Network & Infrastructure Specialist Bilingual English/Spanish

The Network & Infrastructure Specialist is accountable for the reliability, security, monitoring, documentation, standardization, and continuous improvement of Talpa's network and connectivity infrastructure across corporate offices, retail locations, distribution facilities, and cloud-connected environments.

The role serves as the primary technical owner for LAN/WAN connectivity, SD-WAN, switching, routing, firewalls, wireless infrastructure, ISP circuits, VPN connectivity, network monitoring, and network-focused cybersecurity controls.

The Network & Infrastructure Specialist maintains technical ownership of network and infrastructure incidents from diagnosis through verified restoration. The role coordinates service providers and vendors, performs structured troubleshooting, communicates technical status and risks, validates resolution, documents changes and findings, and recommends preventive improvements.

The role works closely with the IT Operations Lead during store-impacting incidents, deployments, new-store openings, and major technology changes. The Network & Infrastructure Specialist retains technical accountability for networking and infrastructure, while the IT Operations Lead coordinates operational priority, business impact, stakeholder communication, and cross-functional execution.

This is a hands-on technical role requiring strong ownership, troubleshooting ability, documentation discipline, vendor coordination, field support, security awareness, and the ability to support critical infrastructure in a fast-paced multi-location retail environment.

The Network & Infrastructure Specialist ensures Talpa's connectivity infrastructure remains reliable, secure, resilient, standardized, and capable of supporting daily operations and future growth.

Operational Authority: Within standards, priorities, and approved architecture established by the IT Director, the Network & Infrastructure Specialist may troubleshoot and resolve infrastructure incidents, coordinate ISP and vendor escalations, perform approved network configuration changes, organize maintenance activities, maintain technical standards and documentation, validate infrastructure readiness, and recommend network improvements. Budget commitments, policy exceptions, major contractual decisions, cybersecurity risk acceptance, and changes to enterprise architecture remain subject to IT Director approval.

1. →Own Talpa's network and connectivity infrastructure across corporate and retail locations, including LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, switches, routers, firewalls, wireless access points, ISP circuits, VPNs, VLANs, DHCP, DNS, routing, segmentation, and related network services.
2. →Monitor network health, availability, performance, capacity, and reliability. Investigate outages, latency, instability, packet loss, wireless issues, VPN failures, circuit failures, and degraded connectivity using structured troubleshooting and root-cause analysis.
3. →Maintain technical ownership of network and infrastructure incidents through verified restoration. Coordinate ISPs, SD-WAN providers, telecommunications providers, contractors, and network vendors while maintaining internal accountability, documentation, escalation, testing, and validation.
4. →Support network-focused cybersecurity and infrastructure protection, including secure firewall and network-device configuration, segmentation, remote-access controls, PCI-related network controls, infrastructure vulnerability remediation, and escalation of suspected cybersecurity incidents. Enterprise cybersecurity strategy, governance, and risk acceptance remain under IT Director oversight.
5. →Own the networking and connectivity workstream for new store openings, relocations, remodels, and major infrastructure deployments. Coordinate circuit installation and activation, equipment preparation, configuration, connectivity testing, infrastructure readiness, go-live support, stabilization, and technical handoff.
6. →Maintain accurate and current network documentation, including topology diagrams, circuit information, configurations, equipment inventories, standards, SOPs, runbooks, troubleshooting procedures, change records, and recovery information. Ensure critical infrastructure knowledge is documented and appropriate backup coverage is developed.
7. →Assess network resiliency, redundancy, performance, capacity, lifecycle, security, and scalability risks. Recommend improvements based on reliability, business impact, security, operational requirements, and cost awareness, including failover, circuit redundancy, monitoring, equipment refresh, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
8. →Partner with the IT Operations Lead and other IT functions during store-impacting incidents, deployments, openings, and major changes. Provide technical diagnosis, risks, remediation plans, restoration status, validation requirements, and documentation while preserving clear technical and operational accountability.
9. →Provide the IT Director with concise, decision-ready reporting on network health, outages, recurring infrastructure problems, ISP and vendor escalations, new-store readiness, capacity and resiliency risks, security concerns, corrective actions, accountable parties, target dates, and decisions requiring leadership attention.

Success in this position is demonstrated by reliable and secure connectivity; clear technical ownership of network incidents; timely troubleshooting and escalation; reduced recurrence of infrastructure problems; accurate network diagrams, inventories, and configuration records; effective ISP and vendor management; consistent infrastructure standards; successful network readiness for new stores and deployments; stronger resiliency and backup coverage; and practical recommendations that improve reliability, security, performance, and scalability.

Specific targets will be established using reliable operational baselines and approved departmental priorities.

Work Environment, Travel & Availability

Talpa operates a multi-location retail environment where network and infrastructure availability directly affect business operations.

• Regular travel between corporate offices and retail locations.
• Hands-on participation in network and infrastructure activities when necessary.
• Participation in new-store openings, relocations, remodels, circuit activations, and major technology deployments.
• Participation in infrastructure migrations, upgrades, testing, and failover activities.
• Participation in the established IT on-call process.
• Availability for planned evening and weekend infrastructure activities when required.
• Flexibility to participate in occasional overnight deployments or maintenance when work cannot safely be completed during store operating hours.
• Participation in critical incident escalation when connectivity or infrastructure significantly affects business operations.

This position is not expected to be personally available 24/7. After-hours responsibilities operate through established on-call, escalation, maintenance, and deployment processes.

• 4+ years of experience in networking, infrastructure support, systems support, or a comparable technical environment, preferably supporting multiple locations.
• Strong working knowledge of TCP/IP, LAN/WAN, VLANs, subnetting, switching, routing, DHCP, DNS, VPNs, and wireless networking.
• Experience configuring and troubleshooting managed switches, wireless access points, firewalls, internet circuits, and VPN connectivity.
• Experience supporting SD-WAN, WAN connectivity, or comparable multi-location network infrastructure.
• Working knowledge of network security, segmentation, secure network configuration, firewall principles, and infrastructure security practices.
• Experience with network monitoring, incident troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and technical escalation.
• Experience coordinating with ISPs, telecommunications providers, contractors, network vendors, and other technical resources through resolution.
• Strong documentation skills, including network diagrams, configurations, inventories, incident findings, change records, and technical procedures.
• Strong troubleshooting, ownership, organization, communication, and decision-making skills, with the ability to manage critical infrastructure issues independently while escalating material risks appropriately.
• Willingness to travel regularly between locations, participate in an established on-call rotation, and support occasional evening, weekend, or overnight infrastructure activities as business needs require.

• Retail, grocery, distribution, or multi-location network experience.
• Hands-on SD-WAN administration experience.
• Firewall administration experience.
• Experience with network monitoring and infrastructure-management platforms.
• Experience supporting new-store or new-location network deployments.
• Experience with network resiliency, failover, redundancy testing, and disaster-recovery connectivity.
• Understanding of PCI network segmentation and payment-environment connectivity.
• Exposure to Azure networking, site-to-site VPNs, cloud connectivity, or hybrid infrastructure.
• CompTIA Network+, Cisco CCNA, CompTIA Security+, or relevant network/firewall vendor certification.

Bilingual English/Spanish required.