Senior Network Engineer (Network Services and Operations Specialist IV)

Tennessee Tech University • Cookeville, TN

34d

About The Position

This position serves as the primary technical expert for the organization's network infrastructure. It is responsible for shaping the technical strategy and establishing architectural standards to ensure the network's stability, performance, and security. The role leads the execution of major network infrastructure projects, provides high-level technical guidance and mentorship, supports the operations team as a technical lead, and defines best practices for network design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance. Tennessee Tech is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Seven years of progressive experience in network engineering or architecture, including deep hands-on proficiency in design, architecture, and implementation of complex LAN/WAN/Cloud networks and demonstrated leadership in technical projects.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in an Information Technology discipline.
• 8-10+ years of total career experience, including both directly and indirectly related IT roles that have built a strong foundation in technical infrastructure and team leadership.
• Experience with Extreme networking and wireless equipment, network-based video surveillance, and voice over IP technologies.
• Industry-recognized networking certifications (e.g., CCNA, CCNP, JNCIP, Extreme Networks certifications) are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Architects scalable, secure, and resilient network solutions for both on-premises and cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP). Drives continuous infrastructure evolution by designing and implementing networking technologies; creates system update plans, leads the integration of new products, and ensures all network changes align with architectural standards and long-term strategic goals. Plans, designs, and deploys LAN/WAN infrastructure and implements network segmentation and VLANs.
• Manages all network resources, including external vendors and contractors. Responsible for the comprehensive documentation, smooth operation, and regular testing of the networking infrastructure to maintain reliability and adherence to standards.
• Owns the technical backlog and work distribution; assigns complex tasks, manages technical dependencies, and ensures team efforts are aligned with infrastructure priorities and best practices. Improves team performance and cohesiveness through technical leadership, mentoring, and ensuring project efficiency.
• Implements and maintains firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and network access controls. Ensures compliance with relevant security standards (e.g., ISO, NIST, PCI-DSS). Develops and tests network redundancy and failover solutions and participates in disaster recovery planning and execution.
• Proactively monitors network performance and health; diagnoses and resolves complex network issues, outages, and bottlenecks. Addresses networking infrastructure emergencies as needed, which may require responding outside of normal working hours to ensure minimal disruption.
• Develops and completes short and long-term project milestones, priorities, and objectives specifically related to networking and operations, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within scope.
• Installs, configures, and maintains routers, switches, firewalls, VPNs, and other networking hardware/software.
• Collaborates with other IT teams and campus departments, offering expert technical guidance, support, and leadership on networking matters, and keeping team members informed of relevant updates.

Benefits

• The University offers a competitive benefits package.
• Benefits include the accumulation of two vacation days per month and one sick leave day per month, and thirteen University holidays.
• Other benefits include medical and life insurance (shared cost with the university), retirement, optional 401k, and educational benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Educational Services