Senior Network Engineer

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Senior Network Engineer

Job Profile Title

Network Engineer Senior

Job Description Summary

The Senior Network Engineer plans, designs, installs, and manages a complex, multi-vendor, dual-stack enterprise network. The environment includes extensive use of Cisco and Juniper routing and switching platforms (including campus, data center, and WAN technologies). The position works with internal teams, Internet service providers, and external partners to define technical requirements for network infrastructure. The Senior Network Engineer resolves complex networking issues and provides high-level support to IT staff, and uses programming skills to build network automation and tooling. This role participates in an on-call rotation with other network engineers and must be able to respond to incidents on Penn’s campus within one hour. This position is not eligible for remote work and requires a regular on-campus presence. The engineer leverages network management tools, evaluates new technologies, and helps define network policies and standards. The role may supervise staff or lead major network projects.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities:

• Maintain performance and capacity of a large-scale, multi-vendor network by monitoring, troubleshooting, and resolving problems as they occur.

• Design, implement, and support enterprise routing and switching solutions using Cisco Catalyst and Nexus platforms and Juniper routing and switching devices in campus, data center, and WAN environments.

• Define standards, methods, and best practices for network routing, switching, automation, and monitoring across a heterogeneous infrastructure.

• Engineer and support dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) routing using dynamic routing protocols such as BGP, OSPF, and IS-IS, including policy design and integration with external peers and service providers.

• Plan, implement, and maintain network overlays and related technologies (e.g., MPLS, VXLAN, and similar encapsulation/overlay mechanisms) to support multi-tenant and segmented services in both campus and data center environments.

• Build automation using Python and related tools to improve network deployment, configuration management, and operational workflows.

• Work closely with campus partners and internal teams to plan projects, integrate services, and resolve complex network problems.

• Provide daily maintenance, including changes, modifications, or improvements, as part of the ongoing administration of the network.

• Plan for growth in throughput and overall capacity, and plan for technological advances and changes in requirements due to the evolution of computing systems.

• Stay current with networking technologies, industry best practices, and emerging standards through research and training.

• Bridge the gap between design and operations to ensure solutions are scalable, supportable, and aligned with business needs.

• Provide technical leadership and participate in strategy planning.

• Demonstrate a strong verbal presence in meetings, contributing perspectives, asking questions, and driving technical discussions forward.

• Build trust quickly with both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Participate in a shared after-hours on-call rotation for critical network incidents, including occasional early-morning, evening, or weekend work as required to support maintenance and incident response.

• Go beyond solving the issue: Mentor, collaborate with, and train operations staff, and more junior engineers as necessary.

• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science and 3 to 5 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

• Expert knowledge of networking: IPv4 & IPv6, dynamic routing protocols such as BGP & OSPF, overlay technologies such as MPLS & VXLAN.

• Experience with network management and monitoring tools, specifically Cisco Catalyst Center.

• Proven experience managing large enterprise networks.

• Experience with Linux administration and Python scripting skills.

• Experience with open-source tools and automation frameworks (Nautobot, Netbox).

• Experience with Cisco and Juniper enterprise-grade networking equipment.

• Experience building relationships with peers and partner teams to ensure alignment on network strategy, execution and strategic goals.

• Ability to define and enforce standards, methods, and best practices.

• Ability to take ownership of initiatives from concept through implementation and operational support.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills for cross-functional initiatives.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred:

• Experience with network automation tools such as Nautobot or Netbox.

• Experience with Solidserver, Cisco Catalyst Center (DNA center), DX NetOps (Spectrum), Akips, Kentik.

• Experience with optical equipment, such as Ciena WaveserverAI.

• Experience working in higher education.

**In order to be considered for this role and move forward in the process, candidates will be required to meet in person with the hiring team.**

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

About Information Systems & Computing:

Information Systems & Computing (ISC) is the University of Pennsylvania’s central IT organization, providing the core network, data, voice, video, and enterprise application infrastructure and services upon which Penn’s numerous Schools and Centers build their unique tools and capabilities.

ISC’s 300-plus employees work closely with the University’s IT organizations in order to create, deliver and support products and services that help Schools and Centers operate efficiently and effectively. We strive to be easy to work with, and to serve as a trusted advisor to Penn’s IT community, faculty, staff and students in support of an environment of discovery and progress.

ISC’s focus on customer service and the high-quality, cost-effective, reliable implementation of modern IT solutions advances the mission of the University, as well as that of each individual School and Center. At Penn, technological freedom and departmental autonomy represent dearly held core values. ISC supports those ideas by providing foundational services and cogent counsel, empowering individuals and departments to employ their distinct strengths in support of their goals.

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Department / School

Information Systems and Computing

Pay Range

$84,961.00 - $125,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts : Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition : Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources : Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services : From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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