Director, Network and Voice Engineering

Job Purpose The Director of Network Engineering provides strategic leadership, technical direction, and operational oversight for Wayne State Universitys enterprise network infrastructure. This role manages all aspects of plant infrastructure, wired and wireless networks, access control systems, video surveillance, core network services, voice technologies, and both border and data center firewall services. The Director ensures the reliability, security, scalability, and performance of the universitys network environment while supporting academic research, administrative, and public safety needs across campus. The Director leads a multidisciplinary engineering team, collaborates with campus partners, and drives modernization initiatives that align with institutional priorities and digital transformation goals. This position reports to the Senior Director, Infrastructure & Operations.

Essential Functions Essential functions are the primary duties/major job responsibilities that an employee must be able to perform with or without reasonable accommodation. The essential functions are listed in order of importance.

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Develop and execute long‑term strategies for campus network infrastructure including wired, wireless, voice, firewall, access control, and video surveillance systems.
• Lead modernization initiatives such as network switch refresh cycles, core network upgrades, wireless augmentation, firewall lifecycle management, and voice migration to Microsoft Teams.
• Establish technology roadmaps that support institutional growth, research demands, and emerging digital needs.
• Ensure alignment with university governance, security standards, and operational excellence frameworks.

Network and Voice Infrastructure Management Oversee the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of all network systems including:

• Plant infrastructure: fiber, copper pathways, outside plant.
• Wired network: edge switching, distribution, routing.
• Wireless network: campus Wi-Fi density planning, performance optimization.
• Core network services: routing, switching, firewalls, load balancing, DNS, DHCP, IPAM.
• Voice services: Teams Voice, VoIP, legacy migrations, call routing.
• Access control systems: card access, door controllers, integrations.
• Video surveillance systems: IP cameras, storage, monitoring platforms.
• Firewall services: border firewalls, data center firewalls, segmentation, policy management, threat mitigation.

Operational Oversight

• Ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of all network and firewall services through proactive monitoring, capacity planning, and incident response.
• Develop and enforce standards, documentation, and best practices for network and security architecture.
• Oversee vendor relationships, contracts, RFP processes, and procurement for network, firewall, and physical security technologies.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, and resource allocation for network engineering initiatives.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of network engineers, firewall/security engineers, technicians, and specialists across multiple technology domains.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Promote cross-training, professional development, and knowledge sharing to strengthen team capability and resilience.

Campus Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a primary liaison to Facilities Planning & Management, Public Safety, construction teams, academic units, and administrative divisions.
• Provide technical guidance during construction and renovation projects to ensure IT infrastructure is integrated early and implemented to university standards.
• Communicate project timelines, impacts, and service changes to stakeholders with clarity and transparency.

Security Compliance & Risk Management

• Partner with Information Security to ensure network and firewall systems meet security compliance and risk‑management requirements.
• Implement controls, monitoring, and remediation strategies to protect university assets and data.
• Support business continuity and disaster recovery planning for network and voice services.

Perform other related duties as assigned.