Network Architect IV in Houston

Energy Jobline ZR; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Energy Jobline ZR is seeking a Network Architect IV in Houston, TX (also Tulsa, OK) to develop repeatable IT/OT network architectures for Power projects, lead design reviews, and ensure secure, scalable solutions across plant IT and OT networks.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration with Cybersecurity, Operations, Controls and Infrastructure, delivering architecture governance, standards and support for complex deployments. Strong leadership and hands-on troubleshooting are required.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in enterprise, industrial, utility or energy networking.
• 3+ years leading complex network design or architecture work.
• Experience IT/OT segmentation, DMZs, controlled vendor access.
• Strong routing, switching, WAN/SD-WAN, wireless, firewall, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, high-availability design.

Responsibilities

• Develop repeatable IT/OT network architectures for Power projects, including plant IT, OT/control networks, segmentation, resiliency, addressing, routing, remote access and management.
• Lead design reviews, translate requirements into HLD/LLD deliverables, review vendor designs and support commissioning and operational handoff.
• Design secure boundaries, data flows and vendor/OEM access patterns; partner with Cybersecurity, Controls, Operations and Infrastructure on risk, compliance and change decisions.
• Create reference designs and standards, reduce one-off site designs, address lifecycle and resilience risks, and support complex troubleshooting and root-cause analysis.
• Accelerate project delivery through standardized architectures and technical leadership for the Power project portfolio.

Skills

Network architecture

IT/OT integration

Security design

Vendor coordination

Root-cause analysis

Education

CCNP Enterprise

Industrial networking credentials

Tools

Cisco Catalyst/SD-WAN

ISE

DNA Center

Palo Alto firewalls

Infoblox

SolarWinds

Job description

Job DescriptionJob Description

Network Architect IV

Location: Houston, Tx or Tulsa, OK

Role scope & expected outcomes:

• 35% Architecture & Solution Design - Develop repeatable IT/OT network architectures for Power projects, including plant IT, OT/control networks, segmentation, resiliency, addressing, routing, remote access and management.
• 30% Project Delivery Leadership - Serve as the project technical architect; lead design reviews, translate requirements into HLD/LLD deliverables, review vendor designs and support commissioning and operational handoff.
• 20% OT/IT Integration & Cybersecurity - Design secure boundaries, data flows and vendor/OEM access patterns; partner with Cybersecurity, Controls, Operations and Infrastructure on risk, compliance and change decisions.
• 15% Standards & Operational Readiness - Create reference designs and standards, reduce one-off site designs, address lifecycle and resilience risks, and support complex troubleshooting and root-cause analysis.

First-year outcomes:

• 90 Days - Assume architecture ownership for active Power projects. Deliver design guidance for top-priority projects in the backlog. Establish relationships with key Power, Operations, Cybersecurity, and Engineering stakeholders.
• 6 Months - Create and publish repeatable reference architectures for new Power deployments. Support concurrent project delivery without architecture becoming a schedule constraint. Reduce project design effort through reusable standards and templates.
• 9 Months - Successfully support design and implementation activities for multiple Power projects. Establish architecture governance and design-review standards. Improve consistency of network, security, and OT integration designs.
• 12 Months - Accelerate project delivery through standardized architectures and technical leadership. Enable execution of the Power project portfolio through scalable, repeatable design patters. Deliver measurable improvements in security, resiliency, supportability, and project execution efficiency.

Required:

• 8+ years of enterprise, industrial, utility or energy networking experience, including 3+ years leading complex network design or architecture work.
• Demonstrated IT/OT or industrial network design experience, including segmentation, DMZs, controlled vendor access and operationally safe implementation.
• Strong routing, switching, WAN/SD-WAN, wireless, firewall, DNS/DHCP/IPAM and high- availability design knowledge.
• Ability to create HLDs, LLDs, reference architectures, standards, decision records and implementation guidance.
• Experience leading cross-functional design reviews with network engineering, Cybersecurity, Controls, Operations, project teams and vendors.
• Hands-on troubleshooting and root-cause analysis; able to communicate technical tradeoffs to engineering and leadership audiences.

Strongly :

• CCNP Enterprise or equivalent demonstrated depth; CCIE, GICSP or ISA/IEC 62443 credentials are a plus.
• Power , SCADA/DCS, industrial control systems, battery storage or critical- infrastructure project experience.
• Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst SD-WAN, ISE, Catalyst Center/DNA Center and ACI; Palo Alto firewalls; Infoblox and SolarWinds.
• Greenfield industrial project delivery, commissioning readiness, factory/site acceptance testing and operational handoff.
• Familiarity with industrial protocols and OT visibility, regulated environments, evidence- based change control and secure OEM remote access
• Practical automation skills using Python, Ansible, APIs or infrastructure-as-code methods.