Principal Architect - Network & Data Infrastructure

Position Overview :

We are seeking a Principal Architect - Network & Data Infrastructure to serve as the enterprise design authority for network platforms and lead the definition, governance, and evolution of scalable, secure, resilient, and highly available architectures across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, and network security domains.

The role combines deep hands-on expertise with enterprise-level architectural judgment.

The Principal Architect will translate business, application, security, and operational requirements into technology strategies, reference architectures, standards, and roadmaps while acting as the senior technical escalation point for complex network and security challenges.

This position will drive modernization, performance optimization, automation, proactive vulnerability management, and operational resilience while influencing engineering, operations, security, application, and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities :

Enterprise Architecture & Technology Strategy :

- Define and own enterprise network architecture principles, standards, reference designs, patterns, and multi-year technology roadmaps across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, and network security platforms.

- Assess business and technology requirements and translate them into scalable, secure, resilient, and supportable target-state architectures.

- Lead architecture review boards and design assurance activities, ensuring solutions align with enterprise standards, security requirements, lifecycle strategy, and operational readiness.

- Provide strategic technical direction for Cisco and Aruba-based solutions and evaluate emerging capabilities for enterprise adoption.

- Guide technology lifecycle decisions, platform rationalization, technical debt reduction, and modernization priorities.

Network Engineering, Design & Optimization :

- Architect high-availability enterprise network solutions using Cisco and Aruba technologies across campus, branch, data center, WAN, SD-WAN, and wireless environments.

- Own routing architecture and governance for OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP, including resiliency, convergence, scalability, route control, and failure-domain considerations.

- Architect and optimize Aruba wireless platforms to deliver secure enterprise mobility, reliable coverage, capacity, roaming, and user experience.

- Define design requirements for availability, redundancy, performance, capacity, quality of service, segmentation, and disaster recovery.

- Validate complex designs through architecture reviews, risk assessments, design walkthroughs, and implementation readiness checkpoints.

Operational Excellence & Incident Leadership :

- Act as the highest-level technical escalation and decision authority for critical, complex, or recurring network incidents.

- Lead technical root cause analysis for major incidents and ensure corrective and preventive actions address architectural and systemic causes.

- Partner with operations, security, application, and vendor teams to reduce downtime, improve MTTR, and strengthen service resilience.

- Identify recurring operational patterns and convert them into engineering standards, automation opportunities, and architectural improvements.

Security, Risk & Vulnerability Governance :

- Architect network security controls aligned with enterprise security frameworks, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.

- Govern vulnerability identification, risk assessment, remediation strategy, exception handling, and lifecycle management using tools such as Rapid7, Nessus, or Qualys.

- Define and review network hardening, patching, segmentation, access control, compliance, and quality-of-service standards.

- Provide architecture-level risk assessments and remediation recommendations for legacy platforms, unsupported technologies, and high-risk designs.

Monitoring, Automation & Continuous Improvement :

- Define enterprise monitoring, telemetry, observability, alerting, and performance baselines using SolarWinds, and related monitoring platforms.

- Drive network performance analytics, trend analysis, capacity planning, service health reporting, and proactive optimization.

- Set direction for network automation, configuration standardization, compliance validation, and repeatable engineering practices.

- Promote scripting and automation frameworks that improve reliability, consistency, delivery speed, and operational efficiency.

Documentation, Governance & Stakeholder Engagement :

- Maintain architecture documentation, technology standards, reference designs, decision records, high-level designs, and governance artifacts.

- Provide executive-level reporting on network health, architecture risks, vulnerability posture, lifecycle exposure, and strategic improvement initiatives.

- Present complex technical concepts, trade-offs, risks, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

- Mentor architects and senior engineers, build technical capability, and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.

- Partner with technology vendors and service providers on solution strategy, design quality, roadmap alignment, and issue resolution.

Preferred Candidate Profile :

Education :

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

- Relevant professional certifications and equivalent experience may be considered.

Experience :

- 15+ years of progressive experience designing, engineering, and architecting enterprise-scale network environments.

- Demonstrated experience operating as a Principal Architect, Lead Architect, enterprise design authority, or equivalent senior technical leader.

- Proven ownership of enterprise architecture standards, complex solution designs, technology roadmaps, and architecture governance.

- Hands-on experience leading critical incident resolution, root cause analysis, modernization programs, and cross-functional technical decisions.

Technical Expertise :

- Advanced expertise in Cisco switching, routing, wireless, and SD-WAN platforms.

- Strong command of OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP in large-scale, highly available enterprise environments.

- Deep knowledge of Aruba wireless architectures, design, security, capacity, and optimization techniques.

- Enterprise network architecture across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, segmentation, resiliency, and quality of service.

- Experience with vulnerability management and security assessment platforms such as Rapid7, Nessus, or Qualys.

- Proficiency with enterprise monitoring and performance tools such as SolarWinds, PRTG, and Fluke.

- Working knowledge of network automation frameworks, APIs, configuration management, and scripting.

- Ability to develop and review architecture standards, high-level designs, low-level designs, and technical decision records.

Preferred Certifications :

- Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)

- Aruba Certified Mobility Associate (ACMA)

- Aruba Certified SD-WAN Deployment Professional (ACSDP)

- Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or equivalent expert-level certification is an advantage

Leadership & Professional Skills :

- Enterprise-level architectural thinking with strong analytical, troubleshooting, and decision-making capability.

- Ability to communicate complex designs, risks, and trade-offs to engineering teams, leadership, and business stakeholders.

- Proven technical leadership during high-severity incidents, transformation initiatives, and architecture governance discussions.

- Ability to influence stakeholders, establish technical direction, and drive alignment without direct authority.

- Strong collaboration, mentoring, documentation, presentation, and vendor-management skills.

- Ability to balance strategic architecture ownership with hands-on technical engagement when required.

Key Competencies :

- Architecture Leadership : Enterprise network strategy, reference architectures, standards, and design governance

- Technology Depth : Cisco and Aruba networking, routing, SD-WAN, wireless, monitoring, and security

- Operational Resilience : Major incident leadership, RCA, performance, capacity, and service continuity

- Risk Governance : Security architecture, vulnerability remediation, lifecycle risk, hardening, and compliance

- Transformation : Modernization, automation, standardization, optimization, and technical debt reduction

- Influence : Executive communication, stakeholder alignment, mentoring, and cross-functional leadership

Skills

Network Infrastructure, Data Infrastructure, SDWAN, Cisco, Aruba, Routing & Switching, Wireless Operations, BGP, CCNP, SolarWinds