Principal Architect, AI-Ready Networking & R&D

Lumen; Saint Paul (MN); Remote; USD 160,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Lumen is seeking a Principal Architect, Network Research & Development, to lead architectural direction for next‑gen network capabilities. You will shape hypotheses, run experiments, and evaluate emerging technologies with senior stakeholders.

In this remote role, you will collaborate across engineering, product, security, and operations to translate technical findings into practical roadmaps, helping Lumen stay ahead in AI‑ready connectivity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in network architecture or R&D.
• Strong ability to convert uncertainty into structured experiments and recommendations.
• Excellent written and spoken communication to senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Provide architectural direction across emerging network technologies and future capability exploration.
• Design reference architectures and proof-of-concept approaches to guide strategy.
• Lead technical analyses of external innovations and partnerships.
• Translate findings into actionable architecture implications and risk assessments.
• Collaborate across functions to align R&D with enterprise priorities.

Skills

Executive communication

Architectural thinking

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

Job description

Lumen is seeking a Principal Architect, Network Research & Development, to lead architectural direction for next‑gen network capabilities. You will shape hypotheses, run experiments, and evaluate emerging technologies with senior stakeholders.

In this remote role, you will collaborate across engineering, product, security, and operations to translate technical findings into practical roadmaps, helping Lumen stay ahead in AI‑ready connectivity.