Manager Network Engineering

Job Description

Network Engineering Manager

Position Summary

The Manager, Network Engineering is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and delivery of network engineering services supporting Clayton’s enterprise network. This role leads network engineers, coordinates team priorities, and partners with network architecture and technology leadership to implement reliable, scalable, and secure network solutions aligned with established technology standards and business objectives.

The ideal candidate is a collaborative, execution-oriented leader with strong operational expertise in network engineering and a commitment to team development. They will translate network strategy into actionable plans, oversee project delivery, and drive continuous improvement while maintaining operational excellence. Success in this role depends on building strong partnerships across Enterprise Technology Operations, Security, and other Technology teams to deliver integrated, reliable, and secure solutions that support Clayton’s growth and resilience.

Primary Responsibilities

• Team Development: Provide direct leadership, mentorship, and coaching to network engineers, establishing clear expectations and fostering professional growth, accountability, and high performance.
• Operational Excellence: Manage daily network operations, maintenance, and issue resolution to maintain high availability, performance, and compliance with internal and regulatory standards.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner effectively with Security, Infrastructure, Cloud, and Application teams to deliver end-to-end technology solutions.
• Team Capacity Management: Partner with the Portfolio team and technology leadership to coordinate project intake, prioritize work, assign resources, and manage delivery across network initiatives, including tracking budget expenditures, team capacity, metrics, and reporting.
• Continuous Improvement: Implement automation, standardization, and process improvements that increase network efficiency, service consistency, and reliability.
• Influence & Communication: Communicate operational performance, project progress, risks, and resource needs to leadership and stakeholders; build alignment across teams through clear, timely communication.
• Innovation & Foresight: Stay informed on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices; recommend practical improvements and support delivery of Clayton’s network modernization roadmap.
• Planning & Execution: Translate enterprise network strategy into team objectives and actionable delivery plans, partnering with technology leadership and network architecture to align execution with Clayton’s technology and business goals.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in network engineering, including 5+ years in a leadership role within a large, complex enterprise environment.
• Proven success leading distributed network teams across multiple domains (LAN/WAN, Wi-Fi, VoIP, SD-WAN, Cloud Networking, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives without direct authority.
• Strong organizational and stakeholder management skills; adept at coordinating priorities with leadership and peers.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to business stakeholders.
• Deep technical understanding of enterprise networking technologies, including routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, unified communications, and network performance monitoring.
• Experience developing and enforcing network policies, procedures, and standards in alignment with cybersecurity and compliance requirements.
• High integrity, discretion, and sound judgment when handling sensitive information.
• Comfortable operating in dynamic environments, balancing project delivery, team development, and immediate operational needs.

Skills & Competencies

Leadership & Management

• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing, distributed technical teams.
• Skilled at translating strategic direction into team priorities, operational plans, and timely execution.
• Strong mentoring and coaching mindset ; invests in people growth and capability building.
• Experienced in managing through ambiguity and influencing without direct authority.

Technical Expertise

• Advanced knowledge of enterprise networking: Core Routing & Switching (Cisco, Aruba, etc.). Wireless Infrastructure (Aruba, Meraki, or equivalent), SD-WAN / Cloud Networking (Azure/AWS integrations, Prisma SD-WAN, or equivalent), Network Security (Firewalls, VPN, NAC, segmentation, Zero Trust), Voice & Unified Communications (Cisco UC, Teams Voice, etc.), Network Monitoring & Observability (SolarWinds, Datadog, Splunk, or similar)
• Understanding of automation and Infrastructure-as-Code (Python, Terraform, etc.) for network configuration and provisioning.
• Working knowledge of cloud networking architecture and hybrid connectivity (ExpressRoute, Direct Connect, VPN/Transit gateways).

Strategic & Analytical Thinking

• Ability to translate business objectives and network architecture direction into scalable, secure, and resilient network solutions and implementation plans.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to decisions.
• Skilled at-risk assessment, prioritization, and capacity planning for enterprise-scale environments.

Communication & Collaboration

• Exceptional communicator who can simplify complex topics for non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable presenting operational updates, project recommendations, and risks to leadership to support informed decisions.
• Builds trusted partnerships across Infrastructure, Cloud, Security, and Application teams.

Business Acumen

• Understands the relationship between network performance, user experience, and business outcomes.
• Experience managing budgets, vendor relationships, and technology contracts.
• Pragmatic, outcome-oriented mindset focused on measurable business value.