Network Architect

Candescent is a forward-thinking technology company transforming how financial institutions deliver Intelligent Banking experiences. We unite digital banking, account opening, and branch solutions that power and connect digital banking, account opening, and branch solutions-creating seamless engagement across digital, remote, and in-person channels.

Our Experience-Led, Intelligence-Driven approach combines human-centered design with data, automation, and cloud-based innovation. Built on an API-first architecture, our extensible ecosystem enables institutions to adapt quickly, integrate easily, and unlock new opportunities for growth-turning every customer interaction into a moment of clarity, confidence, and connection.

Position Summary

Candescent is seeking an experienced and innovative Network Architect to lead the design, strategy, and evolution of our enterprise network infrastructure. This role is responsible for developing scalable, secure, and resilient network architectures that support corporate offices, cloud environments, financial institution operations, and emerging business initiatives.

The Network Architect will partner closely with Infrastructure, Security, Cloud Engineering, Application Development, and Operations teams to define technology roadmaps, establish engineering standards, and drive modernization initiatives. This position serves as the highest level of technical authority for enterprise networking and provides guidance for complex projects, strategic investments, and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Network Architecture

• Develop and maintain the enterprise network architecture roadmap.
• Design highly available, scalable, and secure LAN, WAN, WLAN, SD-WAN, Cloud and B2B Networking and internet edge solutions.
• Create and maintain high-level and low-level network designs, standards, and reference architectures.
• Evaluate existing environments and recommend improvements aligned with business objectives.
• Establish networking standards and governance for all Candescent locations and hosted environments.

Cloud & Hybrid Networking

• Design connectivity solutions for Azure, AWS,GCP (Must Have) and hybrid cloud deployments.
• Define architectures for cloud transit networking, DNS, routing, security segmentation, and application delivery.
• Lead cloud networking initiatives on secure multi-cloud connectivity.
• Collaborate with cloud engineering teams on network automation and infrastructure-as-code initiatives.

Security Architecture & Compliance

• Partner with Information Security teams to design secure network solutions.
• Develop architectures supporting Zero Trust, network segmentation, NAC, SASE, ZTNA, and secure remote access.
• Ensure designs meet regulatory and compliance requirements including FFIEC, PCI-DSS, SOX, and corporate security standards.
• Provide technical leadership during security assessments, audits, and risk reviews.

Strategic Leadership

• Provide architectural oversight for major infrastructure projects.
• Lead technology evaluations, proof-of-concepts, and vendor assessments.
• Develop multi-year network technology roadmaps and lifecycle management strategies.
• Influence infrastructure direction through innovation and industry best practices.
• Present architectural recommendations to senior leadership and executive stakeholders.

Operational Excellence

• Act as the highest escalation point for complex networking issues.
• Review network performance, capacity, resiliency, and availability metrics.
• Guide disaster recovery and business continuity planning efforts.
• Ensure infrastructure designs align with operational supportability requirements.

Automation & Modernization

• Promote network automation and orchestration strategies.
• Design solutions utilizing APIs, scripting, and infrastructure-as-code platforms.
• Drive adoption of modern operational models and observability platforms.
• Partner with engineering teams to implement automated provisioning and configuration management.

Mentorship & Collaboration

• Mentor Network Engineers and Senior Engineers on architecture and design principles.
• Participate in technical reviews, change advisory boards, and project governance.
• Foster technical excellence across Infrastructure Engineering teams.
• Build strong partnerships with business units, application owners, vendors, and managed service providers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of enterprise networking experience.
• 5+ years designing large-scale, mission-critical network environments.
• Expert level experience with:
  • GCP Networking
  • Cloud and B2B Networking
  • Palo Alto Networks firewalls
  • Meraki Wireless networking technologies
  • SD-WAN solutions
• Strong experience designing:
  • Fortigate Network firewalls
  • Corporate office networks
  • Hybrid cloud connectivity
  • Individual Financial Institution Networks
• Experience with network security architecture and segmentation strategies.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale infrastructure transformation projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Financial services or regulated industry experience.
• Experience with:
  • Cisco Wireless / Meraki
  • Palo Alto Networks & SCM
  • Azure networking
  • AWS networking
  • GCP networking (Must Have)
  • Prisma Access
  • Network automation platforms
• Knowledge of infrastructure-as-code frameworks.
• Experience with monitoring and observability platforms.
• Strong written documentation and presentation skills.

Certifications (Nice To Have)

• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Architect (PCNSA/PCNSE)
• Professional Cloud Network Engineer (PCNE)
• AWS Advanced Networking Specialty
• Microsoft Azure Network Engineer Associate
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Success Metrics

The successful Network Architect will:

• Establish enterprise architecture standards and governance.
• Improve network reliability, resiliency, and security posture.
• Reduce operational complexity through standardization and automation.
• Lead infrastructure modernization initiatives.
• Support business growth through scalable network design.
• Serve as the trusted technical advisor for network strategy across Candescent.

Statement to Third Party Agencies

To ALL recruitment agencies: Candescent only accepts resumes from agencies on the preferred supplier list. Please do not forward resumes to our applicant tracking system, Candescent employees, or any Candescent facility. Candescent is not responsible for any fees or charges associated with unsolicited resumes.