Manager, Network Engineering (L2/L3)

Location: Denver, CO; Seattle, WA | Job Type: Full-Time

About the Role

The Manager, Network Engineering leads the active network engineering discipline within Tract Capital’s Site Communications & Network Infrastructure organization. This role owns the pre-construction design and construction-phase delivery of all Layer 2 / Layer 3 network infrastructure across the company’s data center campuses. It is accountable for the design and build of campus LAN and EVPN/VXLAN fabric, IP routing and addressing, segmentation, SD-WAN and WAN edge, firewall policy, metro and carrier connectivity, site-to-site VPN, mesh Wi-Fi and Private 5G, and the OT network layer carrying BMS, SCADA/EPMS, DCIM, and physical security systems. The role also establishes network standards, policy sets, performance-monitoring definitions, and as-built records for every campus.

Reporting to the VP, Site Communications & Network Infrastructure, this leader manages a team of specialists and collaborates closely with peer Managers of Inside Plant (ISP) and Outside Plant (OSP) Engineering to deliver integrated campus packages. This is a hands-on, design-and-build role—24×7 monitoring, incident response, and moves/adds/changes are handled by a separate Daily Operations organization.

Responsibilities

• Directly lead, manage, and develop a small team of three specialists—Senior Network Engineer, Wireless & Private 5G Engineer, and Network Commissioning Technician—including hiring, goal-setting, performance management, and cross-coverage to support multiple concurrent campuses.
• Own the Network Engineering function end-to-end, from pre-construction design through commissioning and as-built turnover, covering campus LAN, leaf-spine EVPN/VXLAN fabric, IP routing and addressing, VLAN/VRF segmentation, SD-WAN, WAN edge, firewalls, and network services (DNS/DHCP/IPAM, AAA/802.1X).
• Design and validate site-to-site VPN and encrypted interconnect architecture across campuses, remote facilities, and vendor support paths, including IPsec/IKEv2 tunnel design, crypto and key management, redundancy, failover, and MTU/performance tuning.
• Establish and enforce network standards and policies—reference architectures, configuration and device-hardening standards, IP addressing and naming conventions, segmentation and security policy, and acceptance criteria—for design reviews, exceptions, and revision control.
• Design the OT/ICS network layer in collaboration with Facilities, Controls, and OT Cybersecurity, implementing zoned, segmented architectures (e.g., Purdue-model/IEC 62443) for industrial protocols such as Modbus TCP, BACnet/IP, DNP3, and OPC UA, with security embedded through micro-segmentation and device hardening.
• Oversee wireless and Private 5G design, including mesh Wi-Fi architecture, coverage and capacity planning, Private 5G core integration, and spectrum planning, while ensuring integration with core L2/L3 and security architecture.
• Review and validate integrator deliverables (network diagrams, IP/VLAN schedules, BOMs, configurations, as-builts) for accuracy and standards compliance; drive vendors to deliver on time and to quality; and ensure site acceptance testing meets standards.
• Define network performance monitoring standards for each campus—what is instrumented, key metrics and thresholds, and telemetry collection—and collaborate with the Network Operations Center and Operations leadership to ensure clean turnover of commissioned environments.
• Partner with peer Managers of Inside Plant (ISP) and Outside Plant (OSP) Engineering to align active network design with structured cabling, MDF/IDF layouts, port and pathway capacity, and campus fiber routes, sequencing design packages for joint commissioning.
• Evaluate and specify metro connectivity and carrier direct internet access (DIA), assessing proposals, route diversity, capacity, and hand-off architecture, and validating performance at turn-up in collaboration with Carrier & Vendor Relations and other stakeholders.

Requirements

• 10+ years in network engineering, including L2/L3 design, routing and switching, network security, and build delivery, with substantial data center experience; exclusively enterprise/corporate IT backgrounds are not a fit.
• 3+ years directly managing and developing a small technical team, in addition to leading integrators, vendors, and projects delivering network infrastructure.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in IP routing and switching, including VLANs, trunking, link aggregation, first-hop redundancy, VRFs, route policy, IP address planning, and dynamic routing protocols (e.g., OSPF, BGP, IS-IS).
• Hands-on VXLAN experience, including designing, deploying, and troubleshooting leaf-spine EVPN/VXLAN fabrics, underlay/overlay design, VNI/tenant segmentation, and multi-tenancy in production data center environments.
• Deep experience with secure connectivity and network security enforcement, including site-to-site VPNs (IPsec/IKEv2, route-/policy-based tunnels, crypto/key management, redundancy, failover, MTU tuning), next-generation firewalls, micro-segmentation, and out-of-band management.
• Operational technology (OT) networking experience, designing segmented networks for BMS, SCADA/EPMS, DCIM, and industrial control systems, with knowledge of protocols (Modbus TCP/RTU, BACnet/IP, DNP3, OPC UA) and their impact on segmentation and QoS.
• Experience evaluating metro connectivity and carrier DIA, including transport options (Ethernet, EPL/EVPL, dark fiber, DIA), route diversity, and defining availability, latency, capacity, and SLA requirements, plus SD-WAN and wireless familiarity (Wi-Fi 6/6E, mesh).
• Experience authoring and enforcing network standards, policies, and configuration baselines, and defining network performance monitoring (metrics, thresholds, alerting, telemetry via SNMP, streaming telemetry, flow, syslog, synthetic testing).
• Working fluency with the physical layer—structured cabling, MDF/IDF and rack elevations, fiber pathways, entrance facilities—to collaborate effectively with inside-plant and outside-plant peers.
• Strong vendor/integrator management skills and proficiency with design/documentation tools (e.g., Visio, AutoCAD, IPAM/DDI, configuration management).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• CCNP Enterprise (or equivalent professional-level routing/switching certification) is a plus but not required.
• Network security certifications (e.g., Palo Alto PCNSE, Fortinet NSE, CCNP Security) and OT/ICS credentials (e.g., ISA/IEC 62443, GICSP) are a plus.
• PMP or wireless certifications (e.g., CWNA/CWDP) are also a plus.
• Valid driver’s license (role requires periodic field/site work and commissioning support).

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Arista switching and Arista CloudVision for provisioning, configuration compliance, change control, and network telemetry.
• Experience delivering network infrastructure for hyperscale/cloud campuses or large capital projects across multiple concurrent sites, including greenfield and live/retrofit environments.
• Experience designing OT network segmentation to recognized frameworks (e.g., Purdue model, ISA/IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82).
• Experience with network automation and infrastructure-as-code approaches (e.g., Ansible, Python, Git-based configuration management) and monitoring/observability platforms.
• Experience establishing network standards, SOPs, and QA/QC programs in fast-growth organizations, and driving commissioning turnover into a 24×7 NOC.

Skills

• Leadership and Team Management: Inspire, guide, and develop a small team of specialists, fostering collaboration across routing/switching, wireless/Private 5G, and commissioning sub-specialties.
• Standards and Governance Mindset: Codify best practices into reusable standards, policies, and acceptance criteria, and enforce them consistently across campuses.
• Technical Depth and Judgment: Maintain hands-on credibility in IP routing, switching, and network security to review configurations, challenge designs, and resolve vendor disputes.
• Effective Communication: Clearly convey expectations to integrators, vendors, and operations partners, and deliver updates to internal leadership.
• Critical Thinking Skills: Develop innovative, buildable solutions while adapting to unexpected design, integration, and field-commissioning challenges.