Principal Network, Infrastructure, and AI Solutions Architect

Zion Cloud Solutions; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Zion Cloud Solutions seeks a Principal Network, Infrastructure, and AI Solutions Architect to lead enterprise-wide AI infra strategy across multi-cloud and hybrid networks. The role combines executive advisory with hands-on Terraform expertise to design secure public sector AI environments and cost-optimized deployments.

The ideal candidate will document architecture decisions, drive consensus among CIOs and security teams, and shape a roadmap for AI-ready legacy infrastructure and production

Qualifications

• 18+ years of experience in software engineering, enterprise architecture, and cloud infra.
• Hands-on Terraform and IaC to provision secure, scalable cloud environments.
• Experience defining infra strategy, ADRs, blueprints for public sector AI infra.
• Strong collaboration with executives and agency CIOs.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise strategy for AI infra across hybrid networks and multi-cloud.
• Define end-to-end Terraform-based build approaches for dev, test, prod.
• Create ADRs, blueprints, and technical specs.
• Align stakeholders across leadership and security teams.
• Establish FinOps frameworks for cloud consumption and cost allocation.
• Support CTO in AI-ready legacy infra roadmap.
• Provide architectural guidance to executives and engineers.

Skills

Executive leadership

Terraform IaC

Multi-cloud networking

Public sector infra

Costing FinOps

Architecture documentation

Education

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect

Cisco CCNP

Tools

Terraform

Job description

Job Title: Principal Network, Infrastructure, and AI Solutions Architect

Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid)

Position Overview

We are seeking a Principal Network, Infrastructure, and AI Solutions Architect to drive enterprise-wide strategy, comprehensive architectural documentation, cross-stakeholder consensus, and actionable build approaches for secure public sector AI infrastructure across major hyperscalers (Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or AWS), hybrid networks, and multi-cloud environments.

The ideal candidate will combine executive-level strategic advisory skills with hands-on Terraform expertise to design, build, and optimize secure public sector AI environments, incorporating rigorous Costing and FinOps frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overarching strategy for aligning AI initiatives with public sector enterprise networking, hybrid networking (on-premises + cloud), multi-cloud interconnectivity, infrastructure, cloud, hosting, identity, integration, and foundation model access requirements.
• Define end-to-end build approaches and hands-on Terraform automation to provision secure AI development, testing, sandbox, pilot, and production environments.
• Author comprehensive architectural documentation, including Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), blueprints, and technical specifications for public sector AI infrastructure.
• Drive stakeholder consensus across executive leadership, agency CIOs, security, networking, and cloud operations teams on infrastructure standards and build plans.
• Establish Costing and FinOps frameworks to monitor, allocate, and optimize cloud consumption, token usage, and infrastructure expenditure for AI workloads.
• Support the CTO and Chief Enterprise Architect in developing a strategic, AI-ready legacy infrastructure roadmap and production-readiness criteria.
• Provide architectural recommendations and technical documentation to executive and technical stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• 18+ years of experience in software engineering, enterprise architecture, hybrid networking, and cloud infrastructure across major hyperscalers (Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or AWS).
• Proven track record of defining infrastructure strategy, architectural documentation, multi-cloud networking architectures, and build approaches for complex, public sector environments.
• Hands-on expertise using Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to provision and manage secure, scalable cloud environments.
• Deep domain experience in Cloud Costing and FinOps, including consumption modeling, cost allocation, and resource optimization for AI/cloud infrastructure.
• Exceptional leadership and facilitation skills with a demonstrated ability to build consensus among diverse, cross-functional, and executive stakeholders.
• Ability to work with senior technical and executive leadership.
• Professional-level cloud certification in at least one major hyperscaler (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect) and networking certifications (e.g., Cisco CCNA or CCNP).