Lead Operational IT Network Engineer

Overview

We are seeking a full-time Lead Operational IT Network Engineer at Garmin's U.S. headquarters in the Greater Kansas City area. In this role, you will be responsible for leading administration of technology by contributing expertise in researching new technologies and proposing cost effective solutions along with facilitating team discussions and plans and contributing innovative suggestions within area of discipline.

Essential Functions

• Provides significant contributions to defining team roadmap/priorities
• Develops reliable solutions to complex problems which require the regular use of ingenuity/creativity
• Demonstrates broad understanding of Garmin's business model, including Engineering, Operations, Finance, Sales and Marketing
• Serves as a mentor and provides guidance to less experienced IT Administrators (IT Administrator 1, 2, & 3)
• Researches new technologies/proposes cost effective solutions
• Leads major incident troubleshooting involving multiple disciplines
• Provides innovation within area of expertise, facilitates team discussions/meetings, coordinates department level non-project changes, and serves as a leader of change
• Recognized as an expert in assigned discipline at Garmin and applies extensive technical expertise and analysis to initiatives
• Contributes input to broader technology solutions outside of discipline
• Demonstrates professional maturity through giving/receiving constructive feedback

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Management Information Systems, Business or related field AND a minimum of 9 years relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
• Excellent academics with the demonstrated ability to apply learned knowledge
• Demonstrated strong and effective verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Consistently demonstrates quality and effectiveness in work documentation and organization
• Proven experience in an operations-focused environment, with a strong emphasis on real-time troubleshooting, incident response, and restoring service in complex production networks
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where reactive work is a key part of the role, with a mindset focused on quickly stabilizing issues and continuously improving operational resilience
• Hands-on experience with Cisco networking technologies including Nexus (NX-OS), Catalyst (IOS-XE), and Cisco routing platforms (ASR/ISR)Experience with Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure) and modern data center networking concepts (leaf-spine architecture, VXLAN/EVPN)
• Solid understanding of routing and switching protocols, including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, STP, and port-channeling
• Experience with enterprise WAN and SD-WAN technologies, preferably Cisco SD-WAN (Viptela)
• Experience supporting enterprise wireless networks, including Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers (WLC) and access points
• Knowledge of network security technologies, including Cisco Firepower/ASA, ACLs, VPNs (IPSec), and segmentation concepts
• Familiarity with load balancing and application traffic flow (e.g., F5, NetScaler, or similar)Experience with network monitoring and troubleshooting tools (e.g., SNMP, NetFlow, Syslog)

Desired Qualifications

• Outstanding academics
• Previous experience working in a team environment
• Cisco certifications such as CCNP