Director, Network Engineering & Design

Overview Open to Remote but candidates local to the Richardson, TX area expected to be hybrid 2 days per week. This leader serves as the senior authority for network engineering decisions and design quality, with accountability for architecture standards, design review, capacity planning, change governance, root cause analysis, and overall network performance outcomes. The role partners closely with operations, deployment, construction, support, product, and executive leadership to ensure networks are designed for reliability, scalability, serviceability, and long-term operational success. Responsibilities Lead the Network Engineering and Design organization, establishing priorities, standards, accountability, and performance expectations for both engineering and design teams. Own the company's network architecture strategy for multifamily environments, ensuring solutions are scalable, supportable, resilient, and aligned with business goals. Define, maintain, and enforce engineering standards for network hardware, firmware, configuration baselines, and performance requirements. Establish and govern Wi-Fi and RF standards to ensure appropriate coverage, capacity, performance, and user experience across diverse property types and density profiles. Oversee network design standards for wired and wireless infrastructure, including distribution, access, backbone, and property-level topology decisions. Direct RF design for Wi-Fi deployments, including predictive modeling, validation expectations, and design review criteria. Review and approve network designs, RF plans, engineering deliverables, and construction-related design packages prior to deployment. Ensure final as-built drawings are complete, accurate, and aligned with deployed conditions, company documentation standards, and operational handoff requirements. Define and maintain network performance standards and key quality metrics for service health, availability, capacity, throughput, latency, and user experience. Lead capacity planning efforts for existing and future deployments, ensuring infrastructure is designed to meet growth, density, and usage demands. Drive root cause analysis for major incidents, recurring performance issues, design defects, and systemic failures, and ensure corrective actions are implemented. Establish and enforce change management standards for network engineering changes, design revisions, firmware updates, and production-impacting modifications. Provide quality control review and sign-off for engineering and design deliverables, ensuring consistency, completeness, and compliance with company standards. Partner with network operations and support teams to identify trends, improve serviceability, reduce repeat issues, and strengthen operational readiness. Collaborate with construction, deployment, and field teams to ensure designs are practical, executable, and aligned with site realities. Work cross-functionally with leadership and stakeholders to balance performance, cost, speed, and standardization across the portfolio. Evaluate emerging technologies, tools, and design methodologies that can improve network reliability, deployment quality, and operational efficiency. Develop reporting, governance, and review mechanisms to track engineering quality, design compliance, field performance, and continuous improvement initiatives. Mentor and develop technical leaders and team members, building a culture of engineering rigor, documentation discipline, and accountability. Serve as the final escalation point for complex engineering decisions affecting production environments, deployment quality, and network standards. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Information Technology, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered. 8+ years of progressive experience in network engineering, network design, or telecommunications infrastructure roles. 5+ years of increasing leadership experience managing engineering, design, or technical operations teams. Strong experience with service-provider-grade wired and wireless networks, Wi-Fi engineering and RF design in high-density or multi-dwelling environments. Demonstrated experience establishing technical standards for network architecture, hardware, firmware, performance, and quality assurance. Experience with low-voltage design, structured cabling, and outside plant design considerations. Strong understanding of capacity planning, network performance analysis, and operational service quality. Experience implementing formal change management and quality control practices within engineering environments. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present technical decisions and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Experience working in multifamily, hospitality, campus, managed services, ISP, or similarly distributed network environments is strongly preferred. Relevant industry certifications are preferred, such as CWNP, Cisco, Aruba, Juniper, PMP, or similar credentials aligned to the role. Expert knowledge of network architecture principles for wired and wireless environments. Expert knowledge of Wi-Fi design, RF behavior, coverage modeling, channel planning, interference mitigation, and capacity optimization. Strong knowledge of low-voltage infrastructure, structured cabling systems, and outside plant design fundamentals. Strong knowledge of network hardware platforms, firmware lifecycle management, and standards governance. Strong knowledge of network performance metrics, monitoring principles, and service quality expectations. Strong knowledge of change management, configuration control, and production risk mitigation practices. Strong knowledge of network-related documentation requirements and engineering review workflows. Ability to create, communicate, and enforce technical standards across multiple teams and stakeholders. Ability to evaluate designs for quality, scalability, maintainability, and operational supportability. Ability to identify systemic issues, perform structured root cause analysis, and drive long-term corrective action. Ability to balance strategic planning with practical execution in a fast-paced operational environment. Ability to lead cross-functional teams through technical decision-making, prioritization, and execution. Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business impacts, risks, and recommendations. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a disciplined approach to quality, accuracy, and continuous improvement. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple initiatives, reviews, standards, and stakeholders at the same time. Ability to maintain high standards of accountability, documentation discipline, and engineering rigor across the Engineering organization. Pay Range USD $121,000.00 - USD $206,000.00 /Yr.