Senior Director Network Services

Princeton University seeks an innovative technology and business leader to serve as its inaugural Senior Director of Network Services. The University’s network is at the heart of all campus services and will be at the foundation of transforming teaching and research over the next decade. The Senior Director will lead a new organization and transform the University’s networking and communications infrastructures. You will create and build a dynamic and continuously evolving network service model that keeps pace with both University needs and pivotal industry advancements. You will bring a strong business focus to leverage modern, secure, highly available wired and wireless technologies and architectures to deliver the IT services to enable world-class computational research endeavors as well as for the campus strategic plan for campus expansion and operations.

 

Reporting to the Associate CIO of Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS), you will partner with executive leadership in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and key University stakeholders and direct efforts to define, plan for, and execute on the vision for the University’s research and enterprise network services. As the Senior Director, you will also be responsible for envisioning and implementing a new business strategy for networking at Princeton that is aligned with industry best practices. Paramount to success is (1) the implementation of the University’s Service Management strategy and (2) the creation of a new, streamlined, continuously improving, and highly automated operational business model.

 

You will lead an organization of 60 full-time technical staff and oversee all operational aspects of the network. This currently includes activities to support the campus Wi-Fi, direct connectivity to cloud providers and co-location facilities, campus network switch infrastructure, Internet carrier services, voice over IP services, campus emergency communications infrastructure, distributed antenna technologies, and network hardware installation services.

• Direct the strategic business and technology vision, multi-year roadmap, and implementation plan for forward looking and state-of-the-art campus network services that enable discovery through computational, network, and data science research, as well as support institutional operations
• Lead teams in implementing strategic network initiatives that ensure the continuous evolution and advancement of network services, including current efforts around 802.11, 5G, edge computing, SD-WAN, and SD-Roles-Based Access
• Drive continuous advancements in network operations through process improvement and automation achieved through service management solutions
• Research next generation or alternative technologies to make recommendations for change that keep pace with industry advancements
• Serve as a key representative for OIT on University construction projects, ensuring appropriate network technologies are accounted for in building design and implementation
• Partner closely with the Office of the Dean for Research, Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (PICSciE), and other stakeholders to ensure University network technologies meet the exponential demands of computational and data research
• Drive the adoption of Service Management in line with the Office of Information Technology’s continuous improvement model
• Build and sustain a departmental culture of teamwork, collaboration, customer-focus and operational excellence
• Establish and maintain relationships with Internet service carriers
• Manage the high-performing teams of technical staff responsible for the portfolio of network operations and services that support the campus Wi-Fi, network switch, VOIP, emergency communications, and distributed antenna technology infrastructures
• Develop operational and capital budgets along with forecasting models to actively manage resource allocations
• Provide technical leaders and teams guidance on complex problems
• Serve as the escalation point for team members
• Provide coaching and career and skills development opportunities
• Evaluate departmental processes to drive automation efforts and continuous improvement initiatives
• Ensure network security, health, availability, and reliability through operational monitoring
• Identify and leverage key performance indicators to assess network performance
• Ensure operational activities are carried out in accordance with organizational Service Management processes
• Support the University’s information security strategy in all aspects of operating and improving network and communications infrastructure
• Embed controls (e.g., segmentation) to protect all uses of the network and with special attention to IP-based critical infrastructure systems
• Solicit feedback from customer groups to inform and drive impactful improvements
• Maintain confidential data in the strictest confidence and ensure privacy, security and proper use in accordance with University information security policy

• 15+ years of experience working on critical, large-scale initiatives for a complex network environment, including 7+ years in a leadership position
• Strong business acumen with proven ability to forecast and implement multi-year technical and business strategies to advance IT infrastructure to meet institutional needs
• Demonstrable track record for developing, leading, and managing high performing teams in a complex organization
• 7+ years hands-on technical network experience
• Expertise in 802.11, 4G, 5G, network switching, routing, BGP, and OSPF
• Solid understanding of networking in Microsoft Azure (preferred), Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform or other similar cloud environments
• Ability to work with and influence across all levels of the organization
• Forward-thinking

Education

 

Bachelor's degree, or equivalent work-related experience. Master’s degree in Business Administration, preferred.

 

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO IS THE LAW

36.25

No

Yes

180 days

No

No

No

Director

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