Senior Manager, Network Operations

Marqeta; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; CAD 177,000 - 221,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance options

Flexible vacation

Retirement plan

Equity in a publicly-traded company

Remote work stipend

Development dollars

Parental leave

Job summary

Marqeta is seeking a Senior Manager, Network Operations to lead modernization from data centers to a cloud‑native architecture, while maintaining 99.999% uptime. You will oversee AWS cloud networking and physical POPs in colocation facilities, driving automation with Terraform and hands‑on engineering with Cisco and Palo Alto hardware.

This Flex First role allows remote work within Ontario or British Columbia, Canada.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of network engineering experience in production environments.
• 3+ years of leading and developing technical teams.
• Hands-on experience with Cisco switches and Palo Alto firewalls.
• Deep knowledge of AWS cloud networking (VPCs, Direct Connect, etc.).
• Infrastructure-as-code with Terraform.

Responsibilities

• Shape and mentor a network & software engineering team, fostering technical excellence and operational mastery.
• Lead modernization from physical data centers to a cloud-native network architecture.
• Own AWS networking and on-premises/colocation POPs with automation to accelerate delivery.
• Ensure 99.999% uptime through proactive monitoring and incident response.
• Manage corporate network from HQ to remote offices and oversee Cisco Meraki stack.

Skills

Network engineering

Team leadership

Cisco switching & routing

AWS networking

Terraform

Automation

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Information Systems

Tools

Palo Alto Firewalls

Cisco Meraki

AWS Direct Connect

Terraform

Job description

As Marqeta’s Senior Manager, Network Operations, you will lead our Network Operations team through a critical infrastructure modernization initiative. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on technical expertise as we transition from traditional data center infrastructure toward a more cloud-native architecture while maintaining our industry-leading 99.999% uptime commitment.

You’ll lead a team responsible for both our AWS-based cloud network infrastructure and physical Points of Presence (POPs) hosted in colocation facilities, driving automation initiatives and architectural evolution while ensuring the reliability our customers depend on.

We work Flexible First. This role can be performed remotely anywhere within Ontario or British Columbia, Canada. We’d love for you to join us! Backfill: This position is for an existing vacancy.

The Impact You’ll Have

Leadership & Team Management

• Shape the careers of a talented team of network and software engineers by creating an environment where technical excellence and operational mastery go hand in hand

• Build a high-performance culture where automation, reliability, and continuous improvement aren't just goals — they're the standard

• Drive talent strategy through performance management, career development planning, and bringing exceptional people into the organization

• Serve as a connective force across security, platform, and infrastructure teams, turning siloed expertise into unified outcomes

Infrastructure Modernization & Strategy

• Lead a pivotal transformation — moving Marqeta's infrastructure from physical data centers to a cloud-native network architecture that scales with the business

• Champion automation by leveraging Terraform and infrastructure-as-code practices, meaningfully reducing manual operations and accelerating delivery

• Own the strategic roadmap for right-sizing our physical POP footprint without ever compromising service reliability

• Design network solutions that are as secure as they are scalable, directly enabling Marqeta's growth and evolving business needs

Technical Operations & Hands-On Engineering

• Stay sharp at the hardware level — bringing hands-on expertise with Cisco switches, Palo Alto firewalls, and data center infrastructure to every decision you make

• Architect and optimize AWS cloud networking (VPCs, Transit Gateways, Direct Connect, and beyond), setting the foundation for a resilient cloud presence

• Protect 99.999% uptime through proactive monitoring, sharp incident response, and a relentless commitment to optimization

• Be the expert others turn to when complex network issues arise — leading troubleshooting across both cloud and on-premises environments

Corporate Network Management

• Take full ownership of Marqeta's corporate network infrastructure, from our Oakland HQ to every remote office location

• Oversee the Cisco Meraki platform — wireless access points, security appliances, and network management — ensuring everything just works

• Deliver secure, reliable Wi‑Fi access across all corporate locations, setting the connectivity bar for a distributed workforce

• Own ISP relationships and circuit management, ensuring our HQ and office locations always have the bandwidth and redundancy they need

• Partner with the security team to implement and uphold corporate network security policies that protect the business without slowing it down

• Remove friction for our hybrid workforce — ensuring seamless, consistent connectivity whether employees are on-site or remote

• Plan ahead, managing corporate network capacity so infrastructure never becomes a bottleneck as Marqeta grows

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Cultivate strategic relationships with colocation providers like Equinix and key network hardware vendors, keeping Marqeta's infrastructure competitive

• Negotiate contracts and SLAs that meaningfully optimize both cost and performance outcomes

• Translate network strategy into business value by aligning capabilities with cross‑functional stakeholder needs

• Bridge the gap between technical and non‑technical audiences — communicating complex concepts and project progress with clarity and confidence

Who You Are

• You bring 7+ years of network engineering experience in production environments and at least 3 years leading and developing technical teams

• You're a hands‑on Cisco expert — deeply comfortable with switching platforms and routing protocols like BGP and OSPF, and confident in your ability to operate at both a strategic and technical level

• You've architected and managed Palo Alto Networks firewall deployments and understand how network security decisions ripple across an organization

• You have deep, practical knowledge of AWS cloud networking — VPCs, Transit Gateways, Direct Connect, CloudFront, Route53 — and know how to design for resilience at scale

• You have a track record of owning and maintaining high‑availability networks at 99.9%+ uptime, and you take that standard personally

• Infrastructure‑as‑code is part of how you work — you're experienced with Terraform and understand the value of treating infrastructure like software

• You think in systems and automate by instinct — with a strong foundation in network automation, scripting, and DevOps practices that help your team move faster with fewer errors

• You're as comfortable in a vendor negotiation or colocation facility conversation as you are in a technical design review

• You hold a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or have built equivalent expertise through hands‑on experience

Nice-To-Haves

• Experience working in payments, financial services, or another highly regulated industry — you already understand what it means to operate in a high‑stakes compliance environment

• Familiarity with PCI‑DSS or other compliance frameworks, and how they shape network design and security decisions

• Industry certifications such as CCIE, CCNP, PCNSE, or AWS Advanced Networking that demonstrate your depth of expertise

• Hands‑on experience with network observability tools and practices, and a habit of using data to stay ahead of issues before they become incidents

• A background in leading infrastructure modernization or cloud migration initiatives — you've navigated the complexity before and know how to bring teams along for the journey

• Experience with SD‑WAN technologies and an understanding of how they fit into a modern, distributed network architecture

Typical Process

• Application Submission

• Recruiter phone call

• Hiring manager video call

• Virtual “Onsite” consisting of 4-5, 45 min calls

• Offer!

Compensation and Benefits

Marqeta is a Flex First company which allows you to choose your best working environment, whether that be from home or at a company office. To support Flex First, we calibrate pay to a competitive value according to working location.

When determining salaries, we consider several factors including, but not limited to, skills, prior experience, and work location. The new‑hire base salary range for this position, reflected in CAD, is: $177,100 - $221,400

We also believe in recognizing the contributions of our people. That's why we award annual bonuses to eligible employees, rewarding both individual performance and the success of the entire company.

Along with monetary compensation, Marqeta offers

• Multiple health insurance options

• Flexible vacation time

• Retirement savings program with company contribution

• Equity in a publicly‑traded company

• Monthly stipend to support our remote work model

• Annual “development dollars” to support our people growth and development

• Family‑forming benefits and up to 20 weeks of Parental Leave

About Marqeta

Marqeta is on a mission to change the way money moves. We’re one of the earliest enablers of embedded finance, a market opportunity sized up in the trillions. Our card issuing platform provides unprecedented flexibility and control for companies to issue cards, authorize transactions, and manage payment operations in real time. Marqeta is powering the most well known brands in the new economy (Block, Cash App, affirm, Instacart, Doordash, Uber, Walmart, etc). You don’t need to be a Payments expert to join the Marqeta Team, let us help you with that. This is the opportunity