Lead Network Engineer

Lead Network Engineer - Permanent - Atlanta, GA - $125,000 - $145,000.

The final salary or hourly wage, as applicable, paid to each candidate/applicant for this position is ultimately dependent on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate's/applicant's qualifications, skills, and level of experience as well as the geographical location of the position.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship not available.

Our client is seeking a Lead Network Engineer in Atlanta, GA.

Role Description

This roles sole purpose is to handle major customer complaints, related to networking. If there are issues with ARGO- their Diamond customer, or any customers, this person is pulled into customer meetings to help resolve the issues. They are not handling tickets.
This is the highest level of escalation mediating with customers and problem solving. They additionally will take ownership off an offshore monitoring team; that team is roughly 9 people
Essential functions of the role include resolving complex networks issues, supervising and mentoring a team of people that monitor network incidents, driving results by tracking KPI metric performance, communication, hiring and selection of quality candidates, collaboration, administration, and self-development.
Supervise and mentor a third-party offshore alert monitoring team, ensuring seamless 24/7 network health and performance oversight.
Act as the primary subject matter expert (SME) and lead advisor for the Managed Network Support organization, ensuring alignment with business goals and best practices.
Provide Tier-3 support for the MNO Support teams, assisting in complex troubleshooting, issue resolution, and escalated customer situations.
Lead incident resolution efforts for high-priority outages, guiding teams through troubleshooting and restoration procedures.
Collaborate with Datacenter, Implementation, Product, and Technology teams on network-related projects.
Serve as a technical leader for networking issues, supporting Tier-1 and Tier-2 MNO Support teams and Sales Engineering.
Oversee and enhance network alert monitoring processes, reviewing performance data, coaching support agents, and driving consistent resolution of trouble cases.
Lead team meetings and knowledge-sharing sessions, cascading key information, best practices, and performance expectations.
Develop and improve operations processes and best practices to enhance efficiency, service quality, and response times.
Collaborate with Cox NOC, Service Assurance, network equipment vendors, and ISP/MSP providers to ensure optimal support and resolution pathways.
Act as a bridge between RapidScale Network Support, internal sales, customer case teams, and customers, ensuring smooth communication and issue resolution.
Maintain awareness of evolving business, technical, operational, and infrastructure challenges, acting as a consultant for creative solutions.
Some on-call responsibilities and occasional off-hours work required.

Skills & Requirements

Experience with FortiGate/Fortinet and SD WAN (although they will not be hands on handling tickets; they need to understand this technology). uses VeloCloud and Cisco Meraki SDWAN but any SDWAN will do. They should, however have a thorough technical knowledge of these technologies
Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 6 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 4 years' experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 10 years' experience in a related field
Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to effectively lead contractor resources and technology teams, and manage various vendor relationships
In-depth understanding of the OSI or TCP/IP.
Deep level knowledge and experience with protocols/technologies such as TCP/UDP, Routing and Switching, SSL/IPsec, VPN, VLAN, STP, SSL, BGP, QoS, MPLS, DHCP, Networks Security, and Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW)
Experience with network performance monitoring and management tools
Ability to mentor, advise, and help build up less experienced team members

Experience in Monitoring, analyzing and evaluating network performance to ensure system availability and reliability and traffic flow optimization
Required IT certifications but okay if they are dated: Industry certifications like Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Juniper Certified Internet Professional (JNCIP), VeloCloud VCP, or Fortinet NSE4
15 years of experience in the networking industry

Benefits/Other Compensation:

Medical, Dental, Life Insurance, 401K.

Why Hays?

You will be working with a professional recruiter who has intimate knowledge of the industry and market trends. Your Hays recruiter will lead you through a thorough screening process in order to understand your skills, experience, needs, and drivers. You will also get support on resume writing, interview tips, and career planning, so when there's a position you really want, you're fully prepared to get it.

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Hays is committed to building a thriving culture of diversity that embraces people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better we serve our candidates, clients, and employees. We are an equal employment opportunity employer, and we comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, HIV-positive status, as well as any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. One of Hays' guiding principles is 'do the right thing'.
We also believe that actions speak louder than words.
In that regard, we train our staff on ensuring inclusivity throughout the entire recruitment process and counsel our clients on these principles. If you have any questions about Hays or any of our processes, please contact us.

In accordance with applicable federal, state, and local law protecting qualified individuals with known disabilities, Hays will attempt to reasonably accommodate those individuals unless doing so would create an undue hardship on the company. Any qualified applicant or consultant with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to perform the essential functions of the job should call or text .

Drug testing may be required; please contact a recruiter for more information.

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