Network Engineering Manager

Network Engineering Manager

Location: Smyrna, Georgia, Direct Hire

Compensation: Base salary up to $160K + bonus potential

Work Schedule: Hybrid (3 days onsite weekly, flexible scheduling with core hours 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM)

Location: Atlanta Metro Area

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly technical, hands-on Network Engineering Manager to own, modernize, and scale our network infrastructure. This is a true player-coach role designed for an Engineer or Architect profile with natural leadership capabilities. You will manage a small, independent team while remaining deeply involved in the technical execution, architecture, and reliability of our environment. This position focuses heavily on forward-looking projects, data center architecture, and cloud resiliency—not routine daily break/fix. If you are an expert in Cisco routing/switching and Palo Alto environments who takes absolute ownership during incidents and thrives in a mid-sized corporate ecosystem, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

• Technical Leadership & Architecture (40% - 50% of Role)
• True SME Ownership: Act as the ultimate technical authority and escalation point for all networking platforms, specifically taking immediate Day 1 ownership of Cisco routing and Palo Alto environments.
• Architecture & Design: Own data center connectivity workflows, routing/switching best practices, and hybrid cloud network design. (Note: This role does not manage physical retail store infrastructure).
• Strategic Input: Partner with application, security, and infrastructure teams to provide expert network design feedback for enterprise-wide initiatives.

• Strategic Projects & Initiatives
• Disaster Recovery & High Availability: Lead major initiatives to eliminate single points of failure across our dual data centers and Azure cloud environments.
• Data Center Refresh: Conduct comprehensive architectural assessments and execute partial redesigns/modernization of existing layouts.
• Visibility & Observability: Design and implement robust network monitoring enhancements to increase visibility across the enterprise.

• Operations, Vendor & People Management (Remaining Split)
• Team Leadership: Lead, coach, and scale a lean team of internal engineers (currently 2 FTEs with planned growth to 4+, plus offshore/contractor resources).
• Vendor Management: Manage partnerships with service providers, carriers, and hardware vendors, overseeing SLAs and contract efficiency.
• Incident Management: Provide decisive technical leadership and clear communication during critical network outages or disruptions.
• On-Call Rotation: Participate in a lightweight, higher-level escalation rotation (approximately 1 week per quarter).

• Day 1 & First 2 Weeks Expectations
• Immediate Mandate: Take total operational ownership of the Cisco routing/switching and Palo Alto setups.
• Deep Dive & Assess: Within your first two weeks, map out and document the current network architecture.
• Pitch Your Vision: Present formal, forward-looking recommendations to the team on improving data center connectivity, high availability, and resiliency.

What We're Looking For Core Technical Requirements

• Deep Routing & Switching Expertise: Master-level understanding of complex network routing protocols and switching architectures. Broad "generalist" infrastructure backgrounds will not be a fit for this role.
• The Hardware Stack: Proven, hands-on configuration and management experience with:
• Cisco 9K Routers & Catalyst Switches
• Cisco Meraki wireless/appliances
• Palo Alto Firewalls
• Palo Alto SD-WAN
• Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure: Practical experience managing connectivity across multi-data center environments alongside a public cloud presence (70% On-Prem / 30% Azure preferred, AWS acceptable).

Experience & Background

• Professional Journey: 5–7 years of progressive, deep network engineering experience, coupled with at least 1–3 years of team leadership, mentoring, or light people management.
• Environment Fit: Prior experience in mid-sized corporate environments is highly preferred. Backgrounds in retail, logistics, or healthcare ecosystems are considered a significant advantage.
• Ideal Profile: A highly accountable engineer-turned-leader. We are looking for an internal champion who values stability and modernization—not large-scale enterprise career managers, MSP/consulting-mindset individuals, or those managing side-consulting businesses.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience implementing network services natively within Microsoft Azure.
• Familiarity with network automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or Ansible.

Our Culture & Growth We believe our people make the ultimate difference. We support one another, celebrate wins big and small, and foster continuous growth. This role offers high organizational visibility and the autonomy to truly shape the future of our infrastructure strategy. If you are driven by continuous improvement and want to build a resilient, modernized network environment, apply today to discover how far your career can go.