Manager, Network & Systems Engineering

About IMG Academy
IMG Academy is the worlds leading sports education brand providing a holistic education model that empowers student-athletes to win their future while preparing them for college and for life. IMG Academy has been nationally recognized by organizations including Sports Business Journal USA Today and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For for its workplace culture innovation and commitment to developing people both on and off the field.

IMG Academy provides growth opportunities for student-athletes and partners through an innovative suite of on-campus and online experiences:

• Boarding school and camps delivered on a state-of-the-art campus in Bradenton Florida
• Online coaching through IMG Academy focused on personal development through the lens of sport and performance
• Online college recruiting through NCSA College Recruiting and SportsRecruits providing industry-leading recruiting education tools and access to a network of more than 40000 college coaches for student-athletes families club coaches and event operators
• Elevate by IMG Academy a performance and personal development solution that delivers mindset leadership and wellbeing programming to schools colleges and organizations through a combination of digital content and immersive experiences

Position Summary:
IMG Academys Campus Technology Department is seeking a technically deep and operationally driven Manager of Network & Systems Engineering to lead a high-performing team of network and systems engineers supporting one of the worlds premier sports and education campuses. This is a practitioner-leader role and will need to be comfortable configuring a core switch or troubleshooting a complex systems issue as well as running a team standup or presenting to senior leadership. This role is the technical backbone of campus connectivity and computing infrastructure overseeing enterprise networking server systems identity management cloud and hybrid environments and the overall health and reliability of the platforms that power campus operations.

We are looking for someone that can be hands-on across network engineering and systems administration with a proven track record of leading technical teams and delivering infrastructure initiatives at scale. This individual is expected to remain technically active and current contributing directly to engineering work alongside team members not just directing from the sidelines. IMG Academy operates as a highly integrated campus environment and this role reflects that reality: This role will have opportunities crossing discipline lines when the campus needs it whether that means jumping into an AV issue pulling structured cabling or supporting physical infrastructure alongside other Campus Technology teams. They will drive the design deployment and ongoing evolution of campus network and systems infrastructure ensuring security scalability and operational excellence across a complex always-on environment that directly supports student-athletes faculty staff and events.


Position Responsibilities:

Team & Operational Leadership

• Lead mentor and manage a team of network and systems engineers fostering a culture of technical excellence accountability and continuous improvement.
• Establish and monitor KPIs SLAs and service metrics across network operations systems uptime and infrastructure reliability.
• Manage staffing schedules workload prioritization and on-call rotations to ensure 24/7 operational readiness for campus-critical systems.
• Conduct regular performance reviews provide coaching and development plans and identify training opportunities aligned to team and departmental goals.

Network Engineering

• Oversee the design deployment configuration and ongoing maintenance of campus-wide wired and wireless network infrastructure including LAN/WAN switching routing and wireless systems.
• Ensure network reliability redundancy and security across all campus environments including dormitories academic facilities athletic venues and administrative buildings.
• Lead the planning and execution of network refresh and upgrade cycles including hardware lifecycle management and capacity planning.
• Maintain and enforce advanced knowledge standards across the team covering Layer 1 through Layer 7 networking including routing protocols (BGP OSPF) VLANs QoS SD-WAN and wireless controllers.
• Partner with the Director of Campus Technology on network security strategy including firewall policy access controls network segmentation and intrusion detection/prevention systems.
• Drive adoption of SD-WAN cloud networking and network automation where appropriate to improve reliability and reduce operational overhead.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date network documentation diagrams and configuration records.

Systems Engineering

• Direct systems engineers in the administration maintenance and lifecycle management of server infrastructure including physical and virtual environments (VMware Hyper-V or equivalent).
• Oversee identity and access management systems including Active Directory/Entra ID DNS DHCP Group Policy Okta and MDM platforms (Microsoft Intune preferred).
• Ensure backup disaster recovery and business continuity plans are in place regularly tested and maintained for all critical systems.
• Drive adoption of cloud and hybrid infrastructure strategies including Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 in alignment with departmental roadmaps and campus needs.
• Maintain and enforce standards for OS patching endpoint management and system compliance across all campus-managed devices.
• Oversee storage infrastructure including SAN/NAS environments and backup systems ensuring capacity and performance meet campus demands.

Security & Compliance

• Serve as the operational lead for network and systems security working in partnership with campus leadership to maintain a strong security posture.
• Ensure consistent application of security policies access controls and compliance requirements across network and systems infrastructure.
• Lead incident response for network and systems-related security events coordinating investigation containment and remediation.
• Conduct regular reviews of vulnerability reports patch compliance and access logs; drive remediation efforts within established timelines.

Project & Vendor Management

• Lead and contribute to the planning and execution of capital and operational technology projects from scope definition and budgeting through implementation and closeout.
• Develop cost estimates and scopes of work for network and systems upgrades; present findings and recommendations to departmental leadership.
• Manage vendor relationships procurement and contract activities for network hardware software licensing and systems infrastructure.
• Track and manage project budgets purchase orders and financial controls in adherence to campus fiscal policies.
• Identify and implement process improvements that increase the efficiency reliability and cost-effectiveness of network and systems operations.

Communication & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Provide regular timely updates to the Director of Campus Technology and campus leadership on project status system health incidents and departmental metrics.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders across Athletics Academics Facilities Finance and Operations to ensure network and systems solutions align with campus program needs.
• Serve as the hands-on escalation point for major network outages and systems incidents actively participating in diagnosis and resolution alongside the team while ensuring clear timely communication with impacted stakeholders.
• Translate complex technical concepts and findings into clear executive-friendly communications and reporting.
• Provide cross-functional support across Campus Technology teams as campus needs dictate including AV and physical infrastructure assistance structured cabling and other layer 1 work reflecting the integrated all-hands nature of a complex always-on campus environment.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

• 7 years of progressive experience in network engineering systems administration or a related IT infrastructure discipline
• 3 years of experience in a people management or team lead role with demonstrated ability to lead and develop technical staff
• Strong hands-on knowledge of enterprise networking: routing (BGP OSPF) switching VLANs wireless firewalls and network security with demonstrated ability to independently troubleshoot and resolve complex issues at the network and systems layer
• Solid working knowledge of systems administration: Windows Server Active Directory/Entra ID DNS/DHCP virtualization (VMware or Hyper-V) and endpoint management
• Experience with identity and access management platforms including Okta or equivalent SSO/IAM solutions
• Proven experience managing technology projects including budgeting scheduling and vendor coordination
• Demonstrated ability to provide clear updates to senior leadership and executive audiences
• Strong analytical troubleshooting and decision-making skills across interconnected network and systems environments
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite Teams and IT service management/ticketing platforms (e.g. ServiceNow Jira or equivalent)
• Experience in a large campus higher education sports entertainment or multi-facility environment
• Relevant industry certifications: CCNP CCNA CompTIA Network/Security Microsoft Certified (Azure/M365 Administrator) or equivalent
• Experience with SD-WAN platforms cloud networking and hybrid infrastructure environments
• Familiarity with MDM platforms (Microsoft Intune preferred) and endpoint compliance frameworks
• Experience with network automation and scripting (Python Ansible or equivalent)
• Proficiency with network documentation tools (Visio NetBox or equivalent) and ITSM platforms
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure including IaaS Azure AD/Entra ID and hybrid connectivity
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent experience.

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Background Requirements:

• Requires a background check upon offer
• Requires a drug test upon offer

Dont meet every single requirement We are dedicated to building a diverse inclusive authentic workplace so if youre excited about this role but your past experience doesnt align perfectly with every qualification in the job description we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Get to know us better:

IMG Academy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws.