Network Engineer III

McDonald's Corporation•Chicago, IL

19h

About The Position

McDonald’s growth strategy, Accelerating the Arches, encompasses all aspects of our business as the leading global omni-channel restaurant brand. As the consumer landscape shifts we are using our competitive advantages to further strengthen our brand. One of our core growth strategies is to Double Down on the 3Ds (Delivery, Digital and Drive Thru). McDonald’s will accelerate technology innovation so 65M+ customers a day will experience a fast, easy experience, whether at one of our 25,000 and growing Drive thrus, through McDelivery, dine-in or takeaway.  McDonald’s Global Technology is here to power tomorrow’s feel-good moments.   That’s why you’ll find us at the forefront of transformative technology, exploring new and innovative ways to serve our millions of customers and spread happiness one delicious Hot Fudge Sundae-dipped fry at a time. Using AI, robotics and emerging tech, we’re digitizing the Golden Arches. Combine that with our unparalleled global scale, and we’re reshaping all areas of the business, industry and every community that is home to a McDonald’s restaurant. We face complex tech challenges every day. But that’s where our diverse and talented teams come in. They’re made up of the best and brightest from all over the globe, and they thrive in the space where feel-good meets fast-paced.   Check out the McDonald’s  Global Technology Technical Blog to learn how technology and our global team are directly enabling the Accelerating the Arches strategy.  Department OverviewThe Network Engineer III is a senior technical role responsible for the implementation, ongoing management, and optimization of enterprise network infrastructure. This role combines deep hands-on engineering expertise driving stability, performance, security, and operational excellence. In addition, this position provides solution engineer ownership for integrations between network platforms and enterprise services/tools (e.g., automation pipelines, monitoring/observability, ticketing/ITSM, identity, and security tooling) to enable scalable operations and better end-to-end service outcomes. Core responsibilities reflect Network Engineer III scope (enterprise routing/switching, operations, documentation, process improvement, and security enhancements).

Requirements

Significant progressive experience in enterprise network engineering within complex environments (engineering, operations, and troubleshooting).
Juniper experience in enterprise routing and switching environments.
Network automation experience delivering automated methods that reduce operational complexity and improve reliability.
Strong foundation in routing and switching concepts and enterprise troubleshooting; multi-vendor networking experience is beneficial.
Strong written and verbal communication skills; documentation discipline and attention to detail.
Ability to work outside regular hours when necessary (change windows, critical incidents).

Nice To Haves

Experience with DNS and related enterprise network services (DHCP, IPAM).
Experience with security tooling and processes (e.g., segmentation, firewall policy alignment, SASE/SSE concepts, security event workflows).
Experience with Active Directory (AD) and identity services, and how identity integrates with network access controls (nice-to-have per your request).
Experience producing implementation documentation, runbooks, and improving operational processes.

Responsibilities

Lead the implementation of complex network solutions (LAN/WAN/WLAN and related services) ensuring scalability, resilience, and security.
Serve as an escalation point for complex incidents; drive root cause analysis and durable corrective actions.
Develop and maintain architecture documentation (diagrams, configurations, procedures) and ensure high-quality implementation readiness.
Define and use network capacity models, performance metrics, and operational reporting to support continuous improvement.
Coordinate complex network changes, upgrades, and migrations with minimal disruption; ensure strong change discipline and communications.
Provide technical ownership for Juniper network environments, including troubleshooting, lifecycle planning, and operational stability in enterprise settings. (Multi-vendor experience is valuable, but Juniper is preferred.)
Design and deliver network automation to reduce operational complexity (e.g., configuration provisioning, compliance validation, automated remediation, and repeatable deployment methods).
Establish automation standards and reusable patterns to accelerate delivery and improve reliability (e.g., gold templates, validation gates, automated rollback approaches).
Act as solution engineer for integrations between network services and enterprise tools/platforms, ensuring end-to-end operational workflows are scalable and supportable (examples: monitoring/telemetry pipelines, configuration/compliance systems, ITSM/ticketing, CMDB asset integrity, security event workflows, and identity-driven access control).
Ensure engineering decisions support operational outcomes: observability, auditability, resilience, and reduced mean time to restore.
Interface with customer and stakeholder teams to design and continuously deliver security-related enhancements.
Support implementation of network security best practices and alignment with security teams and policies.
Contribute across the full lifecycle of global network projects, including planning, coordination with procurement/logistics/resource planning, and ensuring documentation is complete and usable.
Review and tailor processes to ensure they are lean and fit-for-purpose; drive standardization and continuous improvement.