Principal Network Planner (Steve Di Cola)
Why PlayStation?
PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.
PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.
The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
About the Role
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Global Network Engineering Team (NetTeam) designs, manages, and supports global IP networks that underpin our world-class gaming and corporate services, including:
PlayStation Plus Game Streaming (Cloud Gaming subscription service)
SIE Backbone Services (SBS) including SIE Global Corporate Network (SGCN) inter-office, Data Center, VPN (Layer 2/3), Cloud (AWS DX, others), and Internet connectivity for SIE offices worldwide
Static content delivery services for game downloads and PlayStation Network (PSN) updates.
With the NetTeam’s ongoing growth, we are looking for a highly experienced Principal Network Planner to become part of NetTeam. This presents an outstanding opportunity to direct and manage global planning and sourcing activities, impact network strategies, and guarantee the best possible player experience and corporate network performance.
This is an exciting opportunity to work with one of the most respected gaming brands in the world. You’ll contribute to the backbone that powers PlayStation’s global gaming experiences, driving innovation and delivering outstanding network performance for millions of players worldwide!
Primary Purpose
The Principal Network Planner will act as NetTeam’s lead for sourcing, negotiating and contracting network capacity for our global IP networks in the key areas of:
Edge connectivity (peering, IP transit, IXs)
Telecommunication circuits (dark fiber, wavelengths)
Colocation facilities
Content delivery networks
Key Responsibilities
Vendor Management & Strategy
User your extensive global network to engage executive leaders within our vendor community to actively manage relationships, drive deliverables, and lead negotiations on commercial terms and service agreements
Influence network connectivity strategies and build future sourcing initiatives
Represent NetTeam at industry forums and maintain strong market knowledge
Manage vendor commercial agreements and performance
Technical Leadership & Development
Provide expert mentorship on global network builds, IP/VPN, BGP, and data planning.
Represent NetTeam in technical discussions with collaborators and cross-functional teams
Drive decisions to improve reliability, scalability, and performance
Innovate processes, metrics, and workflows to optimize global network initiatives
Deliver low-latency, highly reliable services to our customers
Capacity Planning & Continuous Improvement
Assess network capacity trends, forecast future needs, and model growth or failure scenarios
Develop regional and service-specific roadmaps aligned with business requirements
Design and then secure services to establish points of presence (PoPs) in new countries or expand services in established regions
Continuously optimise cost, service levels, and operational efficiency
Key Relationships
Internal: Network Engineering, Data Center Sourcing, SIE Business Intelligence, global SIE WAN/LAN/IT groups
External: International vendors, hyperscalers, telecom providers, industry peers
Minimum Requirements
Education & Qualifications:
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or Engineering, or equivalent experience
Experience & Skills
25+ years in hyperscaler, telecom, cloud, or internet exchange environments
Proven track record in network engineering, architecture, or strategic sourcing
Experience managing multiple international vendors and high-spend portfolios (>$80M/year)
Proficiencies
Expert knowledge of network engineering principles, scalability, performance, and cost management
Experience with forecasting, demand planning, and participation in global network standards
Strong problem-solving skills in complex and ambiguous environments
Personal drive, resilience, creativity, collaboration, integrity, and excellence
Outstanding communication skills, able to influence teams and collaborators at all levels
Mentorship experience for junior and senior network planners and engineers
Ability to lead across multiple organizational layers
Other Requirements
Willingness to travel internationally
Flexibility to work outside standard hours to coordinate with global suppliers
Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.
Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.
Equal Opportunity Statement:
Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.
We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.
PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.
Apply Now
PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.
PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.
The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
About the Role
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Global Network Engineering Team (NetTeam) designs, manages, and supports global IP networks that underpin our world-class gaming and corporate services, including:
PlayStation Plus Game Streaming (Cloud Gaming subscription service)
SIE Backbone Services (SBS) including SIE Global Corporate Network (SGCN) inter-office, Data Center, VPN (Layer 2/3), Cloud (AWS DX, others), and Internet connectivity for SIE offices worldwide
Static content delivery services for game downloads and PlayStation Network (PSN) updates.
With the NetTeam’s ongoing growth, we are looking for a highly experienced Principal Network Planner to become part of NetTeam. This presents an outstanding opportunity to direct and manage global planning and sourcing activities, impact network strategies, and guarantee the best possible player experience and corporate network performance.
This is an exciting opportunity to work with one of the most respected gaming brands in the world. You’ll contribute to the backbone that powers PlayStation’s global gaming experiences, driving innovation and delivering outstanding network performance for millions of players worldwide!
Primary Purpose
The Principal Network Planner will act as NetTeam’s lead for sourcing, negotiating and contracting network capacity for our global IP networks in the key areas of:
Edge connectivity (peering, IP transit, IXs)
Telecommunication circuits (dark fiber, wavelengths)
Colocation facilities
Content delivery networks
Key Responsibilities
Vendor Management & Strategy
User your extensive global network to engage executive leaders within our vendor community to actively manage relationships, drive deliverables, and lead negotiations on commercial terms and service agreements
Influence network connectivity strategies and build future sourcing initiatives
Represent NetTeam at industry forums and maintain strong market knowledge
Manage vendor commercial agreements and performance
Technical Leadership & Development
Provide expert mentorship on global network builds, IP/VPN, BGP, and data planning.
Represent NetTeam in technical discussions with collaborators and cross-functional teams
Drive decisions to improve reliability, scalability, and performance
Innovate processes, metrics, and workflows to optimize global network initiatives
Deliver low-latency, highly reliable services to our customers
Capacity Planning & Continuous Improvement
Assess network capacity trends, forecast future needs, and model growth or failure scenarios
Develop regional and service-specific roadmaps aligned with business requirements
Design and then secure services to establish points of presence (PoPs) in new countries or expand services in established regions
Continuously optimise cost, service levels, and operational efficiency
Key Relationships
Internal: Network Engineering, Data Center Sourcing, SIE Business Intelligence, global SIE WAN/LAN/IT groups
External: International vendors, hyperscalers, telecom providers, industry peers
Minimum Requirements
Education & Qualifications:
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or Engineering, or equivalent experience
Experience & Skills
25+ years in hyperscaler, telecom, cloud, or internet exchange environments
Proven track record in network engineering, architecture, or strategic sourcing
Experience managing multiple international vendors and high-spend portfolios (>$80M/year)
Proficiencies
Expert knowledge of network engineering principles, scalability, performance, and cost management
Experience with forecasting, demand planning, and participation in global network standards
Strong problem-solving skills in complex and ambiguous environments
Personal drive, resilience, creativity, collaboration, integrity, and excellence
Outstanding communication skills, able to influence teams and collaborators at all levels
Mentorship experience for junior and senior network planners and engineers
Ability to lead across multiple organizational layers
Other Requirements
Willingness to travel internationally
Flexibility to work outside standard hours to coordinate with global suppliers
Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.
Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.
Equal Opportunity Statement:
Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.
We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.
PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.
Apply Now