Principal Architect, Network Research and Development

Lumen; Salem (OR); Remote; USD 152,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Life benefits

Bonus structure

Job summary

Lumen is seeking a Principal Architect, Network Research & Development, to shape the company’s future network capabilities. This remote role guides architectural direction, evaluates emerging technologies, and designs experiments to test feasibility and alignment with enterprise strategy.

You will translate findings into actionable guidance for senior stakeholders and collaborate across multiple domains. The position requires 12+ years in network architecture or related fields, strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunications, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of experience in network architecture, engineering, R&D, or related technical discipline.
• Deep technical expertise across optical/transport, IP networking, cloud-native infrastructure, automation, AI-enabled infra, edge compute, or security.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior technical authority for Network R&D initiatives, providing architectural direction across emerging network technologies and future capability exploration.
• Evaluate technologies such as quantum networking, post-quantum cryptography, AI infrastructure, programmable networks, edge compute, and advanced security capabilities.
• Develop reference architectures, design patterns, and decision frameworks for determining relevance to Lumen’s future network strategy.
• Lead deep technical analysis of vendors, startups, academia, national labs, open-source, and consortium-led opportunities.
• Design experiments, pilots, lab validations, simulations, and assessments to test feasibility, interoperability, and cost.

Skills

Executive communication

Architectural leadership

Network architecture

Emerging technologies

Vendor evaluation

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Job description

The Role

As a Principal Architect, Network Research & Development, you will serve as a senior technical leader focused on shaping Lumen’s future network capabilities through deep architectural expertise, disciplined experimentation, and practical evaluation of emerging technologies. This is an individual contributor role designed for a highly credible architect who can operate at the intersection of advanced networking, emerging technology, technical strategy, and enterprise decision‑making. The Principal Architect will help define hypotheses, design experiments, evaluate vendor and partner capabilities, develop reference architectures, and provide clear technical guidance on whether emerging capabilities should be stopped, continued, scaled, or transitioned into future roadmap consideration.

Location

This is a remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S.

The Main Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior technical authority for Network R&D initiatives, providing architectural direction across emerging network technologies, advanced infrastructure concepts, and future capability exploration.

• Evaluate emerging technologies such as quantum networking, post‑quantum cryptography, next‑generation optical and fiber systems, autonomous networks, AI infrastructure, programmable networks, edge and distributed compute, digital twins, and advanced security capabilities.

• Develop reference architectures, technical design patterns, proof‑of‑concept approaches, and decision frameworks that help determine whether emerging capabilities have relevance for Lumen’s future network strategy.

• Lead deep technical analysis of vendor, startup, academic, national lab, open‑source, and consortium‑led innovation opportunities, ensuring external partnerships produce actionable insight and usable learning.

• Design and guide experiments, pilots, lab validations, simulations, and technical assessments that test feasibility, interoperability, scalability, resiliency, security, cost, and operational fit.

• Translate ambiguous technical findings into clear architecture implications, risk assessments, trade‑off analyses, and recommendations for senior technical and business stakeholders.

• Collaborate with Network Engineering, Architecture, Product, Security, Operations, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and external partners to connect R&D work to enterprise priorities and future customer needs.

• Identify technical dependencies, integration considerations, standards implications, operating model impacts, and commercialization pathways for validated capabilities.

• Provide thought leadership on future network evolution, including how emerging technologies may influence network architecture, product enablement, automation, resilience, security, and customer differentiation.

• Help establish disciplined technical governance for R&D work, including architecture reviews, documentation standards, learning milestones, technical exit criteria, and stop/continue/scale recommendations.

• Represent Network R&D in technical forums, partner discussions, internal architecture reviews, standards conversations, and executive‑level technical briefings.

• Maintain a strong external view of technology shifts, market signals, standards activity, partner ecosystems, and competitive innovation that may create future strategic advantage for Lumen.

What We Look For in a Candidate

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunications, applied science, or a related technical field; advanced degree preferred.

• 12+ years of experience in network architecture, network engineering, advanced technology strategy, R&D, product engineering, platform engineering, security architecture, or a related technical discipline.

• Deep technical expertise in one or more advanced network domains such as optical and transport systems, IP networking, programmable networks, cloud‑native infrastructure, automation, AI‑enabled infrastructure, edge/distributed compute, security architecture, or next‑generation access technologies.

• Demonstrated ability to evaluate emerging technologies and convert technical uncertainty into structured experiments, architectural options, decision points, and business‑relevant recommendations.

• Ability to operate in ambiguity, quickly learn new technical domains, separate signal from noise, and make sound recommendations with incomplete or evolving information.

• Strong executive and technical communication skills, including the ability to explain highly complex concepts to senior leaders, peer architects, engineering teams, vendors, and non-technical stakeholders.

• Proven ability to influence without direct authority and work effectively across matrixed teams, technical SMEs, external partners, and leadership stakeholders.

• Commitment to disciplined experimentation, including defining hypotheses, success measures, learning milestones, technical constraints, and kill criteria.

• Ability to mentor other technical contributors and help elevate architectural thinking, documentation quality, and technical decision-making across the organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience contributing to R&D, innovation, advanced architecture, emerging technology, lab, incubation, or future‑state strategy work within a telecommunications, cloud, infrastructure, security, or deep technology environment.

• Exposure to quantum technologies, post‑quantum cryptography, QKD, photonics, next‑generation fiber, advanced optical systems, AI infrastructure, autonomous networks, digital twins, programmable network architectures, or advanced security models.

• Experience designing or leading technology pilots, proof‑of‑concepts, simulations, lab validations, vendor co‑development efforts, academic collaborations, national lab engagements, standards participation, or startup evaluations.

• Familiarity with horizon planning, stage‑gate models, tranche funding, portfolio‑based innovation approaches, learning milestones, technical readiness levels, or evidence‑based stop/continue decision frameworks.

• Understanding of intellectual property considerations, standards bodies, vendor partnership models, co‑development terms, licensing approaches, or commercialization pathways for emerging technology work.

• Experience representing an organization externally with credibility in technical forums, industry groups, partner discussions, vendor briefings, or innovation ecosystems.

• Strong curiosity and external orientation, with a demonstrated ability to connect market signals, technology trends, customer needs, and enterprise strategy into practical architecture recommendations.

Compensation

This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.

Location Based Pay Ranges

$152,066 - $202,755 in these states: AL AR AZ FL GA IA ID IN KS KY LA ME MO MS MT ND NE NM OH OK PA SC SD TN UT VT WI WV WY

$159,670 - $212,893 in these states: CO HI MI MN NC NH NV OR RI

$167,273 - $223,031 in these states: AK CA CT DC DE IL MA MD NJ NY TX VA WA

Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.

Learn more about Lumen's:

Benefits (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/benefits-statement)

Bonus Structure

#LI-Remote

Requisition #: 343420

Life at Lumen

Life at Lumen is human and connected, even in a fast moving, AI‑focused organization. We set clear expectations and trust people to meet them. With real support and shared accountability, teams collaborate better, move faster, and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Our Lumen 8 behaviors guide how we interact, make decisions, and work together, shaping a culture built to perform and win.

To learn more about Life at Lumen and how we live the Lumen 8, please visit:

https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/life-at-lumen

Background Screening

If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/faq) . Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Equal Employment Opportunities

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training.

Privacy Notice

Lumen is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information collected during the recruitment and hiring process. Our Applicant Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect applicant information, as well as how individuals may request access to or deletion of their personal data.

To review Lumen’s Global Employment Applicant and Talent Community Privacy Notice, please visit:

https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/privacy-notice

Disclaimer

The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions.

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Please be advised that Lumen does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Lumen, they are not for employment with us, but may relate to another company with a similar name.