Network Engineer

Lead is a fintech building banking infrastructure for embedded financial products and services. We operate an FDIC-insured bank headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Additionally, we have offices in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, and New York City, where our technical, product, design, and legal teams operate.

We are built for a constantly evolving financial landscape, where new ventures and technological advancements emerge daily. Guided by a team of entrepreneurs and technologists with decades of experience navigating intricate banking and payments regulations, Lead blends regulatory and technological expertise to help our fintech partners scale their operations with compliance and creativity.

Simply put, Lead offers the essential attributes that every fintech seeks in a partner bank. First, unparalleled technical expertise from a distinguished team of developers with an extensive understanding of the banking and payments systems. Second, oversight expertise, automated compliance systems, and bespoke program management to navigate the ever-shifting regulatory landscape. Finally, a commitment to transparency and operational rigor to ensure everyone’s money does what it’s supposed to do.

We are seeking a Lead Network Engineer to own the design, implementation, and day-to-day management of Lead Bank’s physical and cloud network infrastructure. In an FDIC-regulated environment where network availability directly underpins banking operations, Federal Reserve connectivity, and fintech partner services, this role carries significant responsibility and visibility.

As the leader of the Network Engineering team within the IT function, you will be the technical authority on all things networking—from on-premises switching and firewalls across multiple office locations and datacenters, to Zscaler zero trust architecture, to AWS cloud networking. You will drive the evolution of our network from a traditional on-prem model toward a modern, software-defined, Infrastructure-as-Code-driven architecture while ensuring uninterrupted service to a regulated financial institution.

You will report to the Head of IT and work closely with the security operations, cloud engineering, and support desk teams to deliver reliable, secure, and scalable network services across the organization.

• Design and continuously improve enterprise network architecture across all physical sites and AWS cloud environments.

• Define and enforce network standards for firewall management, segmentation, routing, switching, and zero trust access.

• Advise IT leadership, security, and engineering teams on network-related decisions.

• Mentor junior network engineers and drive knowledge transfer across the team.

• Drive Infrastructure as Code adoption for network devices using Terraform or equivalent.

• Manage Cisco Catalyst switching across all sites, including VLAN design, STP, inter-VLAN routing, and port security.

• Administer Palo Alto firewalls, including security policies, NAT, threat prevention, and firmware lifecycle.

• Manage Cisco Meraki wireless infrastructure, including AP deployment and RF optimization.

• Lead datacenter network operations and support ongoing infrastructure migrations.

• Maintain and secure Fed Line network connectivity in compliance with Federal Reserve requirements.

• Own and manage all AWS cloud networking infrastructure, including VPCs, subnets, security groups, NACLs, Transit Gateway

• Manage Zscaler ZIA and ZPA deployments, including app segments, connector groups, and Transit Gateway integration.

• Serve as the escalation point for complex network issues across physical and cloud environments.

• Investigate and respond to network security alerts in collaboration with the security operations team.

• Lead root cause analysis and post-incident reviews, driving systemic improvements.

• Maintain network documentation, diagrams, and runbooks.

• Periodic travel to Branch offices and Datacenter sites, quarterly or as necessary

• Perform all other duties as assigned.

• 7+ years of progressive…