Senior Lead Network Architect — AI-Driven, Scalable Core

Lumen; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Lumen is hiring a Senior Lead Network Architect to shape large-scale Internet, MPLS core, VPN edge, and Metro Ethernet networks in a high-impact environment in Salt Lake City. You will drive architecture standards, automation, and observability using modern tooling and AI-enabled ops to improve reliability, performance, and security.

The role demands 10+ years in carrier or service-provider networks, deep routing knowledge, and hands-on experience with network automation and telemetry. U.S.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of architecture and engineering experience in large-scale carrier, web-scale, or service-provider networks.
• Deep expertise in IGP, BGP, MPLS, multicast, VPN, and traffic-engineering technologies, including IS-IS, OSPF, Segment Routing, MP-BGP, RSVP-TE, LDP, PIM, IGMP, M-LDP, Layer 3 VPNs, VPLS, and EVPN.
• Demonstrated experience designing and supporting large-scale routing infrastructures, including IGP domains exceeding 1,000 nodes and multi-tier route-reflection architectures.
• Strong knowledge of routing and switching platforms, merchant silicon, optics, SERDES, and MPLS forwarding and control-plane mechanisms.
• Experience with carrier-grade Metro Ethernet technologies and standards, including IEEE 802.3, OAM, QinQ, MEF service profiles, and MPLS-based scaling.
• Hands-on experience with production network automation and telemetry using Python, Ansible, NETCONF/YANG, RESTCONF, gNMI, gRPC, APIs, event-driven workflows, automated testing.
• Strong communication, influence, and negotiation skills, including experience supporting major capital decisions and multi-year vendor agreements.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture and evolution of resilient, scalable Internet, MPLS core, VPN edge, and Metro Ethernet networks.
• Develop architecture standards and roadmaps for routing, switching, MPLS, multicast, carrier Ethernet, merchant-silicon platforms, optics, and high-speed interfaces.
• Design and govern network automation using model-driven interfaces, open APIs, infrastructure as code, reusable service models, automated testing.
• Design and develop streaming telemetry and observability solutions for network health, performance, capacity, service-level assurance, and compliance.
• Design and develop event-driven and closed-loop workflows for provisioning, validation, anomaly response, and remediation.
• Evaluate and apply AI-enabled capabilities for anomaly detection, predictive analytics, capacity forecasting, incident correlation, root-cause analysis, and guided operations.
• Lead proof-of-concepts, technical and economic evaluations, platform selection, and cross-functional architecture decisions.
• Provide technical leadership across IP, Optical/Transport, operations, security, data, and software engineering teams.

Skills

IGP

BGP

MPLS

Multicast

VPN

Traffic engineering

IS-IS

OSPF

Segment Routing

MP-BGP

RSVP-TE

LDP

PIM

IGMP

M-LDP

Layer 3 VPNs

VPLS

EVPN

Python

Ansible

NETCONF/YANG

RESTCONF

gNMI

gRPC

APIs

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related discipline

CCIE certification

JNCIE certification

Tools

Python automation

Ansible

NETCONF/YANG

RESTCONF

gNMI

gRPC

APIs

Job description

Lumen is hiring a Senior Lead Network Architect to shape large-scale Internet, MPLS core, VPN edge, and Metro Ethernet networks in a high-impact environment in Salt Lake City. You will drive architecture standards, automation, and observability using modern tooling and AI-enabled ops to improve reliability, performance, and security.

The role demands 10+ years in carrier or service-provider networks, deep routing knowledge, and hands-on experience with network automation and telemetry. U.S.