Director, Network Engineering & Communications

Arizona State University • Tempe, AZ

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Arizona State University's Enterprise Technology is seeking a Director, Network Engineering & Communications to lead the strategy and operations for the campus network, voice technologies, and Sun Corridor Network (SCN), Arizona's statewide research and education network. Reporting to the Executive Director, Intelligent Infrastructure, this position serves as the primary technical manager for ASU's network and provides technical leadership for SCN. The role brings network engineering, unified communications and telephony, and research and education networking together within one technical organization.

The Director develops and executes long-term strategy for wired and wireless networking, voice and unified communications, and SCN. The position leads modernization and integration efforts, oversees architecture and operations across enterprise network and voice services, and ensures coordinated monitoring and incident response. It also oversees voice strategy and E911 compliance, directs telephony upgrades and continuity planning, and provides technical direction for SCN backbone services and institutional partnerships.

The role contributes to budget planning, develops technical RFP specifications, leads vendor selection, participates in contract negotiations, and manages vendor relationships. It establishes strategy and governance for AI-assisted and automated operations across the teams. The Director leads managers and technical leads, develops organizational capability and succession, and builds collaboration with campus partners, researchers, administrative units, and the other Arizona public universities.

This position is based in Tempe, Arizona. Work activities primarily occur in a standard, climate-controlled office and involve regular computer use, periods of sitting and standing, and walking moderate distances. Driving is not required. The position requires a cover letter addressing experience leading multiple technical domains and/or experience in the research and education networking ecosystem.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and seven years of experience appropriate to the assignment or field, including two years of managerial experience; or an equivalent combination of experience and/or training.
• Ability to model empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence.
• Ability to cultivate a psychologically safe environment where team members can thrive.
• Demonstrated experience leading or closely partnering across multiple technical domains, including enterprise network infrastructure, voice/unified communications or telephony, and provider network infrastructure.
• Experience managing complex, multi-vendor network or telecommunications infrastructure projects, including budget oversight, RFP development, and vendor contract negotiation.
• Strong working knowledge of enterprise network architecture, including wired, wireless, firewall, access control, and provider networks.
• Understanding of E911 requirements and regulatory compliance obligations for voice systems in a multi-campus environment.
• Proven program- and portfolio-level governance skills, including budget ownership, vendor management, and prioritization across concurrent initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to explain complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences, external institutional partners, and leadership.
• Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.
• Application must include a cover letter and resume or CV.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a values-driven organization with a strong commitment to inclusion and belonging.
• Experience driving meaningful change in individual, institutional, and corporate behaviors to support a more sustainable environment.
• Commitment to leading by example through effective communication, participation, and advocacy for institutional sustainability programs.
• Experience with or working knowledge of research and education networking, including regional or statewide R&E networks, Internet2, or similar multi-institutional network consortia.
• Higher education or large multi-site enterprise experience.
• Working knowledge of research and education networking architecture and governance, including multi-institutional backbone networks and connectivity to Internet2.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute long-term strategy for ASU's campus network infrastructure, voice and unified communications systems, and the Sun Corridor Network.
• Serve as the single point of accountability for cross-domain technical strategy and roadmap execution across Network Engineering, Voice Communications, and SCN.
• Represent Intelligent Infrastructure engineering priorities in Enterprise Technology planning and leadership forums, translating enterprise strategy into team standards, tooling decisions, and operational practices.
• Lead modernization across network, cabling, voice and unified communications platforms, and SCN, including convergence of standards and tools.
• Oversee architecture, design, and operational support for wired and wireless enterprise networks, core and provider networks, and border and data center firewall services.
• Ensure coordinated NOC practices, monitoring, and incident response across network and voice/unified communications domains.
• Oversee network security posture with Enterprise Technology Security teams, including applicable access control and video surveillance system integration.
• Own enterprise voice and unified communications strategy, including telephone systems, voicemail, VoIP, SIP trunking, video conferencing, and cloud-based UC/UCaaS platforms.
• Ensure E911 compliance and accurate location data for VoIP and remote-worker telephony across campuses and locations.
• Direct telephony upgrades, migrations, lifecycle replacement, and integration with contact center and collaboration tools.
• Ensure voice and unified communications systems are included in disaster recovery and business continuity planning, including redundancy for outages.
• Provide technical leadership and direction for the Sun Corridor Network, which connects ASU, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona to Internet2 and the national research and education community.
• Represent ASU's technical interests on the SCN Technical Committee and coordinate with NAU and UA technical counterparts on architecture, capacity planning, and service delivery.
• Oversee the technical team responsible for day-to-day engineering and operations of SCN backbone infrastructure, including connections to Internet2 and community anchor institutions across Arizona.
• Align SCN's research and education networking strategy and roadmap with ASU's broader network and infrastructure strategy.
• Provide input into the combined operating budget across Network Engineering, Voice Communications, and SCN functions.
• Develop technical RFP specifications, lead vendor selection, participate in contract negotiations, and support vendor relationship and service-agreement management.
• Set strategy for AI-assisted and automated tooling across Network Engineering, Voice Communications, and SCN, and govern its secure, consistent adoption.
• Lead a multidisciplinary engineering organization; hire, develop, mentor, and evaluate managers and technical leads.
• Build succession and bench strength across the organization to reduce single-point-of-failure risk.
• Foster collaboration with campus partners, faculty, researchers, administrative units, and NAU and UA technical counterparts.
• Use AI in routine tasks and contribute ideas for improving unit efficiency and performance.
• Foster a positive, inclusive culture, uphold organizational values, champion engagement, and participate in Enterprise Technology and ASU events and programs.

Benefits

• ASU comprehensive benefits package.
• Professional development opportunities, including tuition breaks for additional certificates and degrees through ASU programs.
• Flexible work environment, with opportunities to explore arrangements with a supervisor, including hybrid work where staff are in person three days per week.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director