Engineer - IT Operations

talabat

Job Description

Role summary We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior IT Network Engineer to anchor our dynamic IT Operations team. The ideal candidate will possess a blend of advanced technical expertise in Network Engineering, strong project management capabilities, and a strategic mindset to oversee the A-Z launch and maintenance of our Dark Store and Kitchen infrastructure. This role requires a deep understanding of IT systems, excellent problem-solving abilities (Crisis Management), and a commitment to delivering "Gold Standard" solutions while actively mentoring junior engineers. The following experience is relevant to us

Strategic Leadership & Mentorship

• Team Guidance: Provide technical expertise to junior engineers (IC1/IC2). Resolve technical conflicts within the squad based on logical reasoning, ensuring the team moves forward without deadlock.
• Project Management: Lead infrastructure projects (Site Launches, Hub expansions) from conception to completion, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and resource coordination.
• Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Expansion, Operations, Logistics) to assess infrastructure needs and develop scalable, frugal solutions that support business growth across MENA.
• Talent Acquisition: Participate in the interview process for new engineers, raising the technical bar for the team.
• Tribe Alignment: Translate business goals into technical execution, explicitly driving the Tribe s KPIs (e.g., Speed to Launch, Uptime, SLA) to completion.

Advanced Technical Execution

• Gold Standard Design: Own the architecture for Fortinet Security Fabric. Independently design, implement, and maintain complex solutions that avoid duplication and conflict with existing implementations (Network Segmentation, Zero-Trust Architecture, LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, CCTV etc.) to meet business requirements, defining the configuration standards that the rest of the team follows with the support of L3 teams.
• Proactive Engineering: Proactively identify and address potential issues or bottlenecks within the infrastructure (e.g., bandwidth saturation, firewall policy conflicts), implementing preventive measures and automation scripts to ensure optimal performance.
• Emerging Tech: Stay abreast of industry trends (e.g., AI in CCTV, Zero-Touch Provisioning), recommending and implementing best practices to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our infrastructure.
• Crisis Management: Act as the primary technical escalation point for complex outages, utilizing advanced troubleshooting to resolve high-impact incidents (P1/P2) that junior engineers cannot solve. Utilizing advanced troubleshooting to resolve high-impact incidents and owning the Post-Mortem / RCA process to prevent recurrence.
• RFCs & Documentation: Author RFCs (Request for Comments) and ADRs (Architecture Decision Records) for major infrastructure changes, ensuring all designs are documented and reviewed before implementation.
• Innovation: Lead cross-team POCs (Proof of Concepts) to evaluate and test new hardware/software solutions before mass deployment.

Technical Skills

• Core Networking: Extensive experience designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise-level IT infrastructure solutions. Proficiency in networking concepts including TCP/IP, BGP/OSPF, VLANs, and Subnetting.
• Security & Firewalls: Expert proficiency in configuring and managing Fortinet Security Fabric (FortiGate NGFW, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer) and SD-WAN architecture.
• Monitoring: Proficiency in installing and configuring monitoring tools (e.g., Prometheus & Grafana ) for network monitoring and performance analysis.
• Physical Infrastructure: Deep knowledge of CCTV systems (Hikvision) including NVR storage calculations, AI analytics, and structured cabling standards for warehouses.
• Containarization & Virtualization: Strong knowledge of containerization (Docker/Podman) and familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS/Azure) for hybrid-network connectivity.
• Automation: Familiarity with scripting (Python, Bash) and automation tools to drive operational efficiency.

Soft Skills

• Communication: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts (risks, trade-offs) to non-technical stakeholders (Ops Managers, City Managers).
• Mentorship: Proven leadership skills, with the ability to mentor and motivate team members without formally managing HR. You encourage dissent and diversity of thought in technical problem solving.
• Adaptability: Willingness to learn new technologies and methodologies quickly in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Time Management: Effective prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple site launches simultaneously while shielding the team from burnout.

Business Skills

• Strategic Alignment: Understanding of business processes (Quick Commerce/Logistics), with the ability to align infrastructure initiatives with strategic goals (e.g., "Speed to Launch").
• Frugality & Budgeting: Proven track record of delivering projects on time and within budget, applying a frugal mindset to optimize costs without sacrificing quality.
• Risk Management: Ability to assess and mitigate risks (e.g., single points of failure in warehouse connectivity), making data-driven decisions to ensure project success.