Senior Network Solutions Architect (Network Systems)

SUMMARY

The Senior Network Solutions Architect acts as a technical

sales professional and network practice leader responsible for solution

architecture on high-value and strategically significant opportunities. This

position collaborates with Solution Engineers, sales professionals, and client

stakeholders to define secure, resilient, scalable network architectures, with

particular emphasis on Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Nexus, and Cisco Meraki

technologies.

The architect leads discovery and design across enterprise

campus, data center networking, wireless, network access control (NAC), secure

access service edge (SASE), and adjacent network security technologies. The

role requires the ability to translate business and technical requirements into

defensible architectures, implementation approaches, proposals, and services

scopes for both technical and executive audiences.

The Senior Network Solutions Architect also provides

billable consulting services, develops repeatable network standards and

practices, and serves as a senior technical mentor within the organization.

JOB

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support specialized opportunity identification, technical

  qualification, and account planning for major accounts and significant

  territory opportunities involving enterprise networking and network security.

• Lead client discovery, current-state assessment,

  requirements analysis, solution architecture, and technical validation for

  complex network opportunities.

• Design enterprise campus, branch, data center, and wireless

  network solutions using Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Nexus, and Cisco Meraki

  platforms.

• Architect network access control solutions, including

  identity-based access, device profiling, guest access, posture assessment,

  segmentation, and policy enforcement.

• Design SASE and security service edge solutions that

  integrate secure connectivity, cloud-delivered security, identity, remote

  access, and branch networking requirements.

• Develop routing, switching, wireless, segmentation, high

  availability, resiliency, quality of service, multicast, and network management

  architectures.

• Provide technical leadership for Cisco-focused proposals,

  demonstrations, assessments, workshops, proofs of concept, and responses to

  client RFPs.

• Develop bills of materials, licensing recommendations,

  logical and physical designs, assumptions, implementation approaches, and

  services estimates.

• Identify and engage appropriate post-sales engineering,

  project management, managed services, and manufacturer resources to support

  successful delivery.

• Build collaborative relationships with account teams,

  internal technology groups, manufacturers, and client stakeholders to shape

  technically sound, commercially viable solutions.

• Professionally present network architectures, tradeoffs,

  migration approaches, risks, and recommendations to technical teams and

  executive leadership.

• Research and advance network architecture disciplines,

  standards, validated designs, best practices, service budgets, and delivery

  documentation.

• Partner with Technology Practice Group teams to strengthen

  Cisco networking, NAC, wireless, SASE, and network security practices, with

  attention to repeatability, profitability, and service quality.

• Engage Sales and Sales Engineering teams to transfer

  technical, business, and consultative skills that improve network opportunity

  qualification and solution development.

• Mentor Solution Engineers and Solutions Architects, and

  provide senior-level guidance on complex network and security designs.

• Coordinate with Project Management and Post-sales

  Engineering to provide complete and accurate documentation for successful

  implementation, transition, and support.

• Evaluate proposed network and security architectures for

  technical adequacy, interoperability, operational supportability, scalability,

  and alignment with client requirements.

• Assist with network assessments, design reviews, migration

  planning, remediation planning, and architecture governance engagements.

• Provide billable consultative services for installation,

  configuration, optimization, troubleshooting, and strategic planning when

  needed.

• Leverage Cisco, partner, and internal resources to address

  client concerns, resolve design issues, and advance opportunities through the

  sales process.

• Participate in seminars, showcases, client workshops, public

  events, and internal communities to strengthen market awareness and technical

  credibility.

• Act in accordance with company policies and procedures as

  set forth in the Employee Handbook.

• Perform other related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree and eight years of progressively

  responsible experience in enterprise networking, network security, or a closely

  related technology specialization; or an equivalent combination of education

  and experience.

• Demonstrated experience architecting complex client

  solutions in a consulting, systems integration, managed services, or enterprise

  environment is required.

Licenses and Certifications

• One of the following current certifications is required:

  CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, CCIE Enterprise Wireless, or CCIE Security.

  CCIE Security is preferred.

• Additional expert or professional-level Cisco certifications

  in enterprise networking, security, wireless, data center networking, or design

  are preferred.

• Current vendor certifications related to NAC, SASE, secure

  access, network security, or wireless technologies are preferred.

• Valid Driver's License, proof of personal insurance, and an

  acceptable driving record.

REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Expert-level knowledge of enterprise routing and switching,

  including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, route redistribution, first-hop redundancy,

  spanning tree, link aggregation, QoS, multicast, and high-availability design.

• Advanced architecture and design experience with Cisco

  Catalyst switching and wireless technologies, including Cisco Catalyst Center

  and software-defined campus capabilities.

• Advanced architecture and design experience with Cisco Nexus

  data center switching, including NX-OS, virtual port channels, data center

  interconnect considerations, and leaf-spine architectures.

• Advanced architecture and design experience with Cisco

  Meraki switching, wireless, security appliances, Systems Manager, and

  cloud-managed networking.

• Demonstrated experience designing and integrating NAC

  solutions, including Cisco Identity Services Engine or comparable enterprise

  NAC platforms.

• Demonstrated experience with SASE architectures, including

  SD-WAN, zero trust network access, secure web gateway, cloud access security

  broker, firewall as a service, and identity-aware policy enforcement.

• Advanced knowledge of enterprise wireless design, including

  RF fundamentals, site survey interpretation, controller and cloud-managed

  architectures, roaming, location services, and wireless security.

• Strong understanding of network segmentation and security

  policy, including VLAN and VRF design, access control, macrosegmentation,

  microsegmentation, TrustSec and security group tags, and policy-based access.

• Experience integrating network infrastructure with

  firewalls, identity providers, endpoint platforms, monitoring systems, logging

  platforms, IP address management, DNS, DHCP, and cloud connectivity services.

• Ability to assess existing networks, identify material

  technical and operational risks, and develop pragmatic remediation and

  migration roadmaps.

• Ability to produce high-quality diagrams, design narratives,

  statements of work, assumptions, implementation dependencies, and

  executive-level recommendations.

• Working knowledge of automation and programmability

  concepts, including APIs, controller-based management, configuration templates,

  and infrastructure lifecycle management.

• Excellent communication skills with technical and

  non-technical audiences, including the ability to lead complex discovery

  sessions and explain architectural decisions, constraints, and tradeoffs.

• Excellent organizational, prioritization, documentation, and

  time-management skills, with the ability to exercise independent judgment in a

  changing environment.

• Demonstrated integrity, attention to detail, accountability,

  continuous learning, and commitment to quality.

JOB

REQUIREMENTS

• Should be

  willing to accept a long-term work-from-home arrangement.

• Should be amenable to a permanent night shift schedule