Associate Director of Network Engineering

The role requires deep expertise in routing, switching, firewalls, VPN s, wireless, and cloud networking, as well as strong leadership and project management skills. The Associate Director of Network Engineering is a hands-on technical leader responsible for overseeing the design, implementation, and support of the enterprise-wide network infrastructure.

Job title: Associate Director of Network Engineering
Location: New Haven, CT/ Hybrid
Direct hire/ full time

Overview
The Associate Director of Network Engineering is a hands-on technical leader responsible for overseeing the design, implementation, and support of the enterprise-wide network infrastructure. This individual will lead a team of network engineers while actively participating in the planning, configuration, troubleshooting, and optimization of network technologies. The role requires deep expertise in routing, switching, firewalls, VPN s, wireless, and cloud networking, as well as strong leadership and project management skills.
Core Responsibilities

• Lead and manage day-to-day operations of the network engineering team, providing technical guidance and mentoring
• Design, configure, and maintain enterprise network infrastructure including LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, firewalls, VPNs, switches, wireless systems, and UCaaS/CCaaS systems
• Serve as an escalation point for complex network issues, participating in troubleshooting and root cause analysis
• Implement and maintain network monitoring and performance tuning tools to ensure high availability and reliability
• Oversee network security in collaboration with the cybersecurity team, ensuring compliance with company policies and procedures
• Manage lifecycle upgrades for switches, routers, firewalls, and other networking hardware
• Participate in the architecture and implementation of hybrid cloud network environments (e.g., Azure, AWS, Google Coud)
• Collaborate with application, server, and security teams to ensure seamless end-to-end infrastructure support
• Develop and maintain documentation and network diagrams
• Manage vender relationships and coordinate support for hardware and software issues
• Lead network-related projects including office expansions, data center migrations, and cloud integrations

Skills Qualifications

• Strong working knowledge of enterprise networking technologies (Cisco, Fortinet, Aruba, Meraki, Arista, Azure Cloud Networking, etc.)
• Experience in routing and switching protocols (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, QoS, VLANs, STP)
• Experience with firewalls, VPNs, and Zero trust security models
• Experience with Cloud Networking (Azure ExpressRoute, Azure Firewalls, VPN Gateways, Azure BGP, Virtual WAN HUB, VNET Subnetting, etc.)
• Experience with network automation, scripting, and monitoring tools (SolarWinds, Logic Monitor, etc.)
• Skilled at working within a team-oriented, collaborative environment
• Strong Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience with Cloud Based UCaaS/CCaaS Systems

Education

• BS or BA in Computer Science, Information Systems or related field or equivalent combination of experience and training
• 12+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering, with at least 3 to 5 years in a leadership or supervisory role