Senior Network Engineer and Manager
About the role
Join and lead CEN's Network Services team and work hands-on with a large-scale service-provider network supporting critical connectivity and security services across Connecticut. This position bridges network operations, design, and engineering, providing technical leadership for Internet, MPLS, security, peering, DNS, and content delivery platforms.
Responsibilities
- Build: Network Architecture & Strategy
- Design and implement complex physical and logical network systems aligned with organizational goals.
- Lead long-range planning for architecture, capacity, and security.
- Provide engineering plans, detailed diagrams, implementation specifications, and materials quotes.
- Develop network architecture to support evolving services and constituent needs.
- Run: Operations & Incident Management
- Serve as the final internal escalation point for network incidents, outages, and service requests.
- Lead outage resolution and post-incident reporting with detailed root cause analysis.
- Ensure high availability and performance of services including DIA, MPLS VPNs, DNS, firewalls, and content filtering.
- Plan and conduct software/firmware upgrades.
- Grow: Capacity planning
- Conduct software/hardware lifecycle management.
- Quarterly capacity planning.
- Network failure analysis.
- Repeat & Test: Automation & Optimization
- Develop and deploy advanced automation scripts and software to streamline operations and telemetry.
- Perform system tuning, upgrades, and proactive optimizations to ensure efficiency and scalability.
- Ensure config standardization and minimize drift.
- Conduct device-level testing with Ixia, identify software defects, and behavior anomalies.
- Project & Business Development
- Provide project management support for customer provisioning and network expansions.
- Collaborate with business units and leadership to develop new services and support customer engagement.
- Contribute to procurement processes through technical specifications and vendor coordination.
- Lead: Leadership & Mentorship
- Supervise and mentor junior staff, fostering professional development and cross-team competency.
- Document and disseminate best engineering practices across University, College, K-12, and Library participants.
- Represent CEN on advisory boards, councils, and forums as needed.
- Security & Compliance
- Maintain and test network security protocols in alignment with industry best practices.
- Lead business continuity and disaster recovery planning, testing, and execution.
- Documentation & Asset Management
- Maintain accurate records of fiber assets, equipment inventory, and network documentation.
- Provide reports on network behavior, risk assessments, and strategic recommendations to leadership.
- Community Engagement & Support
- Support virtual and physical events, presentations, and training sessions for peers and the broader CEN community.
- Travel within Connecticut and to POP locations in NYC, BOS, SPRING is required; a valid driver’s license is necessary.
Qualifications
- Must be US Citizen or Green Card holder.
- Bachelor’s degree and six years of directly related experience OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Two (2) years of experience must be serving in a supervisory capacity with responsibility for staff, structure, and performance.
- Three (3) years’ of total experience must be as the network lead or senior engineer in support of a service provider, R&E or large-scale enterprise network.
- Demonstrated understanding of BGP, IS-IS, IPv6, OSPF, MPLS, Traffic Engineering, QinQ, G.8032, 802.3ad, 802.3ag, Y.1731.
- Demonstrated understanding of VPN technologies such as L2VPNs (Martini, Kompella), RFC2547, VPLS, EVPN.
- Demonstrated experience leveraging VRFs in complex network environments.
- Proven experience in providing high profile outage resolution and post incident reviews.
- Demonstrated communication and writing skills.
Skills and Competencies
- Problem Solving
- Team Orientation
- Productivity, Planning, and Time Management
Physical Demands
- This position involves extended periods of sitting and the extensive use of computers and office equipment.
- May involve stooping, kneeling, crouching and/or working on step ladders.
- Involves close vision, color vision, depth perception, and focus adjustment.
- Must be able to lift 40 lbs.
Benefits
Includes defined contribution with employer match or defined benefit program retirement options, excellent and affordable healthcare options, 35-hour work week, 22 paid vacation days per year, in addition to paid sick leave and 13 paid holidays, annual merit increase program, employee and dependent tuition waivers, a highly desirable work environment and work-life balance.
PAY AND SCHEDULE
The hiring range for this position is $106,474 to $138,416; final salary will be based on the successful candidate's background and experience.
Benefits
Includes defined contribution with employer match or defined benefit program retirement options, excellent and affordable healthcare options, 35-hour work week, 22 paid vacation days per year, in addition to paid sick leave and 13 paid holidays, annual merit increase program, employee and dependent tuition waivers, a highly desirable work environment and work-life balance.
Application Instructions
Please apply online at Faculty and Staff Positions, Search #499195 to upload a resume, cover letter, and contact information for three (3) professional references. Applicants must clearly demonstrate how they meet the stated minimum qualifications, and any preferred qualifications they may possess, in their application materials.