Director Optical Network Engineer Jobs in California

About CENIC:

Join the team that connects California to the world — advancing education and research statewide by providing the world-class computing network essential for innovation, collaboration, and economic growth. Our organization operates the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high-capacity computer network with more than 8,000 miles of optical fiber. The network serves over 20 million users across California, including the vast majority of K-20 students, together with educators, researchers, and individuals at other vital public-serving institutions.

Bring your IT career and technical expertise to help support the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high-bandwidth, fiber-optic network that serves over 20 million users. CENIC is a nonprofit governed by its member K-12 schools, libraries, community colleges, universities, and other public-serving institutions. Its mission is to advance education and research by providing a world-class network essential for innovation, collaboration, and economic growth.

We are looking for Network Engineers at various levels: mid-career, senior, technical expert, and leadership roles! Please see our career center for other positions available.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Senior Network Operations Engineer is the senior-most technical role within CENIC's Network Operations Center (NOC), with a strong background in 24x7 NOC environments and experience with service provider networks. This role serves as the primary escalation point for Network Operations Engineers, handling complex, ambiguous, and long-running incidents that fall outside standard triage workflows, and provides technical oversight of shift-level incident handling in the absence of a Lead. The Senior Network Operations Engineer also drives strategic projects to improve NOC tooling, workflows, and operational maturity, serving as the technical owner for key systems and initiatives. This role has no supervisory responsibility, but is expected to function as a technical authority and mentor for Network Operations Engineers and Administrators across shifts.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: None

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

1. Serve as the primary escalation point for Network Operations Engineers, providing technical guidance and hands-on troubleshooting support for issues that exceed standard triage scope

2. Lead the resolution of complex, ambiguous, or long-running incidents that fall outside normal incident management workflows, coordinating cross-team input as needed and driving issues to closure

3. Own and execute strategic projects that improve NOC tooling, workflows, and operational efficiency, including serving as technical owner for key monitoring and operational systems, such as Zabbix, Jira, and CONC

4. Step into standard shift triage duties as needed to cover staffing shortfalls, performing the full scope of triage engineer responsibilities during those periods

5. Provide triage oversight during shifts when a supervisor is unavailable, ensuring incidents are being handled correctly, escalations are appropriately routed, and documentation standards are maintained

6. Identify recurring or systemic issues surfaced through escalations and incident handling, and propose process or tooling improvements to reduce repeat occurrences

7. Document complex incident resolutions and escalation outcomes thoroughly, contributing to the NOC's knowledge base and post-incident review process

8. Mentor and provide technical guidance to NOC staff, supporting skills development and consistent application of operational best practices

9. Keep current with emerging trends and technologies relevant to service provider and research/education networking, applying relevant developments to NOC tooling and processes

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS:

1. Expert-level technical knowledge of NOC operations and large-scale IP and optical network troubleshooting

2. Sound judgment and composure when handling ambiguous, complex, or long-running incidents without established playbooks

3. Strong sense of ownership and follow-through on strategic projects, from initial scoping through implementation and adoption

4. Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly with Operations staff, Leads, and leadership

5. Well-organized and able to manage multiple concurrent priorities across escalations, incidents, and project work

6. Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills, with the ability to diagnose issues that have resisted standard triage approaches

7. Collaborative mindset and effectiveness working across shifts, teams, and with minimal direct oversight

8. Strong commitment to mentorship and the professional development of less experienced Operations staff

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline with 6 years or more of experience, or a combination of education and experience

2. 5+ years of experience in network operations in a 24x7, service provider, or large-scale production network environment

3. Demonstrated experience in troubleshooting complex, multi-layer network incidents, including issues spanning IP, MPLS, and optical/transport layers

4. Strong background with BGP, OSPF, or IS-IS, and IP Routing at a CCNP/JNCIP level

5. Experience with DWDM optical line systems and DCI deployments

6. Experience with incident management processes, including ticketing systems, escalation procedures, and documentation standards in a NOC or similar environment

PREFERRED EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

1. Prior experience owning or administering NOC tooling such as monitoring platforms, ticketing systems, or configuration/inventory systems

2. Experience with MPLS (Segment Routing, LDP, RSVP-TE), L2VPN, and IPVPN services (EVPN or similar), and traffic engineering in a large-scale production environment

3. Experience mentoring or informally leading technical staff in a NOC setting

4. Familiarity with network automation tools such as Ansible, NSO, Git, Python, and other automation processes

5. Experience in a research and education network environment or a comparable large-scale, mission-critical network

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

This position operates in a professional office environment with standard office equipment, including computers, telephones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.

WORK HOURS:

Network Operations is a 24-hour, 7-day per week, 365-day per year operation. An employee's regular work schedule is four ten-hour days on any of the seven days in the week, based on CENIC's business needs.

WORK AUTHORIZATION:

Documented Proof of identity and legal eligibility to work in the United States.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

CENIC does not offer STEM OPT training opportunities and cannot complete Form I-983.

WHY WORK AT CENIC?

Company Culture: Small teams and a collaborative environment provide the opportunity to make a significant impact in a small organization.

Community Engagement: We work with research and education institutions in the largest state economy in the United States. Your work has meaning.

Generous Health Benefit Package: We value our employees' wellness. We offer a variety of medical, dental, and vision benefits. We have you covered with life, short-term, and long-term insurance. We also offer pet insurance at a discount.

Paid Time Off: We offer liberal vacation and sick leave, plus 15 paid holidays.

Investment in Your Future: CENIC contributes to your 403(b) even if you don't. We also offer matching contributions. Pre-tax and Roth options are also available.

CENIC is an equal opportunity employer – Vets/disabled