Principal Architect – Infrastructure & Platform Architecture
Location: Remote
Duration: 12 Months
About This Opportunity:
Client is seeking a Principal Architect to lead the strategy, design, and governance of large-scale infrastructure platforms across data center, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and as-a-service environments. This role will serve as the technical authority for complex infrastructure initiatives, including new site deployments, cloud operating models, networking, security, identity, automation, and operational readiness.
The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in enterprise infrastructure, Juniper networking, Aruba technologies, cloud orchestration, identity management, and enterprise-scale architecture leadership.
Key Responsibilities:
Infrastructure & Platform Architecture:
- Own end-to-end architecture for infrastructure platforms across data center, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and XaaS environments.
- Define reference architectures, design standards, technology roadmaps, and architectural decision records.
- Design compute, storage, virtualization, and platform solutions aligned with performance, resiliency, lifecycle, and support requirements.
- Lead architecture reviews, technical governance, and production readiness assessments. New Site & Data Center Architecture
- Lead architecture and design for new site deployments, including rack and stack, compute, storage, networking, security, identity, automation, and operational integration.
- Establish deployment standards, validation plans, disaster recovery strategies, and operational acceptance criteria.
- Evaluate power, space, capacity, and scalability considerations for new infrastructure builds.
Network Architecture:
Design and govern Juniper-based network environments, including:
- Leaf-spine architectures
- Switching and routing
- Network segmentation
- Firewall integration
- High-speed fabric connectivity
- Architect Aruba campus and enterprise networking solutions.
- Lead integration of NVIDIA/Mellanox switching technologies with Juniper infrastructure.
Identity & Security Architecture:
- Define enterprise identity architectures spanning:
- Okta
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Active Directory
- Microsoft 365
Develop cybersecurity standards and controls, including:
- Firewall policy management
- Secure administration
- Segmentation strategies
- Logging and monitoring
- Vulnerability management
Incident readiness Automation & Cloud Operating Models:
- Architect Morpheus cloud platforms and cloud operating models.
- Drive Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), self-service provisioning, automation, and policy enforcement initiatives.
- Establish repeatable deployment frameworks, CI/CD integration, and lifecycle automation practices.
- Integrate infrastructure management and operational platforms into enterprise architecture standards.
Leadership & Strategy:
- Lead technical discovery sessions, architecture workshops, proof-of-concept activities, and design reviews.
- Identify technical risks, dependencies, constraints, and modernization opportunities.
- Present architecture recommendations to executive leadership and technical stakeholders.
- Mentor architects and senior engineers while promoting automation-first and secure-by-design practices.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- 12+ years of experience in infrastructure architecture, enterprise systems engineering, cloud platform architecture, or data center engineering.
- Proven experience leading complex, multi-domain infrastructure programs from planning through production deployment.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills with executive-level audiences.
Required Technical Expertise:
Infrastructure & Cloud:
Deep expertise with enterprise infrastructure solutions, including:
- Compute platforms
- Storage platforms
- Virtualization technologies
- Data center infrastructure
- Hybrid cloud architectures
Networking:
Expert-level knowledge of:
- Juniper switching
- Juniper routing
- Leaf-spine architectures
- Juniper firewalls
- Strong Aruba networking and enterprise connectivity experience.
- Experience integrating NVIDIA/Mellanox networking technologies within high-performance environments.
Identity & Security:
Strong expertise with:
- Okta
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Active Directory
- Microsoft 365 Identity Services
- Experience designing security controls for enterprise infrastructure environments.
Automation & Platform Engineering:
- Hands-on experience with Morpheus platform architecture and administration.
- Strong Infrastructure-as-Code, automation, orchestration, API integration, and CI/CD experience.
- Ability to evaluate interoperability across infrastructure, network, security, identity, cloud, and management platforms.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience building or expanding multi-site data center environments.
- Experience with Morpheus or VM Essentials transformation initiatives.
- Experience supporting VMware modernization or migration programs.
- Knowledge of NSX-V dependency analysis and application replatforming efforts.
- Experience with AI, accelerated compute, GPU infrastructure, or high-performance computing environments.
- Experience establishing Platform Engineering, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), or XaaS capabilities.
- Experience designing highly available environments with disaster recovery and business continuity requirements.
- Relevant certifications in Juniper, Aruba, cloud architecture, networking, security, or enterprise architecture disciplines.
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