Network Manager (Hybrid) Bolingbrook, IL

JOIN US AND "CREATE YOUR VISION"

ABOUT US 

S&S Activewear is a leading North American, tech enabled specialty distributor of imprintable apparel, including t shirts, fleece, athletic wear, headwear, workwear, scrubs and accessories. We pride ourselves on being the “critical link” that enables our 100+ brand partners such as Adidas, Columbia and Gildan to reach our hyper fragmented base of customers, comprised of apparel decorators, eRetailers and promotional products distributors that embellish apparel items for diverse end consumer use cases (e.g., everyday wear, concerts, fitness attire, life events, team sports, etc.). At S&S, we differentiate in the market through a customer service focus, strategic product portfolio, world class distribution infrastructure, a collaborative growth culture and a relentless focus on technology and innovation.

Our success has compounded since the Company’s humble beginnings in 1988 as a regional t shirt distributor to a leading, multibillion dollar value-added distribution platform that drives market penetration for our suppliers while enabling growth, operations and fulfillment for a diverse range of customers across channels and business sizes.

Today, we continue to strive to be the apparel distributor of choice by inspiring and fostering growth for customers, employees and suppliers, anchored in our commitment to Lead with Respect, Never Settle, Own the Outcome, Win Together, and the belief that Innovation Powers Our Hustle. These values guide how we serve, how we collaborate and how we continuously improve, ensuring we deliver on our promise of service, deep relationships, innovation, continuous improvement and accountability.

ABOUT THE ROLE 

The Network Systems Manager is responsible for the strategic oversight, design, delivery, and ongoing operation of S&S Activewear’s enterprise network infrastructure across all North American locations. This role leads a team of engineers while remaining hands-on in architecture, ensuring secure, scalable, and highly available WAN, LAN, and wireless environments. The position drives modernization initiatives, enforces technical governance, and ensures network performance aligns with business operations across distribution centers, corporate offices, and cloud platforms. This position requires the use of a personal vehicle for work‑related travel.

SCHEDULE & COMPENSATION 

Monday-Friday, Full-Time, Non-Exempt (Remote Available) 

Base Pay: $115,000 - $145,000 annually with bonus potential 

Hybrid Schedule

Location: 220 Remington Blvd, Bolingbrook, IL 

BENEFITS

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your life, health, and future. Benefits begin 0–90 days after hire and include Vacation, Personal, and Sick time; Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, and Disability coverage; Flexible Spending Accounts; and a 401(k) plan. You’ll also enjoy discounts on brand‑name apparel, fun employee events, and meaningful opportunities for growth and advancement. Join a company that invests in you from day one

WHAT YOU WILL DO 

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing network engineering team.
• Manage day-to-day operations, priorities, and incident response.
• Partner with IT leadership and business stakeholders to align network strategy.
• Establish performance expectations and career development plans.

Network Architecture & Strategy

• Own enterprise network architecture and technical governance.
• Drive segmentation, automation, and cloud integration initiatives.
• Design highly available and resilient network solutions.
• Lead capacity planning and lifecycle roadmaps.

Operations & Service Delivery

• Oversee infrastructure across routers, firewalls, switches, wireless, SD-WAN, and VPN.
• Ensure proactive monitoring, alerting, and observability.
• Lead incident management and root cause analysis.
• Manage WAN circuits and ISP relationships.

Security, Compliance & Governance

• Enforce network security standards and segmentation strategies.
• Align operations with audit and compliance requirements.
• Lead structured change management practices.

Documentation & Standards

• Maintain diagrams, standards, and operating procedures.
• Establish configuration templates and governance standards.

Vendor & Financial Management

• Manage vendor relationships and service contracts.
• Develop and manage infrastructure budgets.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR 

• 7+ years of network engineering experience.
• 2+ years in a leadership role.
• Strong expertise in routing, switching, firewalls, wireless, VPN, and SD-WAN.
• Experience in multi-site enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Entra ID / Active Directory.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Relevant certifications (Palo Alto, Aruba, Security+).
• Experience with automation or infrastructure-as-code tools.

Core Competencies

• Strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration.
• High accountability and adaptability.

Work Environment & Travel

• Support of multi-site operations across the U.S. and Canada.
• Participation in on-call escalation for critical incidents.

Physical Demands 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or listen.  

Working Environment 

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely involves standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  

Equal Opportunity Employer 

S&S Activewear welcomes people of all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to creating a diverse culture and supporting human growth. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. We conduct business without regard to sex, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, military status, status as a veteran, or any other protected characteristic. Our policy is to recruit, hire, train, promote, assign, transfer, and terminate employees based on their own ability, achievement, experience and conduct and other legitimate business reasons. S&S participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.  This job offer is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check.