Senior Network Engineer

Florida Polytechnic University

11d • $85,000 - $93,600 • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Network Engineer is part of Florida Polytechnic University’s IT Infrastructure team, reporting to the Director of IT Infrastructure Services and working with the Lead Network Engineer. The role designs, implements, optimizes, and troubleshoots wired, wireless, and wide area network infrastructure. It leads complex technical work and projects, improves network performance and resiliency, and establishes standards and documentation. The engineer participates in an on-call rotation and performs after-hours maintenance to limit user impact, while mentoring Network Engineers, Technicians, and student workers.

A significant portion of the position provides network engineering services to external partner institutions, both on site and remotely alongside their IT staff. The role also supports auxiliary services such as residence halls and dining. It calls for a technically skilled, self-motivated engineer with sound judgment, a commitment to quality, professionalism in representing the University, and an interest in mentoring and expanding expertise in enterprise networking, security, and automation.

The position is salaried and exempt, full-time, and on-site. The normal schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with occasional after-hours work, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. The position may be eligible for a flexible work schedule. Local travel between University locations and vendors may be required, with occasional travel to professional events and conferences. This is a time-limited position of up to two years, contingent on continued funding, and may be eligible for extension.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Four or more years of experience as a network engineer or in a similar role supporting enterprise or campus networks.
• A current Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or equivalent vendor certification may substitute for one year of experience.
• A current Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or equivalent vendor certification may substitute for two years of experience; certification credit is not cumulative.
• Up to two years of extensive, documented home lab experience with enterprise-class networking equipment may be considered as work experience.
• Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.
• Advanced knowledge of enterprise, campus, and data center network design, including LAN/WAN, VLANs, Spanning Tree, wireless (802.11), high availability, and routing protocols such as OSPF and BGP.
• Working knowledge of EVPN, VXLAN, and Clos (spine-leaf) fabric architectures.
• Expert hands-on experience configuring, optimizing, and troubleshooting enterprise switching, routing, and wireless platforms using a command line interface (CLI).
• Experience designing and administering next-generation firewalls, VPN, and 802.1X/network access control solutions.
• Working knowledge of DNS, DHCP, NTP, RADIUS/TACACS+, QoS, and cloud networking in Microsoft Azure and/or AWS.
• Experience with network monitoring, management, and documentation tools such as Zabbix, SNMP, syslog, and NetBox.
• Demonstrated ability to develop scripts and automation, such as Python, Ansible, or PowerShell, for configuration, compliance, and operational tasks.
• Ability to effectively utilize artificial intelligence (AI).
• Ability to lead projects and workstreams, mentor technical staff, and drive complex problems to resolution.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to present recommendations clearly to technical staff, partner institutions, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to work outside normal business hours to implement changes and solutions that limit impact or exposure to users.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license.
• A criminal background check, including Level II screening as required by Florida Statute §435.04, is required.
• The position is subject to federal and state privacy regulations.
• Employment is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States; employment-based visa sponsorship will not be considered.
• Required application materials are a resume, at least three professional references with names and contact information, and a cover letter addressing the specified application questions.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Six or more years of network engineering experience, preferably in higher education.
• Hands-on experience designing or deploying EVPN/VXLAN spine-leaf fabrics and campus core replacements.
• Experience leading projects or providing engineering services for external customers or partner institutions.
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or equivalent vendor certification.
• Hands-on design or implementation experience with EVPN, VXLAN, and Clos (spine-leaf) fabric architectures.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of complex network solutions, including campus core, data center, spine-leaf (EVPN/VXLAN) fabrics, WAN, and wireless.
• Plan, test, and implement changes and upgrades, scheduling user-impacting work after hours.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex, multi-layer network incidents; lead root cause analysis and drive permanent corrective actions.
• Participate in a rotating on-call schedule to respond to after-hours incidents and outages.
• Lead assigned network projects and technical workstreams from planning through deployment, including new construction and renovations.
• Develop standards, roadmaps, and capacity plans, and evaluate risks and tradeoffs in design decisions.
• Engineer and improve network security, including segmentation, 802.1X/NAC, next-generation firewall policy, VPN, and vulnerability remediation, in partnership with IT Security and in alignment with frameworks such as CIS, NIST, and PCI.
• Establish and maintain network documentation, configuration standards, and procedures, including diagrams, IP address management, and a source of truth such as NetBox.
• Develop automation using scripting, AI, and network automation tools.
• Mentor Network Engineers, Network Technicians, and student workers, and review engineering work for quality and standards.
• Collaborate with systems, security, and application teams, vendors, and contractors; evaluate products and recommend improvements.
• Deliver network engineering services through ITS auxiliary operations and external partnerships, including on-site and remote engineering, advisory services, training, and knowledge transfer for partner institutions’ IT staff.
• Pursue opportunities to learn new systems and technologies, share knowledge, and partner with team members to enhance departmental expertise and effectiveness.
• Perform other duties assigned to support department and University objectives.

Benefits

• State of Florida medical and life insurance plans.
• Personal leave and parental leave.
• Paid holidays.
• State of Florida retirement plans, with additional voluntary retirement plan options.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Annual leave; qualified employees may accrue 22 days.
• Annual sick leave; qualified employees may accrue 12 days and participate in the Sick Pool Program.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Discounts and perks.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree