Lead Network Engineer

Optimum•Plano, TX

About The Position

We are Optimum, a leader in the fast-paced world of connectivity, and we're on the hunt for enthusiastic professionals to join our team! We understand that connectivity isn't just a luxury anymore – it's a necessity that empowers lives, fuels businesses, and drives innovation. A career at Optimum means you'll be enabling progress and enhancing lives by providing reliable, high-speed connectivity solutions that keep the world connected. We owe our success to our amazing product, commitment to our people and the connections we make in every community. If you are resourceful, collaborative, team-oriented and passionate about delivering consistent excellence, Optimum is the Company for you! We are Optimum! Job SummaryWe seek a skilled Lead IP Site Reliability Engineer to design, implement, and maintain complex IP networks. The ideal candidate should have extensive experience in IP routing and handling complex network projects. The Lead engineer will optimize high-capacity IP networks for scalability, reliability, and low latency. Responsibilities include planning, designing, and engineering regional multi-state networks with Layer I, II, and III, as well as MPLS technologies. The engineer evaluates, validates equipment and software releases, and documents procedures. Collaboration with the team to utilize open source or standard systems will be essential to develop and deploy new services. The engineer will also be responsible for supporting the operational reliability of the IP infrastructure that supports our Carrier and B2B infrastructure. This role will focus on diagnosing, troubleshooting, and documenting issues in a core network, including Cisco IOS-XR and IOS. Timely resolution of hardware and software problems is crucial. They will provide engineering guidelines and support for Fulfillment and Operations teams for deploying hardware and services. Working with the service delivery team, they will gather customer requirements and define parameters for service activation. Performing failure analysis of hardware, software, and application issues impacting services is also part of the role, with a focus on delivering the best customer experience.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 5 years of related experience; or equivalent work experience.
Experience working in a Service Provider environment, focusing on commercial services.
Experience in network design and implementation.
Experience with routing and switching (BGP, OSPF, ISIS).
Knowledge of MPLS (L2VPN and L3VPN).
Knowledge of IPv4 and IPv6.
Strong writing and documentation skills, with experience in creating engineering guidelines and procedures.
Good interpersonal skills. Must be able to work both independently and as part of a team.

Nice To Haves

CCNP or equivalent certification.
Proficiency in scripting or coding for network automation languages, such as BASH, Python, PHP, etc., is highly recommended.
An understanding of ARIN rules and guidelines for ISPs is desired.
A background in systems integration and element management systems is a plus.
Familiarity with fiber optic technology and transport networks.
Project management skills are a plus (Jira experience preferred).
Familiarity with AI Tools and AI First mindset

Responsibilities

Lead the team for the configuration and support of enterprise and customer premises routers.
Configure and support enterprise and customer premises routers.
Apply a range of IP/MPLS technologies, including BGP, OSPF, ISIS, LDP, quality of service, and MPLS-TE / Segment Routing, in production environments.
Develop engineering guidelines for Fulfillment and Operations to deploy new hardware and services for customers.
Work with multidisciplinary teams to manage projects and coordinate efforts to ensure the timely deployment of new services.
Evaluate equipment, select devices, conduct pilot tests, and design networks to ensure reliability and support network expansion.
Assist with deploying new IP services, systems, applications, and architectures through installation, configuration, integration, evaluation, testing, documentation, and training.
Define and compile the methods of procedures and documentation to help personnel install, maintain, and remove network equipment.
Collaborate with change management to assess impacts, validate networks, create MOPs, and execute activities.
Provide Layer-3 support and advice to other departments.
Monitor network utilization trends to anticipate growth and avoid congestion.
Support capacity modeling and documentation for scaling decisions.
Perform network capacity planning and upgrades.