Director, Network and Data Center Services

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Yale ITS is seeking a senior technical leader to lead Network Engineering, Network Operations, and Data Center Services—responsible for the design, reliability, and evolution of Yale’s campus‑wide communication and hosting infrastructure.

This role combines engineering authority, operational accountability, and transformation leadership, with responsibility for:

• A software-defined campus network

• A mandate to improve network operations through automation, observability, and discipline

• Two capacity‑constrained, at‑risk on‑prem data centers, a nearby co-lo and a cloud interconnection co-lo

This leader will drive end‑to‑end ownership of core network infrastructure, ensuring Yale’s network and data center platforms are resilient, scalable, and operationally excellent.

Key Responsibilities

Network Strategy, Engineering & Transformation

• Manage the architecture, engineering, and lifecycle management of Yale’s software-defined campus network

• Define standards for: performance, resiliency, segmentation, and security

• Drive modernization toward automated, code-defined network operations and integrated observability and telemetry

Network Operations Transformation

• Own 24x7 network operations, including availability, performance, and incident response

• Lead transformation of network operations tooling transitioning from LogicMonitor / Cisco-native tools → next-gen platforms (e.g., Datadog)

• Establish disciplined operational practices around monitoring, alerting, escalation, and incident management

• Improve key metrics and publish live network data for ITS leadership: MTTR, uptime, latency, incident recurrence

Data Center Strategy & Execution

• Own the end-to-end roadmap for Yale’s data centers, addressing: Capacity constraints; Operational risk; Lack of appropriate resiliency and DR capability

• Define and execute a multi-year strategy across: On-prem, colo, and cloud integration; Improved resiliency; Scalable capacity to support research and enterprise growth

Resiliency & Reliability Engineering

• Embed resiliency by design across network and data center services by eliminating single points of failure and ensure network failover and recovery capabilities are validated

• Drive alignment with Disaster Recovery (RTO/RPO) targets

Network Automation

Champion automation across infrastructure operations: Network automation; Data center workflows; Configuration and lifecycle management

• Partner with Automation Engineering to shift toward Infrastructure as Code an reduce manual intervention and operational risk

Observability & Tooling Integration

• Build a unified observability model across networks, data centers, and facilities/campus operations

• Ensure monitoring tools provide end to end network visibility with actionable alerts integrated with incident management

Team Leadership & Culture

• Lead and develop network engineering, operations, and data center teams while building a culture of ownership and accountability, engineering rigor, and an automation-first mindset

• Improve team capabilities in software-defined networking, automation and observability, and modern operations practices

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence

• Work closely with core infrastructure engineering, TechOps, and Information security

• Navigate a federated organization, influencing without direct authority

• Align network and data center strategy with broader IT Stability initiatives, faculty and research needs.

Key Qualifications

• Proven leadership of large scale network and infrastructure environments (campus or enterprise, with hybrid cloud environments)

• Deep technical expertise in: Enterprise networking (LAN/WAN, SDN, campus networks, large Cisco implementation); Data center infrastructure (power, cooling, compute integration); Observability and monitoring platforms

• Experience leading 24x7 network operations environments and major transformation initiatives (tooling, architecture, operating model)

• Strong understanding of resiliency engineering, DR design and ITSM processes (incident, change, problem management)

Leadership Capabilities

• Technical authority with credibility across engineering