Senior Network Engineer (onsite at Oakwood University)

Ellucian•Huntsville, AL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Network Engineer at Oakwood University designs, implements, secures, and operates enterprise and campus network services for higher education clients supported by an international MSP. This role serves as a customer-facing technical lead and senior escalation point, aligning network strategy and execution to institutional needs, service levels, and security requirements. Success in this position requires strong networking fundamentals (OSI and TCP/IP models), deep expertise in advanced Layer 3 routing, NAC, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, wireless technologies and protocols, and a consultative mindset consistent with a trusted advisor model.

Requirements

5+ years of progressive network engineering experience in enterprise environments; campus/higher education experience is strongly preferred.
Expert proficiency with the OSI model, TCP/IP fundamentals, IPv4/IPv6 addressing, and structured troubleshooting methodologies.
Hands-on, advanced routing and switching experience (BGP/OSPF/EIGRP, VLANs, trunking, STP, high availability) and the ability to design for resiliency and scale.
Hands-on experience with SD-WAN and/or software-defined campus/SD-LAN solutions.
Hands-on experience designing and operating Network Access Control (NAC) solutions and supporting identity services (802.1X and AAA).
Advanced experience with DNS, DHCP, and IPAM configuration, operations, and security.
Modern wireless networking experience in dense client environments and the ability to resolve complex RF and performance issues.
Working knowledge of BICSI and low-voltage structured cabling practices (copper/fiber) and the ability to coordinate and validate vendor deliverables.
Strong technical writing, process documentation, and formal presentation skills.
Proven customer service orientation and strong interpersonal/soft skills appropriate for a managed services trusted advisor role.
Ability to adapt to rapidly changing support needs and customer constraints.
Ability to manage both time and stress effectively.
Ability to travel occasionally and participate in on-call support as required.

Nice To Haves

Industry certifications such as CCNP Enterprise (or equivalent), CWNA/CWSP, Security+, and/or ITIL Foundation.
Experience with common higher education use cases (e.g., residence halls, academic spaces, federated/guest access, campus safety systems, classroom A/V dependencies).
Experience with automation and configuration management (e.g., Python, Ansible, Git, APIs) and network source-of-truth practices (e.g., NetBox).
Experience supporting VoIP/UC and QoS in campus environments, including emergency calling/e911 workflows.
Demonstrated leadership through mentoring, project ownership, service improvement initiatives, or technical lead responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Own day-to-day and project-based network engineering for campus LAN/WLAN and WAN connectivity, including SD-WAN and software-defined campus/SD-LAN capabilities (platforms may vary).
Engineer advanced Layer 3 routing and segmentation (e.g., BGP/OSPF/EIGRP, VRF, route policy, redistribution) to support multi-location and multi-tenant requirements.
Deploy and operate Network Access Control (NAC) and identity-based access (802.1X, RADIUS/TACACS+, posture, guest/BYOD onboarding) and maintain associated operational runbooks.
Administer and secure enterprise DNS, DHCP, and IPAM services, including architecture, lifecycle, resiliency, and security hardening (e.g., secure updates, policy controls, least-privilege administration).
Design, deploy, and optimize modern wireless networks (Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 and beyond), including RF surveys, capacity planning, roaming optimization, and secure authentication (WPA3-Enterprise/802.1X).
Apply BICSI-aligned low-voltage cabling and pathway standards; coordinate vendors and facilities for MDF/IDF design, labeling, documentation, and acceptance testing (copper/fiber).
Implement and maintain network security controls (e.g., firewall/VPN/ACL policy, secure management access, logging) and participate in incident response and remediation activities.
Monitor and troubleshoot network health and performance using standard tooling (telemetry/SNMP, syslog, flow data, packet analysis); lead root-cause analysis and coordinate vendor/carrier escalations.
Produce high-quality technical documentation and process artifacts (network diagrams, SOPs, SoWs, POA&Ms, change management plans, knowledge articles) and contribute to ITSM (incident, request, problem, change).
Provide strong customer service and stakeholder management: communicate clearly, present recommendations and risks, and translate technical options into operational outcomes.
Participation in an after-hours/on-call rotation based on service commitments.
Mentor junior staff and provide informal technical leadership during projects and major incidents; leadership capabilities are a plus.
Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision
Flexible time off
Thrive Flex Lifestyle Account (LSA) that allows you to contribute towards your health, financial or learning interests
401k w/ match & BrightPlan - to help you save for the future
Parental Leave
5 charitable days to support the community that supports us
Telemedicine
Wellness
Headspace Care (mental health)
Wellbeats (virtual fitness classes)
RethinkCare & Wellthy– caregiver support
Diversity and inclusion programs which provide access to internal employee resource groups
Employee referral bonuses to encourage the addition of great new people to the team
Education Assistance Program
Professional development opportunities