Manager, Systems Engineering (Hybrid)

Rewards Network•Chicago, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Network & Systems Engineering is a player-coach role responsible for the technical leadership and operational health of Rewards Network’s network and systems infrastructure. This position combines direct people management of a small, senior engineering team with meaningful hands-on technical contribution, ensuring both day-to-day stability and longer-term infrastructure modernization. The role reports to the Senior Manager, Infrastructure & Site Reliability Engineering and collaborates closely with Security, SRE, DBA, and product engineering teams. This is a hybrid position that requires in office presence 3 days a week (Tuesday-Thursday) in Chicago.

Requirements

5+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering, systems administration, or a combined infrastructure role
2+ years in a lead or management capacity with direct reports
Demonstrated experience with enterprise networking (routing, switching, firewalls, VLANs)
Proficiency administering Windows Server and Linux/Unix environments
Working knowledge of AWS or comparable public cloud platform
Experience supporting or migrating relational databases (SQL Server, PostgreSQL)
Strong written and verbal communication; able to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders and leadership
Effective prioritization and time management across people management, project work, and operational response
Collaborative approach to cross-functional work with engineering, product, security, and finance teams
Analytical and cost-conscious mindset when evaluating infrastructure decisions and vendor options
Ability to operate independently and drive initiatives with minimal oversight in a fast-paced environment
Commitment to documentation, operational rigor, and continuous improvement

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and support a team of network and systems engineers; manage performance, career growth, and day-to-day prioritization while remaining technically engaged alongside the team.
Architect, maintain, and continuously improve on-premises network infrastructure including routing, switching, firewalls, and physical datacenter topology.
Own the health and reliability of Windows and Linux server environments, including patching cadence, configuration management, and OS lifecycle planning.
Drive infrastructure modernization initiatives such as datacenter consolidation, network stabilization, and cloud expansion in partnership with the broader engineering organization.
Lead or contribute to database platform migrations and integrations (MS SQL to PostgreSQL), partnering with DBAs and application teams on planning and execution.
Collaborate with the AWS-focused SRE team to extend and mature the organization’s cloud infrastructure, with emphasis on networking, security boundaries, and hybrid connectivity.
Evaluate infrastructure hardware and software options with a cost-conscious, ROI-driven approach; partner with engineering leadership on procurement decisions and vendor selection.
Establish and maintain runbooks, change control practices, and technical documentation to support reliable operations and audit/compliance requirements.
Participate in incident response as an escalation point for network and systems issues; conduct root cause analysis and drive durable remediation.
Manage and evolve virtualization and containerization platforms across on-premises and cloud environments, ensuring efficient resource utilization and alignment with broader infrastructure strategy.
Contribute to infrastructure roadmap planning by surfacing technical risks, capacity needs, and modernization opportunities to engineering leadership.
Own disaster recovery planning for network and systems infrastructure; define recovery objectives, maintain runbooks, and lead regular DR testing exercises to validate recoverability.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package
Competitive Time Off Benefits: including flexible PTO, 11 company holidays, and parental leave
Generous dining reimbursement when you dine with our restaurant clients
401(k) plan with a company match
Two medical plan options- Standard PPO or High Deductible Health Plan (HSA with company match for HDHP participants)
Partnership with Rx n Go, offering certain prescriptions for free
Two dental plan options and a vision plan
Flexible Spending Accounts and a pre-tax commuter benefit program
Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance Plans
Short Term and Long Term disability
Company-paid life insurance and AD&D insurance, supplemental employee, spouse, and child life insurance
Employee Life Assistance Program