Lead Director - Network Core Infrastructure Operations

We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.

Position Summary

CVS Health is seeking a highly motivated and experienced network leader to join our Infrastructure Operations & Service Delivery organization as the Lead Director - Network Core Infrastructure Operations. You will lead the engineers who keep our core routing and switching environment running - infrastructure that spans over 10,000 applications (approximately 4,100 cloud-hosted), serves 190,000 users, encompasses 10,000+ locations, and includes multiple datacenters and multi-cloud environments.

As the Lead Director – Network Core Infrastructure Operations, you will be accountable for the stability, performance, and security of the company's WAN and LAN, the core network services (DNS, DHCP, and IPAM) that everything else depends on, and the day-to-day operations of a Level 1–3 network operations team. This is a deliberately balanced leadership role: we are looking for a leader who still knows the technology deeply and can go hands-on when it matters, while coaching the team, managing vendors, setting operational strategy, and driving problem and change management.

Key Responsibilities:

Network Infrastructure Management (Core Routing and Switching):

• Own the operational health, performance, and security of the core routing and switching environment across datacenter, campus, WAN edge, and cloud connectivity, built primarily on Cisco platforms (e.g., Nexus, Catalyst, ISR/ASR)
• Oversee the design, implementation, and maintenance of resilient WAN and LAN networks to ensure high availability, performance, and security
• Manage routing and switching operations — BGP, OSPF/EIGRP, VLANs, spanning tree, VXLAN/EVPN, VRFs, QoS, and access control — including turn-ups, changes, and remediation

Core Network Services (DNS / DHCP / IPAM):

• Operate and safeguard DNS (Domain Name System), DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), and IPAM services using Infoblox for reliable name resolution and address management across the enterprise
• Maintain supporting services such as NTP and network authentication (e.g., RADIUS / 802.1X) in partnership with identity and security teams

SDN, SD-WAN, and Connectivity:

• Implement and oversee software-defined networking and SD-WAN capabilities (Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and ACI) to enhance network agility, efficiency, and scalability
• Manage connectivity to multi-cloud environments and coordinate carrier / WAN services

Network Monitoring:

• Ensure network device monitoring is captured, acknowledged, and reported, and streamline monitoring into a single-pane-of-glass view
• Create automated reporting on network health, outages, and status, and maintain a defined process for keeping all network monitoring tools current and accurate

Network Stabilization and Problem Management:

• Proactively identify potential network issues and vulnerabilities, implementing solutions to prevent downtime or service disruptions
• Lead problem-solving initiatives, investigating and resolving complex, high-impact network issues promptly and efficiently, including root-cause analysis

Change Control and Implementation:

• Develop and enforce robust change control processes to manage network configuration modifications effectively
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement changes while minimizing impact on ongoing operations
• Review daily network changes with the team and provide a workflow that drives a high success rate for all approved network changes

Team Leadership and Mentoring:

• Lead and develop a Level 1–3 network operations team, providing direction, guidance, mentorship, and career growth while fostering a collaborative, high-accountability culture
• Manage staffing and shift coverage to sustain a stable, flexible, and available network for all customers

Metrics, Capacity, and Strategic Planning:

• Develop and track KPIs for network performance, reliability, and efficiency, and use them to identify areas for improvement and build strategic plans
• Lead capacity planning and forecast investment needs across the core routing and switching estate

Automation and AI-Assisted Operations:

• Drive practical automation of routine operational tasks — diagnostics, configuration compliance, and reporting — governed by change control, approvals, testing, and rollback
• Where it adds value, adopt AI-assisted / AIOps capabilities (e.g., telemetry-based anomaly detection, alert correlation and noise reduction, assisted troubleshooting) to reduce detection and resolution times, with engineers reviewing and approving all recommendations

Required Qualifications:

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