Network & Telecom Team Leader

Key Responsibilities

• Team & Operations Management: Manage day-to-day operations of the network and security team. Assign tasks, manage schedules, conduct performance reviews, and serve as the primary technical mentor.
• Project & Stakeholder Leadership: Lead infrastructure projects from conception to completion. Act as the technical bridge between the engineering team, upper management, and external vendors.
• Network Design & Deployment: Architect, implement, and optimize scalable network infrastructure utilizing Cisco Routers, Switches, and Viptela SD-WAN, ensuring high availability.
• Security & Zero Trust Implementation: Enforce robust security postures using Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls. Drive Zero Trust initiatives through endpoint access control and device profiling via Cisco ISE.
• Wireless & VoIP Lifecycle Management: Oversee enterprise WLAN architecture using Cisco WLCs and maintain resilient Cisco VoIP infrastructure with end-to-end QoS.
• Capacity Planning & Hardware Sizing: Drive capacity planning, generate precise BOMs, and evaluate sizing metrics to ensure infrastructure supports current and future business growth.
• Advanced Escalation & Incident Management: Act as the ultimate technical escalation point (Tier-3/Tier-4) for critical incidents. Ensure strict adherence to SLAs and incident resolution protocols.Technical competencies:
• Team Leadership: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and evaluate a team of network and security engineers, fostering a culture of high performance and continuous learning.
• Routing & Switching: Expert-level proficiency in designing, configuring, and troubleshooting Cisco Routers and Switches (IOS, IOS-XE, NX-OS) in complex multi-site topologies.
• SD-WAN Architecture: Deep understanding and hands-on experience with Cisco Viptela SD-WAN (vManage, vSmart, vEdge/cEdge) and OMP routing policies.
• Network Security & Firewalls: Advanced administration and policy management of Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) — specifically Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet FortiGate.
• Identity Services & NAC: Extensive expertise in Cisco ISE — 802.1X, MAB, WebAuth, RADIUS, TACACS+, Device Profiling, and micro-segmentation using Cisco TrustSec.
• Wireless Networks: Comprehensive knowledge of enterprise Wi-Fi environments; experience configuring and managing Cisco WLC and Access Points.
• Unified Communications: In-depth knowledge of Cisco VoIP — CUCM, Voice Gateways, CUBE (SBC), and QoS policy enforcement.
• Hardware Sizing: Expert ability to size Cisco network devices, firewalls, and ISE nodes based on real-world throughput, concurrent sessions, and PoE+ budgets.
• Network Automation: Proficiency in automation using Python (Netmiko, Pandas) and REST APIs to streamline network configuration and operations.Qualifications & Experience:
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience: 6+ years of proven, hands-on technical experience in enterprise network architecture and security, including a solid track record in a leadership or technical lead role.
• Architecture: Proven expertise in designing, deploying, and managing complex enterprise campus networks, disaster recovery sites, and remote branches.
• Certifications: Relevant industry certifications are highly preferred (e.g., CCNP/CCIE Enterprise or Security, Palo Alto PCNSE, Fortinet NSE 4/7, or Cisco SISE 300-715).