SVP IT Network Administrator

Description

Who We Are & What We Do:

If you’re looking for an exciting career opportunity, you’re in the right place. West Coast Community Bank is a top-rated community bank with a focus on serving the banking needs of businesses and individuals along the Central Coast, in Silicon Valley and throughout the Bay Area. We engage in impactful volunteering and support the greater economic vitality within our four-county reach. Our success is due to our amazing team of exceptional, experienced, knowledgeable and success-oriented employees.

We’ve been recognized with numerous community leadership awards and our team gives 2000+ hours of volunteer service each year.

A few honors we’ve received locally include:

• Good Times Best of Santa Cruz – Best Bank, 12 consecutive years
• Santa Cruz Sentinel Readers’ Choice – #1 Best Bank, 9 years
• Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce – Business of the Year 2018 and 2021
• Press Banner’s Best of Scotts Valley – Best Bank
• Register Pajaronian’s Best of Pajaro Valley – Best Bank
• Second Harvest Food Bank – Big Step and Platinum Awards for Holiday Food and Fund Drive
• Farm Bureau of Santa Cruz County and Agri-Culture – Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award

Position Overview:

The SVP, IT Network Administrator is responsible for architecting, designing, implementing, and managing the bank’s network infrastructure. This includes overseeing the bank's network topology, phone systems, VLAN, WAN, switches, routers, and firewalls to ensure seamless, secure, and efficient IT operations. The ideal candidate will possess extensive hands-on experience with Cisco networking solutions, Palo Alto firewalls, and Panorama, along with a proven track record in managing and securing complex financial institution networks. Additionally, this role will supervise other IT engineers, providing leadership, mentorship, and technical guidance. The SVP will also collaborate with the bank's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to ensure the bank firewalls and network are protected against an ever-evolving cyber threat landscape, as well as with the bank's 24x7 Security Operations Center (SOC), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) teams to enhance cybersecurity monitoring and response. 

Requirements

Key Responsibilities:

Network Architecture & Design: 

• Architect, design, and implement scalable, secure, and highly available network infrastructure to support banking operations. 
• Develop and maintain a robust network topology that ensures optimal performance and redundancy. 
• Design and manage VLANs to optimize network segmentation, security, and performance. 
• Evaluate and integrate emerging networking technologies to enhance system efficiency. 

Network Administration & Management

• Administer and maintain Cisco-based network infrastructure, including routers, switches, and wireless solutions. 
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize WAN and LAN connectivity across all branches and data centers. 
• Implement and manage Quality of Service (QoS) policies to ensure critical applications receive priority bandwidth. 
• Oversee the bank’s phone systems, ensuring seamless communication and VoIP optimization. 

Security & Compliance

• Configure, monitor, and maintain Palo Alto firewalls and Panorama for network security and threat prevention. 
• Ensure compliance with FFIEC, FDIC, OCC, and other regulatory requirements regarding network security. 
• Implement and manage network access controls, VPNs, and security policies to safeguard sensitive banking data. 
• Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and mitigate risks. 
• Collaborate with the bank's CISO to ensure the bank firewalls and network are protected against an ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. 
• Work closely with the bank's 24x7 SOC, MDR, and SIEM teams to enhance cybersecurity monitoring and response. 

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

• Design and implement network redundancy and failover solutions to ensure business continuity. 
• Develop and maintain disaster recovery (DR) plans related to network infrastructure. 
• Participate in periodic DR tests to validate network resiliency and recovery capabilities. 

Project Management & Vendor Coordination

• Lead network-related projects, including infrastructure upgrades, migrations, and implementations. 
• Work with third-party vendors and service providers to evaluate, procure, and manage network solutions. 
• Provide technical guidance to IT staff and other departments regarding network best practices. 

Monitoring & Performance Optimization

• Utilize network monitoring tools to proactively detect and resolve issues. 
• Optimize network performance through continuous analysis and fine-tuning of configurations. 
• Maintain detailed documentation of network configurations, policies, and procedures. 

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of IT engineers, ensuring effective collaboration and professional growth. 
• Assign tasks, set priorities, and oversee project execution within the IT engineering team. 
• Conduct performance evaluations and provide continuous feedback to enhance team efficiency. 

Qualifications & Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred). 
• Experience: Minimum of 10 years of experience in network administration, with at least 5 years in a senior-level or leadership role within a financial institution. 
• Certifications: 
• Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) – Required 
• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE) – Preferred 
• Technical Expertise: 
• Strong experience with Cisco networking technologies, including routers, switches, and wireless solutions. 
• In-depth knowledge of Palo Alto firewalls and Panorama centralized management. 
• Expertise in VLAN, WAN, and network segmentation best practices. 
• VoIP and phone system administration, including call routing and QoS. 
• Advanced understanding of network security, intrusion detection/prevention, and SIEM tools. 
• Proficiency in scripting and automation for network management (Python, PowerShell, etc.). 
• Soft Skills: 
• Strong leadership and decision-making abilities. 
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills. 
• Effective communication and collaboration with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 
• Ability to work in a high-pressure, regulatory-compliant environment. 

Additional Considerations

• Must be willing to work on-site with occasional travel to branch locations.
• Participation in on-call rotation for critical network incidents.
• Ability to obtain and maintain necessary security clearances and certifications as required by the bank.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Vacation, sick leave, paid holidays
• Paid volunteer time
• Employer paid life insurance, long term and short term disability
• 401(k) with employer matching
• Ongoing training, professional development and career advancement opportunities

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a teammate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, stoop, kneel, and use hands and fingers to operate typical office equipment such as a computer, telephone, mouse and keyboard.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work.
• Light to moderate lifting may be required.
• Regular, predictable attendance is required; including the occasional evening and weekend work as business demands dictate.
• Travel between company locations as needed.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teammate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Moderate noise (i.e., business office with computers, phone, and printers, moderate traffic).
• Ability to work in a confined area.
• Ability to sit or stand at a computer terminal for an extended period.