Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Network Implementation Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Network Implementation Manager is responsible for leading end‑to‑end network deployment programs across enterprise, branch, data center, and cloud environments. This role combines technical mastery of routing, switching, security and SD‑WAN technologies with program and stakeholder management to deliver on time, within budget, and to defined service level agreements (SLAs). The manager drives deployment standards, cutover planning, validation testing, vendor coordination, and continuous improvement of implementation processes.

Key target keywords: Network Implementation Manager, SD‑WAN implementation, WAN design, network cutover, routing & switching, MPLS, cloud networking, vendor management, deployment project manager.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Network Engineer / Network Architect
Technical Project Manager or Implementation Engineer
Field Services or Site Implementation Lead

Advancement To:

Senior Manager, Network Services / Infrastructure
Head of Network Operations or Director of Network Engineering
Program Manager for Global Network Transformation

Lateral Moves:

Service Delivery Manager
Cloud Network Implementation Manager
Managed Services Operations Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and manage full lifecycle network implementation projects (planning, design validation, staging, installation, cutover, acceptance, and handover) for enterprise WAN, LAN, data center interconnect, and cloud networking initiatives, ensuring delivery to scope, schedule, quality, and budget.
Develop and maintain detailed implementation plans, runbooks, cutover scripts, rollback strategies, and acceptance criteria for complex multi‑site deployments, including coordination of maintenance windows and cross‑functional resources.
Design and validate network configurations for routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and SD‑WAN appliances (Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Fortinet, Palo Alto) to ensure secure, resilient, and high‑performance connectivity across sites and cloud platforms.
Drive network acceptance testing (NAT, routing convergence, BGP/OSPF verification, QoS validation, security policy enforcement, throughput and latency benchmarking) and produce clear test plans, test results, remediation items, and sign‑off documentation.
Coordinate vendor selection, contractual scoping, SOW negotiation, and vendor performance management for hardware, software, cabling, and third‑party implementation services to align delivery with procurement and cost objectives.
Serve as the primary implementation escalation point for Network Operations Center (NOC), field technicians, and third‑party integrators during staging, deployment, and cutovers to rapidly diagnose and remediate issues.
Establish and enforce standard operating procedures, configuration baselines, and change control processes to reduce risk during deployments and ensure consistent, auditable network builds.
Plan and manage detailed resource schedules, procurements, and logistics for on‑site installations, ensuring technicians, spare parts, and staging labs are available and compliant with safety and site access policies.
Create and maintain deployment documentation, as‑built diagrams, IP addressing plans, device inventories, firmware/OS baselines, and configuration backups to support ongoing operations and disaster recovery.
Collaborate with network architecture, security, cloud, and application teams to validate design assumptions, interdependencies, and post‑deployment operational support models.
Manage project financials including budget forecasting, cost tracking, change order management, and variance reporting to stakeholders and finance partners.
Drive automation and scripting initiatives (Ansible, Python, Terraform) to standardize device provisioning, reduce manual errors, accelerate deployments, and integrate with CI/CD pipelines where applicable.
Implement and enforce security hardening and compliance requirements (firewall rules, segmentation, encryption, logging, and monitoring) during network deployments to meet regulatory and internal audit standards.
Lead technical readiness reviews and pre‑cutover checklists with cross‑functional teams (security, voice, applications, facilities) to ensure all stakeholders are prepared for go‑live.
Establish SLAs and KPIs for implementation success (time to provision, mean time to resolve, first‑time success rate, post‑cutover incidents) and report performance to senior management with continuous improvement recommendations.
Conduct risk assessments, develop mitigation plans, and execute contingency execution during high‑risk migrations or global cutovers to protect business continuity.
Oversee pilot deployments and phased rollouts, gather operational feedback, and refine deployment standards and training materials prior to wide‑scale launches.
Mentor and develop implementation engineers and field technicians, building a consistent capability for repeatable, high‑quality network deployments.
Coordinate with cloud architects to integrate on‑premises networks with cloud networking (AWS Transit Gateway, Azure Virtual WAN, Google Cloud interconnect) ensuring routing, security, and performance alignment.
Manage communications and stakeholder expectations through program dashboards, weekly steering committees, and issue/RACI logs to maintain alignment and timely decision making.
Oversee warranty, RMA, and hardware lifecycle activities during implementation programs to ensure minimal downtime and optimal asset utilization.
Apply ITIL change, incident, and problem management practices to ensure disciplined rollout processes, effective incident escalation, and root cause analysis for implementation faults.
Drive vendor and partner onboarding, including technical enablement, certification expectations, escalation matrices, and post‑deployment service reviews.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Develop training materials and run operational handover sessions for network operations and support teams.
Support network capacity planning and forecasting as part of deployment planning.
Participate in procurement evaluation and technical RFP responses for network solutions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Enterprise network design and implementation (WAN/LAN, VLANs, STP, VTP).
Routing and switching protocols: BGP, OSPF, EIGRP; MPLS, EVPN, VXLAN.
SD‑WAN technologies and providers (Cisco Viptela/SD‑WAN, VMware/VeloCloud, Fortinet SD‑WAN).
Firewall and security appliance configuration and integration (Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco ASA/FTD).
Cloud networking: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud connectivity (VPN, Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, Transit Gateway).
Network automation and scripting: Python, Ansible, Terraform, REST APIs.
Voice and UC network considerations (QoS, SIP trunking, VLANs for voice).
Network monitoring, performance testing and NMS tools (SolarWinds, Netcool, Splunk, ThousandEyes).
System staging, lab validation, firmware and OS upgrade planning.
Cutover planning, rollback strategies, and complex migration techniques.
Vendor management and contract/SOW negotiation for hardware and services.
Security and compliance standards (PCI, HIPAA, GDPR) as they affect network design.
Wireless and mobility integration for campus and branch environments (Wi‑Fi design basics).
Experience with site logistics, cabling standards, and on‑site installation coordination.
Familiarity with ITIL processes and change management frameworks.

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills; able to translate technical details into business impact.
Leadership and people development: coaching implementation teams and vendors.
Excellent problem‑solving and decisive escalation management under pressure.
Project and program management skills with tight attention to schedules and milestones.
Negotiation and vendor performance management capability.
Clear written and verbal documentation skills for runbooks, playbooks, and postmortems.
Ability to influence cross‑functional teams and drive alignment in matrixed organizations.
Time management and prioritization across concurrent global deployments.
Analytical mindset with a focus on continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
Customer‑centric approach and strong service delivery orientation.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Information Systems, Network Engineering, or an MBA for senior management roles.
Professional certifications such as CCNP/CCIE (Routing & Switching or Service Provider), PMP or Prince2, and ITIL Foundation.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Network Engineering
Electrical / Electronics Engineering
Information Systems
Telecommunications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10 years of progressive experience in network engineering and implementation, with at least 2–4 years in a lead or manager role overseeing deployment programs.

Preferred:

8+ years delivering complex multi‑site enterprise network implementations, with direct experience in SD‑WAN rollouts, MPLS migrations, cloud networking integrations, and managing third‑party integrators.
Demonstrated success in project budgeting, vendor negotiations, and delivering to SLA/KPI targets.