Sr. Network Specialist - Limited-Term Information Technologies

The Information Technologies is currently seeking a Full‑time Limited Term Sr. Network Specialist for approximately 24 months.

This position reports to the Manager of Network Services in Technology Services & Operations in IT. The incumbent will be responsible for the overall operations of the university's data and communication systems and for supporting specific projects. The Senior Network Technical Lead will provide technical leadership to the Network Operations team and perform in‑depth technical analysis and troubleshooting for any network issues impacting IT services.

The incumbent will also serve as a key consultative resource for senior IT leadership and other technical resources.

The position is expected to be an expert in all aspects of the delivery of network services and the operation of the network infrastructure the incumbent manages to ensure the availability of IT services to all members of the university community. Individuals in the role are required to act as technical experts when leading or participating in architectural roadmaps, project design and implementation, and operational escalation support.

The Network Operations team administers and maintains networking devices to ensure proper operation and availability. The network is the core for all information technology services and it is crucial that services are designed to be redundant, highly available, and rapidly restored when problems arise.

The position works 35 hours per week plus on‑call duties. Work outside normal office hours is required. The position requires close collaboration with IT staff and other university stakeholders. The incumbent will represent and advocate on behalf of stakeholders in Research, Teaching and Learning, and Administration when dealing with outside vendors and suppliers. The position is expected to lead technical projects and mentor junior staff despite not having direct reports.

The role is subject to high stress as it requires balancing multiple priorities and the impact of error can be campus‑wide.

Project Architectural and Design Oversight and Review (70%)

• Apply industry knowledge to create best‑practices, and conduct regular technical reviews of architecture and project delivery to ensure optimum production operations and sustainment
• Oversee all network deliverables are executed upon to specified standards through:
  • Participation in enterprise standards development
  • Deployment guides
  • QA/QC checklists
  • Network L1‑L3 diagrams

• Provide technical leadership to the team in the form of ongoing technical oversight and advice and mentoring to all team members
• Oversee that technical support documentation is completed by all team members

• Provide technical updates, recommendations and solutions for continuous service improvement
• Enforce the application of vendor‑provided upgrades to devices and operating systems within a specified frequency
• Provide escalation support for the operations team in detecting, diagnosing, isolating and restoring service
• Ensure proper access controls are in place so authorized users can access services while preventing unauthorized access to systems
• Validate implementation and test plans while providing assistance with key deployments and changes where required

• Conduct and provide technical network roadmap sessions as part of continuous service improvement exercises
• Maintain awareness of new technologies, procedures and industry best practices that might enhance device operation, capacity and performance
• Define capacity thresholds and proactively research and recommend architecture upgrades

• Undergraduate degree in Engineering or Computer Science
• CCNP and progression towards CCIE, or related network engineering discipline certification
• 10–15 years of directly relevant experience in a highly complex network environment
• Expert level knowledge of routing and routing protocols including MPLS, VPLS, BGP, etc.
• Expert level knowledge of IP, TCP, and UDP
• Expert level knowledge and experience of Ethernet and related technologies
• Experience with…