F5 Principal Network Engineer

Position: F5 Principal Network Engineer

Location: Will prioritize local candidates willing to go in office - Hybrid onsite 3-days per week in Scottsdale, AZ

Duration: up to 6 months

Position Overview:

The engagement spans two data centers housing 6 BIG-IP devices total. The primary migration is being executed "mostly as-is" with targeted cleanup underway. Change freeze windows are expected throughout the remainder of the year so execution windows must be planned accordingly.

Key Responsibilities

Lead assessment and migration planning for F5 i-Series to R-Series platform upgrade across 6 devices in two data centers

Support the design and implementation of an Always-On VPN solution using F5 Access Policy Manager (APM) – APM is already live in the environment; client endpoints are laptops using Edge Client

Consult on Active/Active and High Availability (HA) architecture designs for workloads (HA architecture direction is being led by a distinguished engineer and requires F5 SME input)

Install, configure, and validate the F5 Application Study Tool for traffic discovery and migration planning support

Shore up and produce architecture documentation – the environment is partially documented and this resource is expected to improve documentation quality as a PE replacement

Collaborate with existing F5 engineers and network/security stakeholders for knowledge transfer and implementation validation

Plan and execute configuration activities within available change windows, accounting for freeze periods.

Deliver implementation runbooks, design documentation, and operational handoff materials

Required Skills & Experience

Expert-level F5 BIG-IP administration, architecture, and troubleshooting (LTM, TMOS)

Demonstrated experience with F5 i-Series to R-Series migration and platform modernization

F5 Access Policy Manager (APM) expertise – VPN design, Always-On configuration, Edge Client

High Availability and Active/Active architecture design experience

Strong networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, routing, HTTP/HTTPS, TLS/SSL, certificate management

Experience deploying and operating the F5 Application Study Tool

Ability to produce technical documentation, runbooks, and conduct knowledge transfer independently

GTM / BIG-IP DNS design and traffic management experience

Preferred:

F5 SSL Orchestrator (SSLO) and/or Advanced WAF experience

Automation experience with Ansible or Terraform

F5 professional certifications (F5-CA, CTS, or CSE)