Sr. Network Engineer

**PLEASE NOTE: This is a hybrid role requiring in-office presence 3 days per week (Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday) with 2 days remote. The candidate must be in or near Charlotte, NC or have plans to relocate. This position includes participation in an on-call rotation to support critical network infrastructure. Additionally, this position does not offer visa sponsorship.

THE POSITION

As a Senior Network Engineer, you will lead the implementation, maintenance, optimization, and architectural design of LendingTree's enterprise network infrastructure. You will serve as a subject matter expert in our Fortinet-based environment, including firewalls, switches, access points, FortiSASE, and SD-WAN solutions. Collaborating with Infrastructure Engineering, Security, Cloud Operations, and DevOps teams, you will support network modernization, automation, and reliability initiatives.

This role is ideal for a Senior engineer who is familiar with modern Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles, network automation, and modern cloud networking architectures across AWS and Azure while embracing SRE fundamentals to ensure our network services are reliable, scalable, and observable.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

Network Infrastructure

• Design, implement, and maintain enterprise network infrastructure including Fortinet firewalls (FortiGate), switches (FortiSwitch), and wireless access points (FortiAP)

• Manage and optimize FortiSASE (Secure Access Service Edge) for secure remote access and SD-WAN connectivity

• Administer FortiNAC (Network Access Control) for device visibility, authentication, and network segmentation

• Monitor network performance, troubleshoot complex issues, and ensure high availability of critical network services

• Implement and maintain network security policies, VPNs, and firewall rules aligned with security best practices

• Perform capacity planning and make recommendations for network infrastructure upgrades and expansions

Cloud Networking

• Design and implement cloud networking solutions in AWS (VPC, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, Route 53, CloudFront, etc.)

• Design and implement cloud networking solutions in Azure (VNet, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall, Traffic Manager, etc.)

• Build and maintain hybrid cloud connectivity between on-premises Fortinet infrastructure and cloud environments

• Support hybrid cloud connectivity between on-premises Fortinet infrastructure and cloud environments

• Assist with cloud-native security controls and network segmentation

Observability

• Leverage SumoLogic and FortiAnalyzer for network observability, log analysis, and alerting

• Define and monitor Service Level Indicators (SLIs) and Service Level Objectives (SLOs) for network services

• Participate in incident response, blameless postmortems, and root cause analysis

• Identify and reduce toil through automation and process improvement

• Contribute to runbooks and operational documentation to improve reliability

Automation

• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform for network infrastructure provisioning and configuration management

• Implement CI/CD pipelines for automated deployment of firewall rules, network configurations, and policy changes

• Create automation scripts using Python, Ansible, or other tools to streamline network operations and reduce manual tasks

• Leverage Fortinet APIs and SDKs for programmatic network management and orchestration

• Build self-service capabilities and automation workflows to improve operational efficiency

Collaboration & Support

• Partner with InfoSec teams on implementing security controls and policies

• Collaborate with DevOps and Platform Engineering teams to support application infrastructure requirements

• Work with Infrastructure Engineering team on server, storage, and virtualization networking needs

• Create and maintain network documentation, diagrams, and runbooks

• Participate in on-call rotation to provide support for critical network infrastructure

• Respond to and help resolve network incidents, outages, and performance issues

• Perform planned network maintenance during change windows

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Experience

• 5+ years of experience in network engineering or a related technical role

• 2+ years of hands-on experience with Fortinet products (FortiGate firewalls, FortiSwitch, or FortiAP)

• Hands-on experience with cloud networking in AWS and/or Azure environments

• Experience in enterprise-scale environments, leading projects, or mentoring teams.

• Mentor junior network engineers and provide technical guidance.

• Lead network architecture reviews and roadmap planning.

• Solid understanding of network protocols (BGP, OSPF, VLAN, STP, LACP, etc.)

• Experience with VPN technologies (IPSec, SSL VPN, SD-WAN)

• Familiarity with Git and CICD Pipelines

Technical Skills

• Fortinet: Working knowledge of FortiOS, FortiGate firewall configuration, FortiSwitch, FortiAP wireless, and FortiSASE

• Cloud Networking: Basic understanding of AWS VPC design, Azure VNet architecture, and hybrid connectivity

• Automation: Scripting skills in Python, Bash, or PowerShell; exposure to Terraform or Ansible

• Observability: Hands-on experience with log management and monitoring tools (SumoLogic, FortiAnalyzer, CloudWatch, or similar)

• Security: In-depth knowledge of network security principles, firewall policies, and VPN configurations

• Troubleshooting: Experience with packet analysis tools (Wireshark, tcpdump)

Professional Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Leadership skills, ability to mentor and develop team members, strategic thinking, and experience influencing cross-functional stakeholders.

• Good communication skills with ability to document technical processes clearly

• Ability to work effectively in a hybrid team environment

• Eagerness to learn new technologies and grow technical expertise

• Strong documentation skills and attention to detail

• Ability to work collaboratively and ask questions when needed

NICE TO HAVE

Certifications

• Fortinet NSE certifications: NSE 5+

• Cloud certifications: AWS Advanced Networking Specialty or Azure Network Engineer Associate.

• Networking certifications: CCNA, CCNP, or equivalent

Additional Experience

• Hands-on experience with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer for centralized management and analytics

• Familiarity with containerized networking (Kubernetes, Docker)

• Strong grasp of SRE practices, SLIs/SLOs, and incident management

• Hands-on experience network observability platforms (SumoLogic, Datadog, Splunk)

• Knowledge of DevOps practices and agile methodologies

• Experience in a SOX-compliant or regulated environment

• Strong understanding of SD-WAN optimization and application-aware routing

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or related field (not required, but nice to have)

• Equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will be considered

COMPENSATION<