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Jobs · Engineering · Texas

Manager, Network Engineering

Crescent Energy · Houston, TX · 2 wk ago
EngineeringFull-time

About the role

Crescent Energy is seeking a highly capable Manager, Network Engineering to lead the design, operation, modernization, and reliability of Crescent Energy's enterprise and operational technology network environment.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the Network Engineering function responsible for enterprise, field, OT, tower, and cloud-connected networking environments.
  • Manage, mentor, and develop network engineering resources while maintaining a strong hands-on technical presence.
  • Own the design, deployment, operation, documentation, and lifecycle management of Crescent’s Fortinet-based network infrastructure.
  • Engineer and support Fortinet firewalls, switches, routers, VPNs, SD-WAN, routing policies, security zones, segmentation, and centralized management platforms.
  • Partner with the CISO organization to ensure firewall and network infrastructure configurations align with security policies, risk requirements, audit expectations, and enterprise standards.
  • Design and support reliable connectivity for oilfield operations, including wells, production sites, tower locations, SCADA/OT environments, field networks, and remote communications infrastructure.
  • Lead the architecture and support of OT network segmentation, secure remote access, field connectivity, and resilient communications paths between operational sites and corporate/cloud environments.
  • Support and mature Azure networking capabilities, including hub-and-spoke network design, virtual networks, routing, private connectivity, VPN/ExpressRoute, DNS, network security controls, and integration between field networks and Azure-hosted services.
  • Establish and enforce network standards, configuration baselines, documentation requirements, change control practices, and operational procedures.
  • Drive continuous improvement in network reliability, observability, capacity planning, monitoring, alerting, and incident response readiness.
  • Troubleshoot complex network, firewall, routing, SD-WAN, OT connectivity, and cloud networking issues through to resolution.
  • Cook up coordination with field operations, SCADA/OT teams, infrastructure teams, security teams, application teams, service providers, and vendors to deliver stable and secure connectivity.
  • Lead network modernization efforts, including standardization of inherited environments, technical debt reduction, field network optimization, and improved cloud connectivity.
  • Participate in architecture reviews, project planning, vendor evaluations, infrastructure roadmaps, and M&A integration activities as needed.
  • Maintain accurate network diagrams, firewall rule documentation, IP addressing standards, routing documentation, site connectivity records, and operational runbooks.
  • Ensure network designs support business continuity, operational uptime, safety, cybersecurity expectations, and scalable growth.

    Qualifications

    • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
    • 8+ years of progressive experience in network engineering, infrastructure engineering, or related roles.
    • 3+ years of experience leading engineers, managing technical teams, or acting as a senior technical lead with people leadership responsibilities.
    • Deep hands-on experience with Fortinet technologies, including FortiGate firewalls, FortiSwitch, FortiRouter or Fortinet routing capabilities, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, VPN, SD-WAN, segmentation, and firewall policy management.
    • Strong experience supporting distributed enterprise networks across offices, remote sites, field operations, and hybrid environments.
    • Strong knowledge of routing, switching, firewalling, SD-WAN, VPN, NAT, VLANs, QoS, DNS, DHCP, IP addressing, subnetting, and network segmentation.
    • Strong operational technology networking experience, including connectivity for SCADA, field systems, industrial networks, production locations, or comparable OT environments.
    • Experience with tower-based, wireless, microwave, point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, LTE/private wireless, or other remote field connectivity models.
    • Strong Microsoft Azure networking experience, including virtual networks, peering, routing, VPN gateways, ExpressRoute or private connectivity, private endpoints, DNS, NSGs, Azure Firewall or equivalent controls, and hybrid network patterns.
    • Experience managing network change control, configuration standards, monitoring, incident response, vendor coordination, and lifecycle management.
    • Ability to balance security requirements with operational continuity in a production-oriented environment.
    • Strong troubleshooting skills across enterprise, cloud, firewall, routing, and OT connectivity layers.
    • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical issues to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
    • Ability to operate with urgency, ownership, and sound judgment in an environment where network availability directly impacts field operations.
    • Travel to field sites required (~30%), including operational sites, tower locations, and remote field environments.

      Preferred

      • Prior experience in oil and gas, energy, utilities, industrial, or other field-heavy operating environments.
      • Experience supporting networks for upstream or midstream oil and gas operations, including wells, production facilities, field.
      • Experience integrating acquired networks, rationalizing inherited infrastructure, and standardizing environments after M&A activity.
      • Experience with Azure landing zones, hub-and-spoke architectures, cloud security patterns, and enterprise-scale hybrid connectivity.
      • Experience with infrastructure monitoring and observability tools such as Auvik, Datadog, FortiAnalyzer, SolarWinds, PRTG, or similar platforms.
      • Experience with network automation, Infrastructure as Code, scripting, or configuration management tools.
      • Familiarity with NERC/CIP-style controls, industrial cybersecurity frameworks, or OT security best practices.
      • Fortinet certifications such as FCP, FCSS, or equivalent Fortinet NSE certifications.
      • Microsoft Azure certifications such as Azure Network Engineer Associate or Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

      Key Skills

      • Fortinet Firewalls, Switches, Routers, SD-WAN, and VPN
      • FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer
      • Enterprise Routing and Switching
      • Firewall Policy Management and Network Segmentation
      • OT / SCADA / Industrial Network Connectivity
      • Field Networks, Towers, Wireless, and Remote Communications
      • Microsoft Azure Networking / Hybrid Cloud Connectivity
      • Network Reliability, Monitoring, and Observability
      • Change Control and Configuration Standards
      • Vendor and Service Provider Management
      • Incident Troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis

      Leadership Expectations

      • The Manager, Network Engineering is expected to be more than a ticket escalator or administrative manager. This leader must set standards, create clarity, improve engineering discipline, and build trust with business, field, OT, security, and infrastructure stakeholders.
      • Help build a network engineering culture focused on stability, documentation, standardization, and continuous improvement.
      • Establish clear guardrails for firewall and network changes while working constructively with cybersecurity leadership.
      • Improve visibility into the health, risk, and performance of Crescent’s network environment.
      • Develop engineers and raise the overall maturity of the team.
      • Help build a scalable network platform that supports Crescent’s growth, acquisitions, field operations, and Azure-first technology strategy.

      Why Join Us?

      • Lead a mission-critical network environment supporting large-scale oil and gas operations.
      • Work in an enterprise Fortinet environment with meaningful ownership across firewalls, switching, routing, SD-WAN, OT connectivity, and cloud networking.
      • Play a key role in connecting field operations, production systems, enterprise services, and Azure platforms.
      • Influence the future-state network architecture for a growing, acquisition-oriented energy company.
      • Join a leadership team focused on modernization, operational discipline, reliability, and business impact.
      • Competitive compensation, benefits, and career growth opportunities.
      • Crescent Energy is an equal opportunity employer.
      • Crescent Energy is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

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