Wireless Technical Lead

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** Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see .**###   
** POSITION SPECIFICS
** The Penn State Information Technology (PSU IT) Infrastructure Division is seeking a
** Wireless Technical Lead Network Engineer (Principal Professional)
** to provide senior-level
** technical leadership, direction, and oversight
** for the University’s enterprise wireless services team.

This role exists to
** lead the team to technically setting
** standards, guiding design decisions, mentoring engineers, and serving as the primary technical authority for wireless platform. While the Technical Lead remains technically engaged, the primary focus is
** technical leadership over individual execution**. This is a
** non-managerial
** position that works in close partnership with the Wireless Manager.
** RESPONSIBILITIES
* *** Technical Leadership & Direction
*** Serve as the
** primary technical leader
** for wireless and cellular services
* Responsible for collaborative design,  technical guidance and direction to engineers implementation, and operations
* Establish and maintain technical standards, design patterns, and best practices
* Review and guide complex or high-risk technical decisions and changes
* Provide support to Cellular Product Manager when needed
** Architecture & Service Design
*** Lead wireless architecture and long-term technical planning
* Ensure designs align with reliability, scalability, security, and operational goals
* Evaluate new technologies and approaches in support of service evolution
* Maintain architectural documentation and reference designs
* Work with the Team to implement automation to improve rollout of wireless
** Operational Leadership
*** Provide technical leadership during major incidents, escalations, and service degradations
* Guide troubleshooting efforts and ensure effective root cause analysis
* Identify systemic issues and drive corrective actions to reduce recurrence
* Act as an escalation point for complex technical issues
** Mentorship & Team Enablement
*** Mentor and coach wireless and cellular engineers
* Support skill development, onboarding, and knowledge transfer
* Promote consistent engineering practices and shared ownership
* Encourage documentation and operational maturity
** Collaboration & Influence
*** Partner with the Wireless Manager on technical strategy and priorities
* Collaborate with other ENCS network teams and Penn State IT partners
* Translate business and customer needs into sound technical direction
* Lead or participate in cross-team technical initiatives
** Technical Scope
*** Enterprise wireless networking and RF design
* Wi-Fi service integration
* Network Authentication and integration with identity services and information security operations (e.g., RADIUS, EAP-TLS)
* Monitoring, observability, and performance analysis
* Automation and tooling used to support reliability and scale
* Technical documentation, standards, and operational runbooks
** QUALIFICATIONS
* * Qualified candidates will demonstrate strength across several of the following areas:
* Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives without formal supervisory authority.
* Strong systems thinking and advanced problem-solving capabilities.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence and build consensus.
* Experience mentoring peers and serving as a technical lead or subject matter expert.
* Extensive expertise in enterprise wireless networking and RF design.
* Strong background in RADIUS authentication and certificate-based access control.
* Familiarity with large-scale monitoring and observability platforms supporting high availability.
* Experience operating in complex, distributed environments, including higher education or similar institutions.
* Comfortable working in highly available,…