Senior Vice President of Technology

Location: downtown Chicago*please note that this position requires 5 days in office The SVP will act as the senior technical authority on network architecture, owning the design, resilience, and multi-year roadmap of a global network spanning all offices and cloud environments — while also managing and mentoring a team of network engineers and overseeing managed service provider operations. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on involvement in the organization's most complex technical problems.

Responsibilities: Set architecture strategy and technology roadmap for internal and external networks, establishing global standards for Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and Arista platforms Act as final escalation point for major network incidents, directing root-cause analysis and long-term fixes across a global team Partner with Security leadership to define network security architecture, segmentation, and Zero Trust/SASE strategy Own the network capital and operating budget, including hardware refresh planning, licensing spend, and vendor contract negotiations Lead multi-year capacity planning and lifecycle strategy for network infrastructure, aligning forecasts with growth and cloud migration plans Build and mentor a network engineering team, setting standards, career paths, and performance goals Establish governance for documentation, change management, and configuration standards Manage strategic vendor and carrier relationships, including contract negotiation and SLA discussions Present network strategy, risk, and investment priorities to senior Technology, Security, and Finance stakeholders

Requirements: 10–15 years in IT, including 8+ years of progressive network engineering/architecture experience and 3+ years leading a network engineering team Advanced certifications preferred (e.g., CCNP/CCIE, Arista ACE, PCNSE, or Azure architecture credentials)Deep expertise in global LAN/WAN and enterprise networking architecture across multiple regions Expert knowledge of network protocols, routing, and switching at enterprise scale Experience setting enterprise wireless strategy (e.g., Meraki or similar cloud-managed solutions)Extensive Palo Alto NGFW experience, including firewall architecture and policy governance Strong grasp of network security principles, with experience shaping strategy alongside CISO/Security leadership Proven experience architecting hybrid/multi-cloud connectivity (e.g., Azure VNets, Express Route) through large-scale migrations Track record managing multi-year budgets and negotiating vendor/carrier contractsTEM and MSP management experience a plus