Principal Architect

StartFragment 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 $149,084 - $198,779 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 $156,539 - $208,718 in these states: CO  HI  MI  MN  NC  NH  NV  OR  RI $163,993 - $218,657 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

11/05/2025

About Lumen

Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress.

We’re looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.

The Role

It’s not about the problems in the possibilities, but the possibilities in the problems.

Lumen is Cloudifying Telecom and Digitizing its Product Portfolio.  In this role, you will drive the most important initiatives for the company, providing technical direction and definition of Lumen’s Digital Platform Experience and Network as a Service (NaaS) implementation.   You will take initiatives from ideation through reference architecture, PoC, execution team acceptance, and implementation alignment. 

This role requires broad technical knowledge and experience across many technologies, including, but not limited to Telco and Network Access Service Provider Technologies, Metro Area Networks, Cloud Service Provider Networks and Infrastructure, CSP Experiences, Datacenter Operators, Internet Access, Private Networking L2 and L3 Access, VPN Technology, Voice, Optical Transport, Network and Cybersecurity, SASE/SD-WAN, Network Automation, Platform and Systems Design, Software Architecture and Development, Enterprise Architecture, AI/ML, Data Science, Network Digital Twin, and Edge Compute.  The ideal candidate will possess many aspects of this broad knowledge and be considered a domain expert in more than one area with the ability to design and communicate deep technical details for required solutions.    You will work with a team of other domain experts that round out the broad and deep knowledge needed across our solution space as we drive to “make it fast” and “make it easy” for our customers to get the connectivity, services, and capabilities that they need from Lumen.

In this role, you will be a thought leader in how Lumen’s network, edge, voice, and AI capabilities are componentized and exposed to both internal and external consumers to align to the Digital Platform Experience, our customer’s cloudification journey, and our Network as a Service vision and methodology.  You will be expected to contribute to the definition of the customer experience and product requirements, translating product and customer experience requirements into specific network, systems, and application solution designs.  You must be equally comfortable working with deep technical experts, product management, sales, internal executives, as well as external partners and customers to define and design solutions that meet the needs of these diverse groups.  This role will further work across the network architecture, network engineering, and systems development organizations to ensure alignment to the vision and experience.

The Main Responsibilities

• Define the implementable customer vision
• Drive the enablement of ai powered solutions across the platform
• Process feedback and requirements into key points and concepts to be implemented
• Create reference designs and PoCs to facilitate execution team handoff and acceptance as well as drive ownership of initiatives into the execution team.
• Architect solutions for Lumen-wide business problems, clearly communicate requirements, intent, and implementation details to technical and non-technical audiences
• Effectively manage and deliver multiple projects in parallel while maintaining ownership of keys areas of responsibility across the organization
• Indirectly influence the work of others to drive large projects from inception to delivery with successful completion and implementation of requirements
• Coach and mentor others in the business processes implemented in the team's applications, services, and workflows to provide resolution to support problems
• Effectively estimate the time it will take to perform tasks and influence the work to be completed within those timeframes, provide input/feedback to stakeholders and project managers for effective capacity planning
• Scale solutions to meet enhanced requirements for growth, new services, or network optimization by applying approved technologies and architectures for enhancements/additions and provide for an economical means to complete the work
• Domain expert for one or more of the broad technical skillsets needed across the team.

What We Look For in a Candidate

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree or equivalent experience
• 12+ years of related experience in software development, systems/network engineering,  systems/network architecture, or network automation
• Solution and automation-oriented mind-set
• Strong listening and communication skills
• Equally comfortable speaking across many of the identified technologies and can deep dive into solution needs within one or more areas.
• Strong coaching and mentorship capabilities
• Experience translating product and technical requirements into implementable solutions
• Proven experience as force multiplier in the way teams are lead through complex problems
• Broad Technology Experience across many of these areas and a domain expert of at least one or more:
  • Telco and Network Access Service Provider Technologies, Metro Area Networks, Cloud Service Provider Networks and Infrastructure, CSP Experiences, Datacenter Operators, Internet Access, Private Networking L2 and L3 Access, VPN Technology, Voice, Optical Transport, Network and Cybersecurity, SASE/SD-WAN, Network Automation, Platform and Systems Design, Software Architecture and Development, Enterprise Architecture, AI/ML, Data Science, Network Digital Twin, and Edge Compute
• Working Knowledge of:
  • Asynchronous programming concepts and distributed systems design
  • Continuous integration and delivery practices
  • Zero downtime deployment strategies
  • OpenAPI

Compensation

Bonus Structure

#LI-Remot

#LI-VK1

Requisition #: 340349

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. 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.

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.