Lead Network & Systems Engineering Manager (Hybrid)

Rewards Network; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary 160k–175k

Annual bonus 15%

Dining reimbursement

401(k) match

Healthcare options

Dental & Vision

HSA with company match

Hybrid office in downtown Chicago

Job summary

Rewards Network is seeking a Manager, Network & Systems Engineering in Chicago to lead a senior engineering team while contributing technically to ensure stability and modernization of network and systems infrastructure.

You will partner with Security, SRE, DBAs, and product teams; oversee on-prem and cloud initiatives, incident response, DR planning, and cost-conscious infrastructure decisions. This role requires 3 days in-office weekly.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering, systems administration, or a combined infrastructure role.
• 2+ years in a lead or management capacity with direct reports.
• Experience with enterprise networking (routing, switching, firewalls, VLANs).
• Windows Server and Linux/Unix administration experience.
• Working knowledge of AWS or comparable public cloud.
• Experience supporting or migrating relational databases (SQL Server, PostgreSQL).
• Strong written and verbal communication; translating technical concepts for stakeholders.
• Ability to prioritize across people management, projects, and operations.
• Collaborative cross-functional work with engineering, product, security, and finance teams.
• Documentation and operational rigor with a focus on continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and support a team of network and systems engineers while remaining technically engaged.
• Architect, maintain, and improve on-premises network infrastructure including routing, switching, and firewalls.
• Own the health of Windows and Linux server environments, including patching and lifecycle planning.
• Drive modernization initiatives such as datacenter consolidation and cloud expansion.
• Lead or contribute to database migrations (MS SQL to PostgreSQL) with DBAs and app teams.
• Collaborate with AWS-focused SRE to mature cloud infrastructure and hybrid connectivity.
• Evaluate infrastructure options with ROI mindset; assist procurement decisions and vendor selection.
• Establish runbooks, change control, and technical documentation for reliability and audit needs.
• Participate in incident response and perform root cause analyses for durable remediation.
• Manage virtualization and containerization across on-premises and cloud environments.
• Contribute to infrastructure roadmap by surfacing risks and modernization opportunities.
• Own disaster recovery planning and testing for network and systems.

Skills

Enterprise networking

Windows Server administration

Linux/Unix administration

AWS / cloud

Database migrations

Leadership / people management

Cross-functional collaboration

Cost-conscious / ROI mindset

Incident response / DR planning

Virtualization / containerization

Job description

Rewards Network is seeking a Manager, Network & Systems Engineering in Chicago to lead a senior engineering team while contributing technically to ensure stability and modernization of network and systems infrastructure.

You will partner with Security, SRE, DBAs, and product teams; oversee on-prem and cloud initiatives, incident response, DR planning, and cost-conscious infrastructure decisions. This role requires 3 days in-office weekly.