).
ITIL exposure and work in regulated environments.
Experience with global, multi-time-zone teams.
Technical leadership
Incident/crisis management
Clear communication
Analytical problem solving
Focus on continuous improvement