Network Engineer
City of Charlotte
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Job summary
The City of Charlotte’s Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) seeks a Senior Network Engineer to design, implement, and support critical network infrastructure across facilities and enterprise systems. The role offers senior-level technical leadership within a 24/7 transit environment, driving modernization, reliability, and security improvements.
You will lead complex deployments and serve as escalation for advanced networking challenges.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Five (5) years experience supporting enterprise network environments.
- Certifications such as CCNP or equivalent preferred.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement network infrastructure solutions.
- Configure and maintain routing, switching, wireless, and remote connectivity environments.
- Lead deployment of network upgrades and expansions.
- Provide technical guidance and collaboration.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Department: Charlotte Area Transit System Department
Salary: $94,029.00 - $135,167.54 Commensurate with Experience
Thank you for your interest in joining the team that keeps Charlotte moving, at a very exciting time for our organization. At the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), we’re committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative transit services for our growing community, and we value employees who bring professionalism, passion, and a commitment to public service.
This position is currently employed by CATS, a department of the City of Charlotte. With the passage of the PAVE Act and last year’s sales tax referendum, CATS is preparing to transition from a City department to the newly created Metropolitan Public Transit Authority (MPTA). The MPTA was established to strengthen regional transit governance, improve accountability, and support long-term investment in mobility. It’s an important and exciting step forward for transit in our region.
Employees hired into this role will remain City employees through December 31, 2026, and will transition to MPTA employment on January 1, 2027. Benefits and compensation will follow City provisions through 2026 and shift to MPTA provisions in 2027, with clear information shared in advance. Your core duties, reporting structure, and daily responsibilities will remain consistent, with no break in service. If anything delays the transition, your City employment, including compensation and benefits, will remain in place until the move to the MPTA occurs.
The creation of the MPTA positions us for a more modern, sustainable, and efficient transit system, one that can better support the Charlotte region for decades to come. We’re excited about what’s ahead and appreciate your interest in being part of it.
The Senior Network Engineer is responsible for design, implementation, and advanced support of network infrastructure systems supporting the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). This position provides senior-level technical expertise ensuring reliable connectivity across facilities, operational environments, and enterprise systems.
The role supports complex network environments enabling transit operations, enterprise applications, and operational technology systems within a 24/7 organization. The Senior Network Engineer serves as a technical escalation point, leads infrastructure implementations, and contributes to modernization initiatives improving performance, security, and scalability. Working under general direction, this position exercises independent professional judgment in engineering solutions and resolving complex network challenges.
The following duties are standard for this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification.
- Design and implement network infrastructure solutions supporting organizational needs.
- Configure and maintain routing, switching, wireless, and remote connectivity environments.
- Support scalable and resilient network architectures.
- Participate in infrastructure modernization initiatives.
- Develop technical standards and configuration practices.
- Serve as escalation point for complex network issues.
- Diagnose performance, connectivity, and reliability problems.
- Perform root cause analysis and implement long-term solutions.
- Support incident response and service restoration activities.
- Analyze network performance metrics and trends.
- Lead deployment of network upgrades and expansions.
- Support integration of new facilities, systems, and operational technologies.
- Optimize network performance and capacity.
- Support adoption of cloud and hybrid networking solutions.
- Support network environments connecting operational systems such as fare, video, and communications platforms.
- Coordinate with Industrial Controls and Applications teams on integration requirements.
- Ensure reliable connectivity supporting field and facility technologies.
- Implement secure network configurations aligned with cybersecurity standards.
- Support vulnerability remediation and network hardening efforts.
- Collaborate with Cyber Security Manager on threat mitigation strategies.
- Promote secure access and segmentation practices.
- Maintain network diagrams and configuration documentation.
- Develop engineering procedures and best practices.
- Support knowledge transfer within infrastructure teams.
- Contribute to operational runbooks.
- Provide technical guidance to infrastructure staff and project teams.
- Collaborate with Solutions Architect on architectural alignment.
- Support Service Desk escalation resolution.
- Participate in cross-functional technology initiatives.
The position requires demonstrated competency in the following areas
Demonstrates deep technical expertise in network architecture and implementation.
- Designs resilient solutions.
- Evaluates technical tradeoffs.
- Applies engineering best practices.
Understands relationships between infrastructure components and operational services.
- Anticipates downstream impacts.
- Designs for scalability and reliability.
- Supports integrated environments.
Influences outcomes through knowledge and collaboration.
- Mentors peers.
- Shares expertise.
- Promotes consistent standards.
Applies structured analysis to complex technical challenges.
- Identifies systemic causes.
- Develops sustainable solutions.
- Improves long‑term reliability.
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Five (5) years experience supporting enterprise network environments.
- Experience supporting multi‑site or operational technology networks.
- Experience with routing, switching, wireless, and network security technologies.
- Experience supporting cloud or hybrid networking environments.
- Industry certifications (e.g., CCNP or equivalent).
- Network architecture and engineering principles.
- Routing, switching, and wireless technologies.
- Network monitoring and performance analysis tools.
- Network security fundamentals and segmentation strategies.
- Infrastructure integration practices.
- Designing and implementing network solutions.
- Troubleshooting complex connectivity issues.
- Interpreting performance data and diagnostics.
- Documenting technical configurations and procedures.
- Work independently on complex engineering tasks.
- Exercise professional judgment in technical decision‑making.
- Communicate technical concepts effectively.
- Adapt to evolving infrastructure technologies.
- Support mission‑critical operational environments.
- Work performed in office and technical environments with periodic visits to facilities and infrastructure locations.
- May require after‑hours maintenance or incident response participation.
- Requires sitting, standing, walking, and occasional equipment handling.
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.
Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.
Final candidates must pass a pre‑employment drug‑screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.
The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.
Our culture is to serve the community honorably.
The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.
The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol‑free workplace.
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