City, Urban, Building, Campus, Downtown, Metropolis, College, Person, Neighborhood, Grass

Associate Network Engineer

Columbia University Information Technology

Associate Network Engineer

  • 560084
  • New York
  • Columbia University Information Technology
  • Full Time
  • Opening on: Oct 9 2026
  • Grade 11
  • Job Type: Officer of Administration
  • Regular/Temporary: Regular
  • Hours Per Week: 35
  • Standard Work Schedule: Standard
  • Building: Watson Hall
  • Salary Range: $70,000 - $90,000
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
 

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director, Network Engineering; the Associate Network Engineer is responsible for the technical design, implementation, and coordination of multiple network infrastructure projects.  The candidate must be versed in wired and wireless network systems.


Responsibilities

  • Assists with tasks in support of the development of network architecture and standards.
  • Tests new technologies in support of University objectives.
  • Recommends technology for specific applications.
  • Calculates project cost estimates.
  • Works within budgets to deliver projects on time while working under tight deadlines.
  • Interacts with and provides direction to network technicians installing structured cabling systems.
  • Attends construction meetings, reviews and comments on IT construction drawings and collaborates with architects and design engineers on both large- and small-scale construction projects.
  • Ensures that all technical decisions result in coherent network designs using the most effective methods and tools.
  • Performs system maintenance, configures equipment, installs software and upgrades, installs patches, and monitors system status. 
  • Designs campus-wide wired and wireless network architecture.
  • Drafts and presents change requests to the Change Advisory Board.
  • Performs network engineering tasks for multiple projects supporting several University initiatives, including the CU Manhattanville Campus expansion.
  • Develops original and creative technical solutions to ongoing network engineering efforts.
  • Responsible for the documentation of network designs, including reviewing and archiving as-built network drawings, wireless survey test results, generating network architecture logical diagrams, IPv4 and IPv6 address assignments, wireless access point placement and wireless controller configuration, access layer, distribution layer and core router configurations.
  • Responsible for generating work orders which include detailed procedures for network installations and changes to be performed by other team members.
  • Provides project management oversight of complex, cross-technology projects.
  • Collaborates with customer groups to define and translate user requirements into technical solutions.
  • Works with minimal direction and supervision, makes time for unplanned assignments and adapts to changing priorities.Interfaces with faculty and staff.
  • Participates in a periodic after-hours on-call rotation.
  • All other duties as assigned.
  •  

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required. 
  • Minimum 2-4 years of related experience.
  • Expertise in one or more technical specialties, including LAN/WAN, Ethernet, voice, and wireless technologies.
  • 2+ years of related work experience in IT working with the following network systems and technologies:
    • Structured cabling systems

    • Power distribution and UPS systems

    • 802.11 wireless systems

    • IP network protocols and common network configurations

  • Understanding of cooling and electrical requirements for data closets and data centers.
  • Ability to plan, implement, test, and troubleshoot hardware & software.
  • Knowledge and understanding of the IP protocol and LAN/WLAN administration in a secure but open   environment.
  • Knowledge and understanding of routing protocols, including EIGRP, OSPF and BGP.
  • Knowledge and understanding of  Layer 2 network technologies, including Spanning Tree, DHCP Snooping, ARP Inspection
  • Working knowledge of Cisco switches, routers, and operating systems (IOS, IOS-XE, IOS-XR, NX-OS, ASA OS).
  • Presentation of a professional appearance.
  • Meticulous attention to detail.
  • Ability to work with minimal supervision.
  • Ability to work weekend and off-hour work on occasion.
  •  

Preferred Qualifications

  • Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification or equivalent experience.
  • Cisco Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) certification or equivalent experience.
  • Project management experience.
  • Familiarity with NYC building and electrical codes.
  • Familiarity with BICSI recommended best practices.
  • Hands-on experience with the physical installation and certification of structured cabling systems.
  • Familiarity with Aruba wireless solutions.
  • Familiarity with remote access and site-to-site VPNs.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

Similar Jobs

Title Location Department Summary
Systems Administrator New York Department of Computer Science Interested in learning about Data Centers and supporting AI research? The Department of Computer Science at Columbia University is looking for a Linux systems administrator whose primary role will be to support computing research infrastructure in the department’s data center, which is currently undergoing an upgrade which will allow it to host a new high-end research GPU cluster. The successful applicant will learn all aspects of running a research data center, including power, cooling, management, and monitoring. They will also learn how to manage and maintain a research compute cluster, including scheduler configuration, high speed network, high speed storage, and GPU technology. Finally the software stack used by the researchers will need to be installed, maintained, and upgraded. Other responsibilities will include all aspects of supporting the department, such as network security, desktop administration, and A/V support. We are looking for somebody with a solid foundation in Linux who has an eagerness to learn and the energy and enthusiasm to work in a challenging environment. Familiarity with any of the following will be considered a bonus but is not a requirement: DNS, DHCP, TCP/IP, SNMP.
Manager, Desktop Support Columbia University Medical Center CUIMC IT The Manager, Desktop Support oversees daily operations of the desktop support team, ensuring timely and effective technical assistance for CUIMC faculty, staff, and students. This role manages service delivery, staff development, and process improvements to maintain high standards of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. The Manager collaborates with other IT units to support institutional goals and uphold security and compliance standards.
Systems Engineer, HPC/Storage Columbia University Medical Center CUIMC IT Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), part of a premier Ivy League institution and home to nearly 100 Nobel laureates, advances world-class biomedical and computational research spanning cancer genetics, genomics, molecular biology, and AI-driven discovery. The CUIMC Central IT (CUIMCIT) High-Performance Computing (HPC) team supports this mission through a rapidly evolving research computing environment featuring advanced GPU platforms, large-scale parallel storage, hybrid cloud integration, and next-generation scientific software. We are seeking an experienced Systems Engineer, HPC & Storage to help modernize, operate, and support this mission-critical research infrastructure. The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise, a strong service orientation, and the ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and technical teams. This position participates in a 24x7 operational model and may require occasional off-hours support for critical incidents.