Manager, Networking - Core Networking

• Lead, mentor, develop, and provide technical direction to the Core Networking team.

• Develop and execute the organization's global network strategy, including LAN, WAN, wireless, internet, MPLS, cloud networking, VoIP, and security services.

• Design, implement, administer, and support enterprise networking technologies across global data center and branch environments.

• Develop and maintain network standards, policies, architecture frameworks, and technology roadmaps aligned with business objectives.

• Ensure network environments remain secure, resilient, scalable, and highly available through proactive monitoring, maintenance, and capacity planning.

• Design and implement network expansion, modernization, and infrastructure improvement initiatives to support organizational growth.

• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of complex network incidents involving routing, switching, firewalls, load balancing, DNS, VPN connectivity, and related infrastructure services.

• Serve as the senior escalation point and incident owner for critical networking and infrastructure issues through resolution, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement efforts.

• Partner with Systems, Telecommunications, Cybersecurity, Facilities Networking, Support teams, and third-party providers to deliver strategic infrastructure initiatives and operational excellence.

• Evaluate, recommend, and oversee implementation of emerging networking technologies, solutions, hardware, and software platforms.

• Manage vendor relationships, contract negotiations, service agreements, and technology partner performance.

• Maintain accurate technical documentation, architectural diagrams, operational procedures, and configuration standards.

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through automation, DevOps practices, and infrastructure-as-code methodologies.

• Lead infrastructure health assessments and provide recommendations that improve reliability, performance, scalability, and security.

• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

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• Education: Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.

• Certification/Licensure: Industry certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, Palo Alto, Fortinet, AWS, Azure, or other relevant networking certifications preferred.

• Experience: 7+ years of progressive enterprise networking experience, including leadership or team management responsibilities.

• Deep understanding of enterprise network architecture including WAN/LAN, MPLS, internet connectivity, network security, cloud networking, and resilient global network design.

• Advanced expertise with routing and switching technologies, including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, route maps, ACLs, route redistribution, traffic engineering, VLANs, STP, and PoE.

• Experience designing, implementing, and supporting modern data center networking technologies, including Spine-Leaf architecture, VXLAN, and EVPN.

• Experience with VPN technologies including IPsec and multi-vendor environments; experience with Cisco ISR/ASR, DMVPN, Meraki, Arista, and VeloCloud preferred.

• Experience implementing and supporting enterprise firewall and network access control solutions, including Cisco Firepower, Palo Alto, Check Point, Fortinet, and Cisco ISE.

• Strong knowledge of load-balancing technologies, including internal, external, and global load balancing solutions.

• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic initiatives, manage competing priorities, influence stakeholders, and communicate effectively with technical and executive audiences.

• Working knowledge of supporting technologies including DNS, DHCP, storage networking (FCoE, iSCSI, NVMe/TCP), disaster recovery, Active Directory, and Windows/Linux server environments preferred.

• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.

• Technical: Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.)

Forward Air is an Equal Opportunity Employer.