{"id":649514,"url":"https://alion.io/job/nscale-principal-network-engineer","title":"Principal Network Engineer","company":{"id":48155,"name":"Nscale","domain":"nscale.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/nscale","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":92,"open_postings":23,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.13,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":69,"computed_at":"2026-10-10T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"Networking","role_family":"Networking","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":83000,"max_usd":218000,"period":"year","method":"global_role_cell_scaled_by_country","sample_n":137},"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Ansible","optional":false},{"name":"BGP","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Configuration Management","optional":false},{"name":"Git","optional":false},{"name":"GitHub Actions","optional":false},{"name":"GitLab CI","optional":false},{"name":"GitOps","optional":false},{"name":"HPC","optional":false},{"name":"InfiniBand","optional":false},{"name":"Platform Engineering","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Terraform","optional":false},{"name":"VPN","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-26T15:31:02Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-21","last_verified_at":"2026-10-10T23:18:08Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":45,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":45},"description":"About Nscale\nNscale is the GPU cloud engineered for AI. We provide cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure for AI start-ups and large enterprise customers. Nscale enables AI-focused companies to achieve superior results by reducing the complexity of AI development. Our GPU cloud bolsters technical capabilities and directly supports strategic business outcomes, including cost management, rapid innovation, and environmental responsibility.\nAt Nscale, our Engineering team plays a critical role in designing, deploying, and operating the infrastructure and software platforms that power our customers and enable AI workloads at scale.\nWe thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future.\nAbout the Role\nWe are hiring a Principal Network Engineer to act as a senior technical authority for Nscale's AI-optimised network infrastructure.\nOur Network Engineering team is responsible for the design, validation, and ongoing operation of the networking services underpinning both our internal management platform and customer-facing cloud infrastructure. This includes high-performance Ethernet fabrics, InfiniBand, RoCE, WAN connectivity, and large-scale data centre networking.\nIn this role, you'll set technical direction across the low-latency, high-bandwidth networks supporting large-scale AI training and inference workloads. You'll own critical technical domains end-to-end and help raise the bar for architecture, automation, operational rigour, and engineering standards across Nscale.\nThis is a deeply technical Principal-level role combining hands-on engineering with broad architectural influence. You'll define reference architectures, drive consistency across sites, lead complex technical decisions and escalations, and mentor engineers while partnering closely with Deployment, Data Centre Operations, Platform Engineering, Systems, Storage, and technology vendors.\nWhat you'll be doing\nAI & High-Performance Network Architecture\nDefine, design, validate, and evolve large-scale InfiniBand, RoCE, and Ethernet fabric architectures at rack, row, and data centre scale.\n\nDesign networks that integrate closely with bare-metal provisioning and cluster management systems.\n\nOwn technical direction for high-performance Ethernet fabrics, including BGP, EVPN, VXLAN, LACP, and QoS.\n\nEstablish reference architectures and engineering standards that can be implemented consistently across Nscale's data centre estate.\n\nIdentify systemic risks and architectural gaps and drive durable solutions that improve scalability, reliability, and operational simplicity.\n\nNetwork Automation & Infrastructure as Code\nLead Nscale's network automation strategy using a GitOps operating model.\n\nBuild and guide Python and Ansible tooling for provisioning, configuration validation, compliance, and operational workflows.\n\nDrive version-controlled configuration and CI/CD-based network change across multi-vendor environments.\n\nApply Infrastructure-as-Code and Network-as-Code principles to reduce manual intervention and improve operational consistency.\n\nContinuously identify opportunities to automate repetitive operational tasks and reduce reactive toil.\n\nNetwork Security & Edge Infrastructure\nDesign and engineer perimeter and network security infrastructure across WAN and data centre edge environments.\n\nOwn architecture across firewalls, NAT, VPN, security policies, and multi-tenant segmentation.\n\nDesign highly available and scalable security architectures appropriate for mission-critical AI infrastructure.\n\nReliability, Observability & Operations\nLead complex technical escalations and root-cause analysis for network performance, reliability, and stability issues.\n\nEstablish measurable SLOs and operational standards for network services.\n\nSet technical direction for network observability, telemetry, monitoring, and alerting.\n\nEnsure clear visibility into fabric health, traffic patterns, performance, and capacity.\n\nDevelop runbooks, automation, and engineering improvements that systematically reduce operational toil.\n\nAct as a senior 3rd/4th line escalation point for complex networking issues.\n\nNetwork Data & Configuration Management\nEnsure the accuracy and reliability of source-of-truth network inventory and configuration data.\n\nEstablish structured engineering and change-management practices for network configuration.\n\nEnsure network changes are controlled, auditable, repeatable, and scalable across multiple sites.\n\nTechnical Leadership & Collaboration\nPartner with Deployment, Data Centre Operations, Platform Engineering, Systems, Storage, and vendors on new site delivery and platform evolution.\n\nLead architecture and design reviews for significant network initiatives.\n\nMentor engineers and raise technical capability across the wider networking organisation.\n\nLead complex technical decisions and incidents spanning networking, systems, storage, and AI/HPC workloads.\n\nInfluence engineering strategy and standards across teams without relying on formal authority.\n\nAbout You\nRequired Experience\n10+ years of network engineering experience, with significant depth in HPC, AI, hyperscale, or large-scale data centre environments.\n\nExtensive hands-on experience with RDMA-aware networking for AI/HPC workloads, including InfiniBand and/or RoCE.\n\nExperience with subnet managers and fabric orchestration technologies such as OpenSM or NVIDIA UFM.\n\nExpert-level understanding of modern data centre routing and control planes, including BGP, EVPN-VXLAN, and Clos/spine-leaf architectures.\n\nProduction experience with network platforms such as Cumulus, Nokia, or Arista EOS.\n\nStrong network automation expertise using Python and Ansible.\n\nExperience with Git-based workflows and modern Infrastructure-as-Code and CI/CD tooling such as Terraform, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions.\n\nDeep experience designing and engineering firewall infrastructure using platforms such as Juniper SRX and/or Palo Alto.\n\nExperience designing telemetry and observability solutions for high-throughput, performance-sensitive environments.\n\nProven ability to lead complex technical decisions and incidents across multiple engineering disciplines.\n\nArchitecture & Technical Leadership\nDemonstrated experience defining network architecture, engineering standards, and technical strategy beyond a single project or data centre.\n\nAbility to balance performance, reliability, operability, scalability, and delivery velocity when making technical decisions.\n\nExperience influencing engineering teams and technical direction without formal authority.\n\nStrong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to engineers, operators, and senior stakeholders.\n\nProven ability to mentor and develop other engineers through design reviews, technical guidance, incident leadership, and knowledge sharing.\n\nPersonal Attributes\nDeeply technical and comfortable remaining hands-on at Principal level.\n\nHighly analytical with a structured approach to solving complex infrastructure problems.\n\nStrong sense of ownership and accountability.\n\nComfortable operating in a fast-paced environment where priorities and requirements evolve quickly.\n\nPragmatic and able to balance architectural excellence with business and delivery requirements.\n\nPassionate about building next-generation infrastructure for AI and ML at scale.\n\nWhat we can offer you\nAt Nscale, you'll find a collaborative, supportive, and innovative environment where your contributions spark real impact. We're building something extraordinary, and we want you at the core.\nHighly competitive package (base + equity) with reviews every 12 months.\nJoin one of the fastest-growing AI infrastructure companies - your opportunity to design and build the high-performance networks powering some of the world's most demanding AI workloads.\nExpect a dynamic progression plan tailored to your ambitions. Shape network architecture, establish engineering standards, solve complex infrastructure challenges, and influence the technical direction of Nscale's global AI platform.\nHuman-First Flexibility: We treat you as humans first. Our flexible workplace trusts Nscalers to deliver, giving you the autonomy to shape your day around life's moments.\nEqual Opportunities Statement\nWe strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.\nIf there's anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.\nThe responsibilities outlined in this job description are not exhaustive and are intended to provide a general overview of the position. The employee may be required to perform additional duties, tasks, and responsibilities as assigned by management, consistent with the skills and qualifications required for the role.\nFor information on how Nscale handles candidate personal data, please see our Employee & Candidate Privacy Notice: Here.\nNscale does not accept unsolicited candidate submissions from recruitment agencies.","description_format":"text","description_chars":9389,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":10,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Flexible schedule"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Data Centers & Colocation","AI Compute & Inference"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-10T20:22:42Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"GB","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"Licensed UK visa sponsor (Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker)","filings_12m":null,"filings_prev_12m":null,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Skilled Worker; Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-10T06:21:00+00:00","sources":["UK Home Office: register of licensed sponsors (workers)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":76,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.85,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":44,"expected_fill_days":69,"reasons":["conf:2","velocity","win:mid","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-10T05:45:15Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/nscale-principal-network-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/nscale-principal-network-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-11T00:42:30Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":864,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":4136,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-12T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":48155},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=48155"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fnscale-principal-network-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fnscale-principal-network-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fnscale-principal-network-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/nscale-principal-network-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fnscale-principal-network-engineer"}]}