Lead, Network Engineer - AI

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* The Lead, Network Engineer designs, analyzes, plans and modifies network components supporting customer communication implementation activities. The Lead, Network Engineer works on problems of diverse scope and complexity ranging from moderate to substantial.

The Lead Network Engineer will be the technical SME for our enterprise WAN, remote LAN/WLAN, and data center SDWAN network services. This role is responsible for engineering, implementing, and operating a multi-vendor SD-WAN environment, scalable campus/branch switching and wireless, and resilient remote branch solutions. You will serve as the escalation point for complex routing, overlay, and authentication issues, including RADIUS/TACACS+. Additionally, you will provide technical leadership to a team of network engineers.

You will also work closely with the Lead Network Architect and Principal Network Architect through structured technical solution peer reviews.

** Responsibilities*
* ** Engineering & Design*
* + Lead the end-to-end design of multi-vendor SD-WAN solutions (Cisco SD-WAN/Viptela, Meraki, Fortinet, Aruba, Palo Alto, etc.) across global branch and remote office locations.

+ Design and maintain secure and scalable data center solutions to terminate SD-WAN overlays, VPNs, and remote-site connectivity.

+ Develop robust WAN, campus, and data center routing designs using BGP and OSPF, including route redistribution, policy-based routing, and traffic engineering.

+ Design resilient, standardized remote LAN solutions (access/distribution) including VLANs, spanning-tree strategy, link aggregation, and QoS.

+ Build and test enterprise wireless solutions for remote and campus locations, including SSID design, authentication/authorization policies, RF design standards, and guest access.

+ Own the design and lifecycle of RADIUS and TACACS+ solutions for network device access control, 802.1X, and Wi-Fi authentication, including high availability and redundancy.

+ Collaborate with the Lead Network Architect and Principal Network Architect to ensure solution designs align with enterprise architecture principles, target-state roadmaps, and security standards.

** Implementation & Operations*
* + Lead the deployment and configuration of SD-WAN overlays, routing policies, segmentation, and security policies across multiple platforms.

+ Oversee implementation of switching, routing, and wireless solutions for new sites, data center expansions, and network refresh projects.

+ Serve as the highest-level escalation point for complex incidents involving SD-WAN overlays, routing instability, LAN/WLAN issues, and AAA (RADIUS/TACACS+) failures.

+ Define and maintain network configuration standards, templates, and golden configurations for SD-WAN, LAN, WLAN, and routing.

+ Collaborate closely with security, platform, and applications teams to ensure network designs meet security, performance, and availability requirements.

** Governance, Peer Review & Documentation*
* + Participate in structured technical solution peer reviews with the Lead Network Architect and Principal Network Architect, presenting low-level designs (LLDs), implementation approaches, and migration plans for feedback and approval.

+ Review and provide feedback on designs produced by other engineers to ensure consistency with standard guidelines and operational best practices.

+ Develop and maintain detailed network diagrams, design documents, and runbooks for SD-WAN, LAN/WLAN, data center, and AAA infrastructure.

+ Contribute to or lead network automation efforts (e.g., Ansible, Python, APIs) to streamline configuration, compliance checks, and deployments across SD-WAN and LAN.

+ Define monitoring and observability standards (Net Flow/sFlow, SNMP, syslog, telemetry) for all network domains; work with NOC/operations on alerting and dashboards.

+ Assist in capacity planning, performance analysis, and continual service improvement for WAN, LAN/WLAN, and data center connectivity.

** Leadership & Collaboration*
* + Provide technical leadership and mentorship to network engineers and operations staff; review designs and changes for quality and consistency.

+ Work in close partnership with the Lead Network Architect and Principal Network Architect to translate high-level architecture into implementable, supportable solutions.

+ Participate in and sometimes lead cross-functional solution reviews and present to the change advisory board (CAB).

+ Engage with vendors and service providers for solution evaluation, design improvements, and problem escalation.

+ Contribute to network strategy and roadmap planning, identifying opportunities for modernization, consolidation, and cost optimization.

+ Ability to translate business requirements into scalable, supportable network designs.

+ Strong documentation, communication, and presentation skills; comfortable discussing designs with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

+ Leadership mindset with the ability to guide, mentor, and influence…