ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.

As a values-driven organisation, integrity, collaboration, agility, and inclusion are at the heart of how we work and interact with each other, customers, patients and suppliers.

Principal Engineer II

Location: Chennai (Hybrid Role)

The Level 3 Senior Network Engineer serves as the highest technical escalation point within the Global Network Operations team. This role is responsible for providing technical leadership, resolving complex network issues, supporting global infrastructure projects, and ensuring the stability, security, and availability of the enterprise network.

The ideal candidate should have 10+ years of hands-on enterprise networking experience, with strong expertise in Cisco ACI, Fortinet Firewalls, NetScaler/F5 Load Balancers, SD-WAN technologies (preferably CATO), enterprise routing and switching, and cloud networking. The role requires a strong balance of technical expertise, operational excellence, and project delivery within a global enterprise environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Leadership & Escalation

• Act as the highest technical escalation point for critical network incidents and complex infrastructure issues.
• Lead troubleshooting across multi-vendor enterprise network environments.
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA) for major incidents and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to Level 1 and Level 2 engineers.
• Participate in Major Incident Management (MIM) calls and lead technical recovery efforts.

2. Network Operations

• Ensure the availability, stability, and performance of the global network infrastructure.
• Support BAU operations involving routing, switching, firewalls, SD-WAN, load balancers, VPNs, DNS, and cloud networking.
• Identify recurring operational issues and implement proactive improvements to reduce incidents.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting across on-premises and cloud network environments.

3. Infrastructure & Project Delivery

• Lead network implementation activities for global infrastructure projects.
• Design, review, and implement network solutions in accordance with enterprise standards.
• Support datacenter migrations, office deployments, cloud connectivity, and technology refresh initiatives.
• Review implementation plans and provide technical approval for high-risk network changes.
• Support mergers, acquisitions, and global expansion initiatives from a networking perspective.

4. Enterprise Network Technologies

Provide technical ownership, administration, and support for:

• Cisco Core Networking (including ACI)
• Cisco Meraki and Cisco ISE
• Fortinet Firewalls
• NetScaler/F5 Load Balancers
• SASE platforms (CATO preferred)
• BGP, OSPF, and enterprise routing
• Network segmentation and micro-segmentation
• Azure and AWS networking
• Ability to automate Network tasks using scripts such as Ansible, Python, Power shell
• Network performance analysis and packet capture (Wireshark/TCPDump)
• Network monitoring platforms such as ThousandEyes, SolarWinds, Site24x7, or equivalent

5. Security & Compliance

• Ensure network infrastructure complies with enterprise security standards and industry best practices.
• Review and approve firewall policies, NAT rules, VPN configurations, and network segmentation.
• Support vulnerability remediation activities and security audits.
• Work closely with Cyber Security teams during incident investigations.
• Implement secure network designs for new business requirements.

Skills & Qualifications

Experience

• Minimum 8-10+ years of networking experience.
• Strong experience supporting large-scale global network environments.
• Experience working in 24x7 operations supporting mission-critical infrastructure.
• Proven experience leading major incident resolution and infrastructure projects.

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to lead technical discussions and major incident calls.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced global environment.
• Strong documentation and presentation skills.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and mentor junior engineers.

Preferred Certifications

• CCNP Enterprise or CCIE
• Fortinet NSE 7/NSE 8 or FCSS Network Security
• Citrix NetScaler Certification
• CATO Certified Professional
• AWS or Azure Networking Certification
• ITIL Foundation

Any two of the above certifications will be considered an advantage.

Employment with ICON is contingent upon having the legal right to work in the country where the role is based.

Rewards & Benefits

ICON offers a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and career development.

Benefits may include:

• Competitive base salary and performance related incentives
• Health and wellbeing programmes including medical, dental, and vision coverage where applicable
• Retirement and pension plans
• Life assurance and disability coverage
• Employee assistance programmes and wellbeing resources
• Learning and development opportunities through structured training and career pathways

Benefits may vary depending on role and location.

Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.

Inclusion and Accessibility

ICON is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.

If you require reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know or submit a request here.

Are you a current ICON Employee? Please click here to apply