Manager, Networking - Core Networking

The Manager, Networking - Core Networking is responsible for leading the design, implementation, operation, and continuous evolution of the company's enterprise and global network infrastructure. They provide people leadership and advanced technical expertise across data center, LAN/WAN, internet, cloud, wireless, security, and communications networking environments. They partner closely with Infrastructure, Systems, Telecommunications, Cybersecurity, Support, and business stakeholders to ensure secure, resilient, and scalable network services that support organizational objectives. This position drives network strategy, architecture, standards, modernization initiatives, and technology roadmaps while ensuring operational excellence and service reliability. 

Responsibilities

• 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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Qualifications

• 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.