Vice President Network Engineering

Job Description: NOG Leadership Role – Senior Network Operations Leader:

Overall 20 Years Experience

The Senior Network Operations Leader is a strategic and hands-on leadership role responsible for overseeing the design, implementation, operation, and continuous improvement of an enterprise-wide network infrastructure. This role demands extensive experience in network architecture, security, and performance management, coupled with strong leadership capabilities to manage a large team and complex vendor relationships. The leader will ensure network reliability, security, and scalability in alignment with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead the overall network operations group, managing and mentoring a team of network engineers, analysts, and administrators.
- Develop and implement comprehensive network strategies, policies, and procedures to support business goals and security standards.
- Oversee design, deployment, and maintenance of robust network architectures, including LAN, WAN, data center, cloud, and hybrid environments.
- Drive network security initiatives, including firewall policies, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and threat mitigation strategies.
- Manage large-scale network upgrade projects, expansions, and technology refresh programs to ensure continuous service improvement.
- Analyze complex network traffic patterns and performance metrics to proactively identify risks and optimize network efficiency.
- Foster strong vendor partnerships and oversee service level agreements (SLAs), contracts, and procurement for network technologies.
- Lead incident response for critical network issues and coordinate cross-functional efforts during outages or security events.
- Ensure regulatory compliance and adherence to industry best practices related to network operations and security.
- Drive innovation by evaluating and adopting emerging technologies to enhance network capabilities.
- Provide detailed network documentation, reporting, and presentations to executive leadership and stakeholders.
- Champion knowledge sharing and professional development within the network team, including succession planning.

Education and Experience:

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or a related field.
- Minimum 8+ years of progressive experience in network engineering and operations
- Proven track record of managing large-scale, complex network infrastructures in enterprise or service provider environments.

Certifications and Skills:

- Advanced networking certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, or equivalent are required.
- Deep expertise in LAN/WAN technologies, routing and switching, firewall and security infrastructure, SD-WAN, cloud networking, and load balancing.
- Strong understanding of TCP/IP protocols, network virtualization, and software-defined networking (SDN).
- Experience with network monitoring tools, performance tuning, capacity planning, and disaster recovery strategies.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to troubleshoot and resolve highly complex network issues under pressure.
- Demonstrated experience managing vendor relationships and negotiating contracts.

Additional Attributes:

- Strategic thinker with a focus on business alignment and technology innovation.
- Ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams and business units.
- Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
- Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with industry trends.

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