Sr Engineering Manager – Network Infrastructure (hybrid - Seattle)

Nordstrom Nordstrom · Retail · Seattle, WA

Seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead the Network Engineering team within the SNAAP platform. This role is responsible for the design, operation, and evolution of the enterprise network platform, including SD-WAN, multi-cloud connectivity, wireless infrastructure, and DNS/IPAM. The manager will provide technical direction and people leadership, ensuring high availability, resilience, and security. Responsibilities include incident response, architectural design review, cross-functional collaboration, and driving adoption of network automation and infrastructure-as-code practices. Requires a strong background in network engineering before moving into management.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead daily stand-ups and sprint planning with your engineering team, clearing blockers and aligning priorities across SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, wired/wireless, and data center fabric domains
  2. Review and approve architectural designs for new network solutions, including SD-WAN policy changes, AWS Cloud WAN topology updates, Juniper campus/wireless deployments, and VXLAN fabric expansions
  3. Partner with store technology, fulfillment operations, and cloud teams to design and deliver network solutions that meet the demands of retail, distribution, and corporate environments
  4. Own incident response for all network-impacting events: when an incident fires, you are on the bridge leading triage, directing your engineers, and driving toward resolution—not waiting to be updated. You are accountable for the call, the communication to stakeholders, and the outcome
  5. Conduct 1:1 meetings with team members to provide coaching, discuss career development, and support technical problem-solving

Skills

Required

  • 10+ years of hands-on network engineering experience
  • Experience spanning both on-premises enterprise infrastructure and cloud networking (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
  • 3+ years in a people management or technical team leadership role
  • Long-term planning and roadmap execution
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • SD-WAN technologies (Versa Networks or comparable)
  • Cloud networking (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI)
  • Enterprise wired and wireless networking
  • Network automation
  • Infrastructure-as-code

Nice to have

  • Juniper Mist wireless infrastructure
  • Infoblox DNS/IPAM
  • AWS Cloud WAN
  • VXLAN fabric

What the JD emphasized

  • Demonstrate ownership during incidents to support the business regardless of where the fault lies in the infrastructure—partnering across teams to drive resolution, owning the RCA process, and ensuring every significant event produces a clear path to a long term durable fix
  • Network issues rarely stop at the network layer, and this role requires a broad service mindset: you and your team will engage across store systems, fulfillment devices, cloud workloads, and security platforms to support resolution of issues in technologies that depend on the network, even when the root cause is not in your domain
  • This is a hands-on leadership role where you’ll balance strategic thinking with tactical execution, partnering closely with the Network Security, CIS, and Edge teams within SNAAP, as well as Store Technology, Fulfillment Operations, and Cloud Architecture
  • You’ll drive adoption of modern network automation and infrastructure-as-code practices—building on an active IaC initiative across Juniper Mist and SD-WAN—and invest in the growth and development of your team
  • The ideal candidate is a network practitioner first: someone who has spent a decade building and operating complex enterprise and cloud networks before stepping into leadership, and who can now translate that depth into clear technical direction, strong team development, and compelling business outcomes for stakeholders at all levels
  • 10+ years of hands-on network engineering experience spanning both on-premises enterprise infrastructure and cloud networking (AWS, Azure, or GCP), prior to moving into management, with at least 3+ years in a people management or technical team leadership role
  • Proven expertise in long-term planning and roadmap execution for the team, working cross-functionally with peer engineering teams and customer stakeholders to align on priorities, surface dependencies, and ensure team capacity is structured to meet both near-term commitments and future growth
  • Proven expertise with SD-WAN technologies, with hands-on experience deploying or operating Versa Networks or comparable platforms (Cisco Viptela, VMware SD-WAN)
  • Strong understanding of cloud networking across AWS, Azure, GCP, and/or OCI, including constructs like Cloud WAN, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, VNet peering, and hybrid connectivity patterns; SNAAP operates in all four clouds
  • Demonstrated experience with enterprise wired and wireless networking, including Juniper EX/QFX switc