Senior Specialist, Networking & Connectivity

Q9 Networks Inc.; Calgary; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation package

Medical, dental, vision, mental health

35% Bell services discount

Job summary

Bell is seeking a Senior Specialist, Networking & Connectivity (Hybrid, Calgary area) to own end-to-end design, operation, and lifecycle management of networking across the AI Fabric data centres. You will lead capacity planning, security integration, and inter-site connectivity with Bell's fibre network to support AI workloads.

The role requires deep expertise in large-scale data centre networks, cross-site coordination, and collaboration with Engineering, Security, Carriers, and Partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a networking-related field.
• 7+ years of experience in network engineering and operations.
• 5+ years supporting mission-critical environments.
• Experience designing and operating large-scale data centre networks.
• Experience supporting high-density compute, AI, cloud, or hyperscale environments.
• Experience with carrier networks, fibre infrastructure, and WAN services.
• Experience supporting multiple sites and geographically distributed environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of AI Fabric's network strategy and technology roadmap.
• Develop scalable network designs for high-density AI/HPC workloads.
• Review and approve networking designs for new facilities; collaborate during site design and construction.
• Own connectivity standards across AI Fabric locations and inter-facility connectivity.
• Coordinate integration with national fibre infrastructure and plan future capacity growth.
• Provide technical leadership for network operations, monitoring, incident response, and capacity management.
• Review customer networking requirements and provide guidance for deployments.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to ensure security and compliance of network infrastructure.
• Lead technical reviews with internal teams, consultants, vendors, and carriers.

Skills

Network design

Network operations

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering/Electrical Engineering/Telecommunications/CS

Tools

Arista

Cisco

Juniper

Nokia

Job description

Connection is everything. It drives us to innovate, explore, and stay close to what matters to us most. At Bell, we're building a more connected future through world-class networks, AI-powered solutions, and digital experiences that elevate how people live, work, and play every day.

We believe in empowering people. That's why we equip our teams with cutting-edge technology, AI tools, and a collaborative environment that supports creativity and growth. Want to be part of a diverse team where your work makes a real impact? If you're inspired by innovation that advances how people connect and transforms what's possible, you belong on #TeamBell.

Summary

The Senior Specialist, Networking & Connectivity is responsible for the strategy, design, implementation, operation, and lifecycle management of all networking and connectivity infrastructure across the AI Fabric portfolio of AI-focused data centres. This role provides technical leadership for facility networking, inter-site connectivity, customer cross-connects, carrier relationships, and integration with Bell's national fibre network.

The successful candidate will own the end-to-end delivery and operation of highly available, scalable, secure, and low-latency network infrastructure supporting high-density AI workloads, advanced GPU clusters, tenant environments, and mission-critical data centre operations.

This individual serves as the primary subject matter expert for connectivity architecture and works closely with Engineering, Operations, Construction, Security, Product, Customers, Carriers, and Technology Partners throughout all phases of the facility lifecycle. AI Fabric facilities require integration with national fibre assets and delivery of low-latency networking services supporting AI training and inference environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of AI Fabric's network strategy and technology roadmap, defining standards for data centre network architecture, spine-leaf fabrics, WAN connectivity, customer connectivity services, carrier interconnections, management networks, and out-of-band networks.
• Develop scalable network designs supporting high-density AI and HPC workloads, with standards for resiliency, redundancy, low latency, and security.
• Review and approve networking designs for new AI Fabric facilities and collaborate with engineering teams on network requirements during site selection, design, and construction.
• Own connectivity standards across AI Fabric locations, including carrier entrances, meet-me rooms, cross-connect infrastructure, optical transport, fibre management, and inter-facility connectivity.
• Coordinate integration with Bell's national fibre infrastructure and develop network expansion plans to support future AI capacity growth.
• Provide technical leadership for network operations, monitoring, incident response, root cause analysis, performance, reliability, and capacity management.
• Review customer networking requirements and provide technical guidance for customer connectivity and AI/HPC infrastructure deployments.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to ensure network infrastructure meets security, segmentation, access control, monitoring, and compliance requirements.
• Lead technical reviews with Bell Networking teams, consultants, contractors, vendors, and carriers, and support technical evaluations and vendor selection.

Critical Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of experience in network engineering and operations.
• 5+ years supporting mission-critical environments.
• Experience designing and operating large-scale data centre networks.
• Experience supporting high-density compute, AI, cloud, or hyperscale environments.
• Experience with carrier networks, fibre infrastructure, and WAN services.
• Experience supporting multiple sites and geographically distributed environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Spine-leaf architectures, EVPN-VXLAN, BGP, and MPLS
• Optical transport, DWDM, DCI, fibre infrastructure, and structured cabling
• SD-WAN, network automation, Infrastructure-as-Code, monitoring, and observability
• AI cluster networking, including NVIDIA InfiniBand and Ethernet AI fabrics
• Experience with Arista, Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, or equivalent enterprise networking platforms

Adequate knowledge of French is required for positions in Quebec.

Additional Information

Position Type: Management
Job Status: Regular - Full Time
Job Location: Canada : Ontario : Toronto || Canada : Alberta : Calgary || Canada : British Columbia : Vancouver || Canada : Ontario : Mississauga || Canada : Quebec : Montreal
Work Arrangement: Hybrid
Application Deadline: 10/16/2026

For work arrangements that are 'Hybrid', successful candidates must be based in Canada and report to a set Bell office for a minimum of 3 days a week. Recognizing the importance of work-life balance, Bell offers flexibility in work hours based on the business needs.

We know that caring for our team members is at the heart of a healthy, positive and thriving workplace. As part of our team, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive compensation package that includes a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits to support the well-being of you and your family. As soon as you join us, you'll be eligible for medical, dental, vision and mental health benefits that you can tailor to your specific needs. Plus, as a Bell team member, you'll enjoy a 35% discount on our services and access exclusive offers from our partners.

At Bell, we are proud of our focus on fostering an inclusive and accessible workplace where all team members feel valued, respected, supported, and that they belong.

Bell is committed to clarity in our hiring process. All roles posted are opportunities we’re actively recruiting for, unless stated otherwise. We also want to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to join our team. We encourage individuals who may require accommodations during the hiring process to let us know. For a confidential inquiry, email your recruiter or [e-mail] to make arrangements. If you have questions or feedback regarding accessibility at Bell, we invite you to complete the Accessibility feedback form or visit our Accessibility page for other ways to contact us.

Artificial intelligence may be used to assess parts of your application. Please review our privacy policy ( see Phenom for details ) to learn more about how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information.

Created: Canada,ON, Toronto

Bell,one of Canada's Top 100 Employers.