Senior Manager, Network Operations

About this role

As Marqeta’s Senior Manager, Network Operations, you will lead our Network Operations team through a critical infrastructure modernization initiative. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on technical expertise as we transition from traditional data center infrastructure toward a more cloud-native architecture while maintaining our industry-leading 99.999% uptime commitment.

You'll lead a team responsible for both our AWS-based cloud network infrastructure and physical Points of Presence (POPs) hosted in colocation facilities, driving automation initiatives and architectural evolution while ensuring the reliability our customers depend on.

We work Flexible First. This role can be performed remotely anywhere within Ontario or British Columbia, Canada. We’d love for you to join us! Backfill: This position is for an existing vacancy.

The Impact You’ll Have

Leadership & Team Management

• Shape the careers of a talented team of network and software engineers by creating an environment where technical excellence and operational mastery go hand in hand

• Build a high-performance culture where automation, reliability, and continuous improvement aren't just goals — they're the standard

• Drive talent strategy through performance management, career development planning, and bringing exceptional people into the organization

• Serve as a connective force across security, platform, and infrastructure teams, turning siloed expertise into unified outcomes

Infrastructure Modernization & Strategy

• Lead a pivotal transformation — moving Marqeta's infrastructure from physical data centers to a cloud-native network architecture that scales with the business

• Champion automation by leveraging Terraform and infrastructure-as-code practices, meaningfully reducing manual operations and accelerating delivery

• Own the strategic roadmap for right-sizing our physical POP footprint without ever compromising service reliability

• Design network solutions that are as secure as they are scalable, directly enabling Marqeta's growth and evolving business needs

Technical Operations & Hands-On Engineering

• Stay sharp at the hardware level — bringing hands-on expertise with Cisco switches, Palo Alto firewalls, and data center infrastructure to every decision you make

• Architect and optimize AWS cloud networking (VPCs, Transit Gateways, Direct Connect, and beyond), setting the foundation for a resilient cloud presence

• Protect 99.999% uptime through proactive monitoring, sharp incident response, and a relentless commitment to optimization

• Be the expert others turn to when complex network issues arise — leading troubleshooting across both cloud and on-premises environments

Corporate Network Management

• Take full ownership of Marqeta's corporate network infrastructure, from our Oakland HQ to every remote office location

• Oversee the Cisco Meraki platform — wireless access points, security appliances, and network management — ensuring everything just works

• Deliver secure, reliable Wi-Fi access across all corporate locations, setting the connectivity bar for a distributed workforce

• Own ISP relationships and circuit management, ensuring our HQ and office locations always have the bandwidth and redundancy they need

• Partner with the security team to implement and uphold corporate network security policies that protect the business without slowing it down

• Remove friction for our hybrid workforce — ensuring seamless, consistent connectivity whether employees are on-site or remote

• Plan ahead, managing corporate network capacity so infrastructure never becomes a bottleneck as Marqeta grows

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Cultivate strategic relationships with colocation providers like Equinix and key network hardware vendors, keeping Marqeta's infrastructure competitive

• Negotiate contracts and SLAs that meaningfully optimize both cost and performance outcomes

• Translate network strategy into business value by aligning capabilities with cross-functional stakeholder needs

• Bridge the gap between technical and non-technical audiences — communicating complex concepts and project progress with clarity and confidence

Who You Are

• You bring 7+ years of network engineering experience in production environments and at least 3 years leading and developing technical teams

• You're a hands-on Cisco expert — deeply comfortable with switching platforms and routing protocols like BGP and OSPF, and confident in your ability to operate at both a strategic and technical level

• You've architected and managed Palo Alto Networks firewall deployments and understand how network security decisions ripple across an organization

• You have deep, practical knowledge of AWS cloud networking — VPCs, Transit Gateways, Direct Connect,…