Senior Lead Network Architect — AI-Enabled, Scalable Backbone

Lumen; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Lumen is a trusted network for the AI-powered world, delivering secure, high-performance connectivity across cloud, edge, and AI workloads for enterprises and governments. The Senior Lead Network Architect will design resilient architectures across Internet, MPLS core, VPN edge, and Metro Ethernet while advancing network automation and AI-enabled operations.

You will lead cross-functional teams, drive standards, and apply cutting-edge technologies to improve reliability, performance, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, mathematics, or related discipline.
• CCIE and/or JNCIE certifications are highly preferred.
• 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 (IS-IS, OSPF, Segment Routing, MP-BGP, RSVP-TE, LDP, PIM, IGMP, M-LDP, L3 VPNs, VPLS, EVPN).
• Hands-on production network automation and telemetry using Python, Ansible, NETCONF/YANG, RESTCONF, gNMI, gRPC, and APIs.

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-concept projects, 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

Segment Routing

MP-BGP

RSVP-TE

LDP

PIM

IGMP

EVPN

VPLS

Python

Ansible

NETCONF/YANG

RESTCONF

gNMI

gRPC

APIs

Education

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

CCIE and/or JNCIE certifications

Job description

Lumen is a trusted network for the AI-powered world, delivering secure, high-performance connectivity across cloud, edge, and AI workloads for enterprises and governments. The Senior Lead Network Architect will design resilient architectures across Internet, MPLS core, VPN edge, and Metro Ethernet while advancing network automation and AI-enabled operations.

You will lead cross-functional teams, drive standards, and apply cutting-edge technologies to improve reliability, performance, and