Director Network Engineering

BrainWorks; Town of Texas (WI); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 187,000; Full time

Job summary

BrainWorks in Dallas–Fort Worth, TX seeks a Director of Network Planning & Engineering to lead strategy, planning, engineering, and expansion of a residential broadband network. You will manage an experienced team and own the technical roadmap across core/backbone, regional aggregation, peering, transit, and tower backhaul.

The ideal candidate combines strong service-provider depth with leadership capability to set strategy, drive growth, and foster an empowered engineering organization.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive network engineering experience in a residential ISP environment.
• 5+ years of direct people leadership experience, preferably Senior Manager level or above.
• Experience leading planning and engineering of production networks delivering broadband to residential customers.
• Strong experience across service-provider core/backbone, aggregation, backhaul, capacity planning, peering, and transit.
• 5+ years hands-on leadership with Cisco service-provider networks (routing and architecture for large-scale production).
• Strong understanding of BGP, routing architecture, resiliency, and high-availability network design.
• Experience owning third-party carrier relationships and negotiations.
• CCNP/CCIE or comparable Cisco service-provider expertise preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of approximately 10 Network Engineering and Planning professionals.
• Own the technical strategy and roadmap for the production network.
• Lead network planning and execution to support market and network expansion.
• Own planning across core/backbone POPs, regional aggregation, peering/transit, and tower backhaul.
• Design and deliver tower and regional backhaul solutions.
• Own third-party carrier relationships, including performance, pricing, renewals, and negotiations.
• Identify opportunities to improve carrier performance and reduce network costs.
• Partner with Network Operations and provide leadership during major outages or events.
• Develop the engineering team and build ownership and accountability across the organization.
• Establish priorities and processes to avoid centralized decision-making.

Skills

Residential ISP experience

People leadership

BGP / routing architecture

Cisco service-provider networks

Carrier relationships

Tower backhaul planning

Network strategy & roadmap

Tools

Cisco routing & switching

Backbone/core network design

Job description

Location: Dallas–Fort Worth, TX preferred; flexibility for the right candidate

Compensation: $160,000–$190,000 base + 20–30% bonus, depending on level

We are seeking a Director of Network Planning & Engineering to lead the strategy, planning, engineering, and continued expansion of a residential broadband network. This leader will manage an experienced Network Engineering and Planning team and own the technical roadmap across the core/backbone, regional aggregation, peering and transit, and tower backhaul. A major focus will be ensuring the network is positioned to support continued expansion while improving carrier performance and economics and developing greater capability across the team.

The ideal candidate combines strong service-provider network depth with leadership capability — someone who can set the network strategy, execute expansion, manage critical carrier relationships, and develop a strong engineering organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of approximately 10 Network Engineering and Planning professionals.
• Own the technical strategy and roadmap for the production network.
• Lead network planning and execution required to support continued market and network expansion.
• Own planning across core/backbone POPs, regional aggregation, peering/transit, and tower backhaul.
• Design and deliver tower and regional backhaul solutions.
• Own third-party carrier relationships, including performance, pricing, renewals, and negotiations.
• Identify opportunities to improve carrier performance and reduce network costs.
• Partner with Network Operations and provide leadership and technical support during major network outages or events.
• Develop the engineering team, strengthen accountability, and build greater ownership and capability throughout the organization.
• Establish priorities and processes that allow the team to operate effectively without technical knowledge or decisions becoming concentrated with one individual.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive network engineering experience, including meaningful experience within a residential ISP environment.
• 5+ years of direct people leadership experience, preferably at the Senior Manager level or above.
• Experience leading the planning and engineering of production networks delivering broadband connectivity to residential customers.
• Strong experience across service-provider core/backbone, aggregation, backhaul, capacity planning, peering, and transit.
• 5+ years of hands-on or technical leadership experience with Cisco-based service-provider networks, including routing and network architecture supporting large-scale production environments.
• Strong understanding of BGP, routing architecture, resiliency, and high-availability network design.
• Experience owning third-party carrier relationships and negotiations.
• Demonstrated ability to develop experienced technical teams and raise performance expectations.
• Fixed wireless and/or FTTH experience preferred.
• Experience within a smaller or mid-sized ISP/network operator preferred.
• CCNP/CCIE or comparable level of Cisco service-provider expertise preferred.

DISCLAIMERS

In accordance with applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency and fair hiring laws, the target annual base salary range for this position starts at $170,000 base plus a discretionary performance-based bonus

Final compensation will be determined based on several factors, including but not limited to relevant experience, education, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and work location.

This position may also be eligible for additional forms of compensation including bonus and equity participation, as well as a comprehensive benefits package provided by the hiring employer. Benefits may include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, 401(k) or retirement plan, paid time off, and other employee programs.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

All hiring decisions are made by the hiring employer, which is expected to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws and verification requirements. BrainWorks complies with all applicable employment laws and encourages employers to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process.