Backbone and Peering Architect

NorthMark Compute and Cloud LLC; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch stipend

Employer-paid medical

Dental & Vision

Job summary

NorthMark Compute & Cloud is seeking an experienced Backbone & Peering Network Architect to own the design of our HPC data center backbone, WAN connectivity, and cloud on-ramps. This role is critical to delivering secure, scalable connectivity at scale for our research and production workloads.

You will define standards for routing, telemetry, security, and multi-tenant patterns, align backbone architecture with capacity forecasts, and collaborate with Solutions Architects to optimize workload

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent.
• 7+ years of experience in large-scale data center network design or architecture.
• Deep expertise in data center fabrics (leaf-spine, Clos, EVPN, VXLAN).
• Experience with WAN, peering, and interconnect strategies.
• Familiarity with HPC workloads and high-bandwidth, low-latency requirements.
• Strong documentation and stakeholder communication skills.
• Experience with hyperscale or GPU-accelerated environments, supporting AI/ML workloads, infrastructure monitoring, or simulation models.
• Strong communicator with leadership and project management experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the data center backbone interconnect (DCI), ensuring scalability, redundancy, and performance.
• Design and publish reference architectures for WAN connectivity, cloud service provider interconnects, and backbone extensions.
• Define architectural standards for routing, traffic engineering, failover, and telemetry across backbone networks.
• Align backbone design with capacity planning forecasts and long-term business growth.
• Collaborate with Solutions Architects to align network design with workload patterns.
• Ensure network security, compliance, and observability are embedded in architecture.
• Develop multi-tenant secure networking patterns to support customer isolation and SLA adherence
• Contribute to digital twin models with network capacity and topology simulations.

Skills

Data center fabrics

WAN connectivity

Peering ecosystems

EVPN/VXLAN

Security & compliance

Documentation

Stakeholder communication

Leadership / project management

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/EE

Tools

EVPN

VXLAN

Job description

The Company NorthMark Compute & Cloud (NMC²) is backed by dedicated leadership and investment, with a clear mission as it operates at the bleeding edge of technology. Its goal is to scale and enhance the high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure that supports its clients' research, production, and delivery, enabling breakthroughs that shape the industries of tomorrow. Its engineers build critical infrastructure to eliminate friction in scientific research, simulations, analysis, and decision-making, accelerating discovery and driving faster innovation.

Position

We are seeking an experienced Backbone & Peering Network Architect to own the design and reference architecture of our HPC data center backbone, WAN connectivity, cloud service provider on-ramps, and customer peering. This role is critical to ensuring that our HPC facility delivers secure, scalable, and reliable connectivity at scale. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in carrier networking, peering ecosystems, and multi-tenant network security, and will be responsible for defining the standards and architectures that ensure our backbone supports business growth, customer demand, and evolving digital services.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the data center backbone interconnect (DCI), ensuring scalability, redundancy, and performance
• Design and publish reference architectures for WAN connectivity, cloud service provider interconnects, and backbone extensions
• Define architectural standards for routing, traffic engineering, failover, and telemetry across backbone networks
• Align backbone design with capacity planning forecasts and long-term business growth
• Collaborate with Solutions Architects to align network design with workload patterns.
• Ensure network security, compliance, and observability are embedded in architecture.
• Develop multi-tenant secure networking patterns to support customer isolation and SLA adherence
• Contribute to digital twin models with network capacity and topology simulations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent.
• 7+ years of experience in large-scale data center network design or architecture.
• Deep expertise in data center fabrics (leaf-spine, Clos, EVPN, VXLAN).
• Experience with WAN, peering, and interconnect strategies.
• Familiarity with HPC workloads and high-bandwidth, low-latency requirements.
• Strong documentation and stakeholder communication skills.
• Experience with hyperscale or GPU-accelerated environments, supporting AI/ML workloads, infrastructure monitoring, or simulation models.
• Strong communicator with leadership and project management experience.

It is impossible to list every requirement for, or responsibility of, any position. Similarly, we cannot identify all the skills a position may require since job responsibilities and the Company’s needs may change over time. Therefore, the above job description is not comprehensive or exhaustive. The Company reserves the right to adjust, add to or eliminate any aspect of the above description. The Company also retains the right to require all employees to undertake additional or different job responsibilities when necessary to meet business needs.

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.

Benefits & Perks

• Company-Paid Lunch Stipend: Lunch is provided via GrubHub
• Company-Paid Benefits: 100% Employer-Paid Medical in our High Deductible Health Plan, Dental and Vision benefits for employees and their families, 16 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, Employee Assistance Program, Life insurance, Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability
• 401(k): Company will match 100% of your contributions up to 6%
• Optional Employee-Paid Benefits: Medical insurance in our PPO plan and a variety of other benefits such as Health Savings Accounts (with Company Contribution!), Flexible Spending Accounts, Supplemental Life Insurance, Wellhub and more.
• Time Off: 25 days of Paid Time Off plus 12 company holidays

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER NORTHMARK STRATEGIES LLC IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. THE COMPANY'S POLICY IS NOT TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY APPLICANT OR EMPLOYEE BASED ON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION, MARITAL STATUS, MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DISABILITY, AND GENETIC INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER BASIS PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE FIRM ALSO PROHIBITS HARASSMENT OF APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES BASED ON ANY OF THESE PROTECTED CATEGORIES.

Company Overview

NorthMark Strategies is a leading strategic capital firm, combining capital, innovation, and engineering to drive long-term value. From operating complex businesses to backing breakthrough technologies, our mission is to deploy capital and build enduring businesses. Our team combines intelligent risk-taking, operational excellence, exceptional talent, and world-class computing capacity to create shareholder value. Our company offers a dynamic environment where individuals have the freedom to lead companies toward bold achievements by embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and fostering differentiated business strategies. Our values are Integrity, Ability, and Energy, and the company aims to hire individuals who possess those qualities. At NorthMark Strategies, we believe the future isn’t something to hope for, it’s something to build. We don’t just invest, we create. Bringing together strategic insight and technical horsepower to deliver outcomes that endure.