Master Network Architect, Manufacturing

Location: Smyrna, TN

Job Schedule: Hybrid (Monday - Thursday in office)

Education Requirement: Bachelor's degree

Sponsorship: No

Come Drive Innovation with Us. We are currently looking for a Master Network Architect (Operational Technology) to join our team in Smyrna, TN.

In this role, you will serve as the enterprise technical authority for manufacturing network architecture across Nissan Americas, helping shape the vision, strategy, and standards that enable secure, resilient, and scalable connectivity throughout our manufacturing operations.

You will partner with manufacturing, engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity teams to design and evolve network solutions supporting industrial automation, Operational Technology (OT), and digital manufacturing initiatives. This role will drive the adoption of modern network architectures, cloud connectivity, and IT/OT convergence strategies while ensuring operational continuity, production uptime, and cybersecurity across mission-critical manufacturing environments.

As a senior technical leader, you will provide architectural guidance, establish technology roadmaps and standards, evaluate emerging technologies, and help enable the next generation of connected manufacturing capabilities across Nissan's regional operations.

A Day in the Life:

The responsibilities listed are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties for this role.

• Develop and govern OT network architectures supporting manufacturing technologies, including PLCs, DCS, SCADA, MES, historians, and Industrial IoT environments.

• Design secure, highly available, and low-latency network solutions while establishing IT/OT segmentation, zoning, and boundary protection strategies that safeguard production environments.

• Own and drive the long-term network architecture strategy and roadmap across manufacturing plants, data centers, cloud environments, and OT ecosystems.

• Design end-to-end network solutions spanning LAN, WAN, WLAN, data center, cloud, OT infrastructure, wired and wireless technologies, and communication networks.

• Establish and maintain architectural standards, reference architectures, design patterns, and best practices to support consistency, scalability, and operational excellence.

• Lead architecture reviews and governance activities to ensure network solutions align with enterprise architecture, cybersecurity requirements, regulatory obligations, and operational standards.

• Partner closely with cybersecurity teams to implement Zero Trust-aligned network architectures, proactively identifying and addressing security risks, technical debt, resiliency gaps, and vulnerabilities.

• Define and implement network segmentation, access control, and protection strategies that secure manufacturing environments without impacting plant availability or production operations.

• Lead network architecture efforts supporting cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud environments, including manufacturing connectivity, vendor access, remote access, and plant-to-cloud data flows.

• Evaluate and guide the adoption of emerging technologies such as SD-WAN, SASE, network automation, and observability solutions to improve scalability, resiliency, and security across manufacturing operations.

• Design highly available and disaster-resilient network architectures that support 24x7 manufacturing operations, including monitoring, alerting, backup, recovery, and operational support capabilities.

• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for complex network and production-related challenges, providing architectural leadership and guidance on high-impact initiatives.

• Mentor engineers and architects while providing technical direction to vendors, system integrators, and cross-functional teams supporting mission-critical manufacturing environments.

Who We're Looking For:

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field required.

• 10+ years of overall IS/IT experience with at least 6+ years experience in an architect role.

• 10+ years of experience with Cisco networking technologies, including routing, switching, wireless networking, and network security.

• 5+ years of experience architecting and implementing Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco DNA Center (DNAC).

• Deep knowledge of LAN/WAN architecture, DNS, DHCP, load balancing, and network resiliency concepts.

• Hands-on experience with cloud networking (AWS, Azure, hybrid models).

• Familiarity with SD-WAN, SASE, network automation, and network observability technologies.

• Proven experience designing and governing large-scale, complex, and secure network environments.

• Hands-on experience with Cisco firewalls, network segmentation, secure remote access, and network monitoring platforms.

Desired:

• Demonstrated success partnering with business, engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity teams across large organizations.

• Experience supporting manufacturing, Operational Technology (OT), industrial automation, or other mission-critical environments preferred.

What You’ll Look Forward to at Nissan:

Career Growth and Continuous Learning Opportunities: Benefit from diverse career paths, cross-departmental moves, and innovative learning platforms. Enhance your skills through seminars, leadership training, and tuition reimbursement programs, all while playing a vital role in shaping the future of transportation. From day one, you'll have the support to tackle challenges and contribute to impactful solutions across our organization.

Rewards: Be supported with a Comprehensive Benefits Package, including medical, mental health, parental leave, retirement savings & unique Nissan perks, including discounts on lease vehicles as part of our Employee Lease Program and a Vehicle Purchase Program (VPP). For more information, access our Nissan Benefits Overview Guide.

Nissan is committed to a drug-free workplace. All employment is contingent upon the successful completion of drug and background screenings in accordance with Nissan policies and in compliance with federal, state, and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act and the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance. Nissan will consider qualified candidates with arrest or conviction records for employment in a manner consistent with these laws.

It is Nissan’s policy to provide Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, gender, military status, disability, or any other status protected by law. Candidates for this position must be legally authorized to work in the United States and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire; Nissan uses E-Verify to validate employment eligibility.

NISSAN FOR EVERYONE

People are our most valuable assets, and diversity and inclusion are the key to maximizing the power of each individual member of our team. When everyone belongs, the power of NISSAN is undeniable. Our Corporate Diversity Initiative aims to improve business results by ensuring that our workplace and core businesses meet the unique needs of our employees and customer base.

Nissan is committed to creating a culture where everyone belongs and employees, customers, and partners feel respected, valued, and heard. We have over 10 Business Synergy Teams (BSTs) across the U.S. and Canada that connect employees - with shared characteristics or interests - build allies, and foster a company culture where all employees feel supported and included.

Nissan also values inclusion in all areas of our business as we strive to mirror the diversity of our customer base and the communities where we do business. We are committed to procuring innovative goods and services, retailing our products and communicating from a diverse perspective which will help us continue to offer our customers competitively designed, market-driven products.

Join us as we carry our commitment to diversity and inclusion into the future.