Director, Network Engineering

About the Role Gap Inc. is seeking a transformational Director of Network Engineering to lead the strategy, architecture, engineering, and modernization of our global network platforms supporting stores, hubs, supply chain, data centers, and cloud environments. This leader will drive the evolution of a large-scale enterprise network organization toward a cloud-first, automation-driven, platform engineering model focused on resiliency, scalability, observability, and operational excellence. The role is critical in enabling Gap Inc.’s retail modernization initiatives, cloud transformation strategy, and next-generation digital capabilities across more than 2,500 global store locations and enterprise operations. The Director of Network Engineering will lead a globally distributed engineering organization with teams located across San Francisco, Hyderabad Development Center (HDC), and multiple North America locations. This individual will partner closely with Infrastructure, Security, Cloud, Store Technology, Product Engineering, and Operations teams to deliver secure, reliable, and high-performing network services at enterprise scale. This role requires a hybrid technical leader who combines strong people leadership and organizational influence with deep technical expertise across enterprise networking, cloud networking, automation, observability, and modern infrastructure engineering practices. What You'll Do Lead Enterprise Network Transformation Drive the modernization of Gap Inc.’s global network ecosystem across stores, campuses, supply chain , data centers, and cloud platforms. Lead strategic initiatives including store network modernization, infrastructure-as-code adoption, cloud network standardization, and data center exit programs. Evolve the organization from traditional network operations toward an automation-first, platform engineering, and SRE-aligned operating model. Define Network Engineering Strategy & Architecture Establish and execute multi-year network and connectivity strategies aligned with Gap Inc.’s technology and business priorities. Lead architecture and engineering decisions across enterprise WAN/LAN/Wi-Fi, cloud networking, SD-WAN, telecom/voice, observability, and network automation platforms. Partner with cloud, platform, and security engineering teams to build scalable, resilient, and secure infrastructure capabilities. Drive Engineering Excellence & Automation Champion Infrastructure as Code ( IaC ), automation, self-service enablement, and standardized engineering practices. Improve network resiliency, operational efficiency, service observability, and incident response capabilities through modern engineering approaches and tooling. Establish measurable operational KPIs and engineering metrics focused on reliability, availability, performance, and customer experience. Partner Across Technology Organizations Collaborate closely with Product Engineering, Store Technology, Infrastructure, Security, and Operations teams to support business-critical retail and digital initiatives. Serve as a trusted technical leader and advisor across infrastructure modernization and cloud transformation efforts. Influence architectural standards, engineering roadmaps, and enterprise technology decisions across the organization. Build and Lead High-Performing Teams Lead, mentor, and develop a globally distributed engineering organization, including managers and senior engineers. Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, inclusion, continuous learning, and engineering excellence. Build scalable operating models leveraging internal teams, strategic vendors, and managed service partners. Operational Leadership Ensure highly available and secure network services supporting enterprise operations and customer-facing retail experiences. Lead major incident response and critical escalation management when necessary. Drive continuous improvement across operational processes, change management, and service delivery practices. Who You Are Proven experience leading large-scale enterprise network engineering organizations within complex global retail or multi-site enterprise environments. Deep expertise across enterprise networking technologies including WAN/LAN, Wi-Fi, cloud networking, SD-WAN, data center networking, telecom/voice, and network observability platforms. Strong understanding of modern cloud networking architectures across AWS, Azure, and/or Google Cloud Platform environments. Demonstrated success driving infrastructure modernization initiatives including Infrastructure as Code, automation, cloud migration, and data center transformation programs. Experience building platform engineering, DevOps, or SRE-aligned infrastructure organizations and operating models. Strong technical depth combined with the ability to operate strategically and influence across executive and engineering leadership teams. Experience managing globally distributed teams and operating effectively within matrixed enterprise organizations. Expertise managing vendor relationships, managed service providers (MSPs), and global service delivery models. Preferred Qualifications Experience supporting large-scale retail store networks and distributed enterprise environments. Experience with network automation frameworks, Infrastructure as Code tooling, and programmable network platforms. Familiarity with modern observability and monitoring platforms . Experience with SD-WAN, SASE, Zero Trust networking, and cloud-delivered network architectures. Knowledge of Agile, DevOps, and ITIL-based service delivery models. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science , Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred.