Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Network Consultant (Technical Lead) to lead the design, implementation, support, and optimization of enterprise network services across global and hybrid environments

This role combines deep technical expertise in Enterprise Networking, Routing & Switching, Network Security, Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), and Cloud Connectivity with technical leadership responsibilities. The successful candidate will provide technical direction, mentor engineers, lead complex infrastructure initiatives, and serve as the escalation point for critical network issues

This is a hands-on Technical Lead role, requiring active participation in engineering, troubleshooting, project delivery, and infrastructure modernization while providing guidance and leadership across the network engineering team

The ideal candidate is a strong technical leader who can balance operational priorities, stakeholder engagement, project delivery, and hands-on engineering responsibilities

Primary Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

Provide technical leadership for network operations, engineering initiatives, and strategic infrastructure projects
Mentor, coach, and support the technical development of network engineers
Coordinate and prioritize engineering activities to meet operational and project objectives
Review technical designs, implementation plans, and change requests for compliance with engineering standards and best practices
Serve as the primary escalation point for complex incidents, major outages, and problem management activities
Collaborate with management and stakeholders on resource planning, prioritization, workload balancing, and service delivery
Support recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of engineering staff
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement

Hands-On Engineering & Technical Delivery

Maintain an active hands-on engineering role and participate directly in technical delivery activities
Lead troubleshooting, implementation, migration, optimization, and remediation efforts
Perform network configuration, deployment, upgrades, and maintenance activities as required
Independently resolve complex technical issues across enterprise network environments
Participate in maintenance windows, critical incidents, change implementations, and project deployments
Lead root cause analysis and resolution for high-priority incidents
Serve as both a technical decision-maker and delivery resource during periods of increased operational or project demand
Balance leadership responsibilities with technical execution to ensure successful business outcomes

Network Engineering & Operations

Design, implement, support, and optimize enterprise LAN, WAN, Data Center, Wireless, and remote site network infrastructures

Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot enterprise networking platforms

Manage and support routing protocols including

BGP

OSPF

EIGRP

Support switching technologies including

VLAN

STP

LACP

VPC / MLAG

VXLAN

Ensure network availability, reliability, scalability, and performance across global environments
Lead network lifecycle management activities including upgrades, migrations, refreshes, and modernization initiatives
Support highly available and disaster recovery-enabled network environments
Support hybrid network architectures spanning on-premises, cloud, and remote office environments
Collaborate on cloud connectivity and network transformation initiatives
Perform advanced troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and issue resolution

Firewall & Network Security

Manage and support enterprise security platforms including

Palo Alto

Fortinet

Check Point

Cisco Firepower

Implement and maintain security technologies and controls including

IPSec VPN

SSL VPN

Network Segmentation

IDS/IPS

Threat Prevention

URL Filtering

Secure Remote Access

Partner with Security teams to strengthen security posture and remediate vulnerabilities
Support Zero Trust, compliance, risk mitigation, and cybersecurity initiatives
Participate in security assessments, audits, and remediation activities

Documentation & Collaboration

Maintain network documentation, technical standards, operational procedures, and support runbooks

Develop and maintain network diagrams, architecture documents, and configuration standards

Collaborate with Infrastructure, Cloud, Security, Application, and Project teams to deliver integrated technology solutions

Participate in architecture reviews, design discussions, and technology evaluations

Support roadmap planning, modernization efforts, and infrastructure transformation initiatives

Provide regular technical updates and recommendations to leadership and stakeholders

Perform Technical Lead responsibilities as required by the organization

Represent Network Engineering in cross-functional projects, operational reviews, audits, and stakeholder meetings

Support vendor engagement, escalation management, service governance, and operational planning activities

Act as a trusted advisor for network-related projects and technical decisions

Drive successful delivery of initiatives while maintaining operational stability and service quality

Demonstrate end-to-end ownership from planning and implementation through operational support and continuous improvement

Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience
8+ years of experience in Enterprise Network Engineering, Infrastructure Operations, or Network Consulting
Proven experience leading technical teams, infrastructure projects, and operational initiatives

Experience supporting large-scale enterprise networking environments

Experience with enterprise networking platforms from one or more of the following vendors:

Cisco

Arista

Juniper

Equivalent enterprise networking technologies

Proven solid expertise in

Enterprise Routing & Switching

LAN/WAN Technologies

Network Security

Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW)

IPSec and SSL VPN Technologies

Enterprise Data Center Networking

Network Design, Implementation, and Troubleshooting

High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solutions

Professional Skills

Proven solid analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving capabilities
Proven excellent verbal and written communication skills
Proven solid stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills
Proven ability to lead technical initiatives while remaining hands-on when required
Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities in fast-paced environments

Preferred Qualifications

Certifications

CCNP Enterprise

CCNP Security

CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure

CCIE Security

Palo Alto PCNSE

Fortinet NSE 4+

JNCIP / JNCIE

Other relevant networking or security certifications

Additional Technical Experience

Experience with Azure and AWS networking services

Experience with SD-WAN technologies, including

Cisco Viptela

Cisco Meraki

Fortinet Secure SD-WAN

VMware VeloCloud

Experience with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), including

Network Access Control (NAC)

802.1X Authentication

Device Profiling

Guest Access Management

Policy-Based Access Control

Experience with enterprise monitoring and management platforms such as:

SolarWinds

Cisco DNA Center

Panorama

FortiManager

LogicMonitor

Similar observability and management platforms

Automation & Operational Excellence

Experience with network automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC), including:

Python

Ansible

Terraform

API-based automation
Experience driving operational excellence, observability, service improvement, and process optimization initiatives
Experience improving monitoring, alerting, reporting, and operational workflows
Exposure to infrastructure standardization and automation programs

Leadership Experience

Experience in a Senior Engineer, Technical Lead, Team Lead, or Lead Consultant role

Experience participating in architecture reviews, solution validation, and technology evaluations

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone-of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income-deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes - an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.

Senior Network Consultant