Lead Network Engineer

Job Description Job Description Pave America is the largest self-perform commercial paving and pavement maintenance platform in the United States, backed by AEA Investors LP. The company operates ~30 branches across 40 acquired brands and generates approximately $1.1B in revenue with ~$160M EBITDA. Pave America is executing a Value Creation Plan targeting $2B revenue and $350M EBITDA by 2029, with a 3–4× MOIC exit objective on a 3–5 year horizon. We are a leading paving contractor operating across regional and national markets. Our field operations, estimating teams, and project managers depend on fast, reliable network connectivity to deliver work on time and on budget. The Lead Network Engineerwill own the design, performance, and security of the networks that power our business — from job site wireless and fleet telematics to branch office WAN and cloud connectivity — ensuring our infrastructure keeps pace with a fast-moving construction environment. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Network design & planning Design, plan, and document scalable network solutions across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, and cloud networking. Translate business and field operational requirements into reliable network architectures that support job sites, branch offices, and remote crews. Network operations & monitoring Oversee day-to-day network operations, performance monitoring, and incident response. Maintain uptime across all sites, proactively identify bottlenecks, and lead troubleshooting for network outages and degraded service affecting field and office operations. Security & access control Implement and maintain network security controls including firewalls, VPNs, NAC, and network segmentation. Enforce access policies across office, remote, and field environments to protect company data and systems from unauthorized access and threats. Vendor & carrier management Manage relationships with ISPs, telecom carriers, and network hardware vendors. Evaluate service agreements, negotiate contracts, and hold vendors accountable for SLAs — ensuring reliable connectivity across all company locations and job sites. Infrastructure & connectivity Own the physical and logical network infrastructure including switches, routers, wireless access points, and MPLS or SD-WAN circuits. Ensure reliable, high-performance connectivity across headquarters, branch offices, and active job sites. Documentation & standards Maintain accurate network diagrams, configuration documentation, and change management records. Establish and enforce network standards, naming conventions, and change control processes aligned with company policy and compliance requirements. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 6-10 years of experience in network engineering or network administration, with at least 2 years in a senior or lead capacity Deep hands-on expertise with enterprise routing and switching — Cisco, Juniper, or equivalent — including BGP, OSPF, VLAN design, and QoS configuration Proven experience designing and managing SD-WAN, MPLS, and site-to-site VPN solutions across multi-location environments Strong knowledge of network security — firewalls (Palo Alto, Fortinet, or similar), NAC, IDS/IPS, and zero-trust network access principles Experience with wireless networking at scale — deploying and managing enterprise Wi-Fi (Meraki, Aruba, or equivalent) across multiple facilities and outdoor/job site environments Solid understanding of network monitoring and observability tools (SolarWinds, PRTG, Datadog, or similar) — with the ability to set thresholds, build dashboards, and drive proactive remediation Ability to produce clear network diagrams, runbooks, and technical documentation — and communicate network decisions effectively to both IT peers and non-technical operations leadership Ability to mentor junior network engineers and serve as senior escalation point for complex network incidents and outages PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Industry certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, or equivalent from Juniper, Palo Alto, or other leading vendors Experience with network automation and infrastructure-as-code tools — Ansible, Python, Terraform, or similar — to streamline configuration management and reduce manual change risk Background in field services, construction, or asset-heavy industries — understanding connectivity challenges of distributed, mobile workforces and temporary job site environments