Routing and Optical Network Engineering Manager

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 203,000 - 249,000; Full time

Job summary

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s ESnet division seeks a Routing and Optical Network Engineering Manager to lead a team responsible for the nation’s advanced scientific network backbone. You will set goals, coach engineers, and drive execution across global routing and optical systems.

The role requires an advanced degree and several years leading technical staff, with deep WAN/Optical expertise, strong communication, and a track record of cross‑functional collaboration, budget planning,

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in CS, engineering, business or related field.
• 3+ years in formal or informal lead/supervisory roles.
• Proven ability to lead technical staff in WAN/optical networks.
• Strong communication skills, both written and spoken.
• Experience with network architecture, strategy, and cross-stakeholder collaboration.
• Commitment to creating a psychologically safe, high-trust team.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership for a team of network engineers.
• Build a high-performing, collaborative team culture.
• Ensure network operational excellence and outage/risk management.
• Oversee projects, allocate resources, and drive execution.
• Support budget planning and vendor relationships; lead hiring.

Skills

leadership experience

team building

WAN engineering

network architecture

stakeholder collaboration

communication skills

Education

Advanced degree in CS, Engineering, Business or related field

Job description

Routing and Optical Network Engineering Manager

The Routing and Optical Network Engineering Manager leads the team that builds and operates the backbone of one of the world's most advanced scientific networks. This role manages a team of network engineers responsible for designing, building, and running ESnet's global routing and optical backbone, along with the advanced services it delivers to support the nation's most demanding scientific data.

As a member of the Network Services leadership team, you will report to the Network Services Department Head and partner with fellow leaders to shape department-wide vision, strategy, plans, and programs.

We’re here for the same mission, to bring science solutions to the world. Join our team and YOU will play a supporting role in our goal to address global challenges! Have a high level of impact and work for an organization associated with 17 Nobel Prizes!

We invest in our employees by offering a total rewards package you can count on:

Exceptional health and retirement benefits , including pension or 401K-style plans

A culture where you’ll belong - we are invested in our teams!

In addition to accruing vacation and sick time, we also have a Winter Holiday Shutdown every year.

Parental bonding leave (for both mothers and fathers)

You will:

Provides day-to-day leadership for a team of network engineers supporting ESnet's global routing and optical backbone by setting goals, coaching, fostering career growth, and driving accountability.

Builds a high-performing, collaborative team culture and continuously improves processes and practices.

Ensures network operational excellence, including outage response and proactive risk mitigation.

Oversees network engineering projects by assigning resources, coordinating priorities, and driving execution.

Supports budget planning through procurement forecasting, manages technical vendor relationships, contributes to department strategy and prioritization, and leads hiring to grow the engineering team.

We are looking for:

Typically requires an advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business or related field, plus three (3) years of experience in formal or informal lead/supervisory roles or equivalent experience.

Demonstrated expertise and experience in leading technical staff, with emphasis on wide area network engineering disciplines.

Ability to develop and maintain a high trust, psychologically safe team atmosphere.

Ability to continuously improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a technical engineering team.

Understanding of currently applicable networking engineering/architecture, systems and services design, and implementation and support experience, including both Optical and WAN routing fields.

Knowledge and experience guiding network architecture, engineering, and service strategy development, with the ability to collaborate across multiple stakeholders.

Excellent written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated success collaborating as both a team member and team leader.

Demonstrated experience hiring, training, and mentoring technical staff.

Demonstrated experience developing and implementing network engineering processes and plans, with strong network implementation project management skills.

Excellent operational skills, with a focus on global network infrastructure, continuous improvement, and metric-driven operational performance management.

Additional information:

Appointment type: This is a full-time career appointment, exempt (monthly paid) from overtime pay.

Salary range: The expected salary for this position is $203,496 - $248,736, which fits into the full salary of $180,876 - $305,268 depending upon the candidate’s skills, knowledge, and abilities. This includes education, certifications, and years of experience.

Background check: This position is subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.

Work modality: Work may be performed on-site, hybrid, full-time telework. The primary location for this role is Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA. Work must be performed within the United States. A REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification is required to access Berkeley Lab sites.

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer. For additional information, click here .

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: The foundation of Berkeley Lab is our Stewardship Values: Team Science, Service, Trust, Innovation, and Respect; and we strive to build community with these shared values and commitments. Berkeley Lab is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We heartily welcome applications from all who could contribute to the Lab's mission of leading scientific discovery, excellence, and professionalism. In support of our rich global community, all qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories under State and Federal law.