Principal Network Engineer

Role Overview 

The Principal Network Architect is the highest-level individual contributor in the Network Engineering organization and the technical authority for the entire Phoenix network: its architecture, standards, long-range roadmap, and competitive positioning. This is not a management role. It carries no headcount. 

Roughly 60% of focus goes to the inter-metro backbone program and carrier hotel expansion — architecture, design documentation, stitching strategy, peering and interconnection planning, service definition, and implementation guidance. The remaining 40% covers architecture governance, joint development of the long-range technology roadmap in close partnership with the Sr. Director of Network Engineering, resiliency and security architecture, standards enforcement, vendor strategy, and escalation support. Output is always specific and tangible: design documents, reference architectures, MOPs, gap analyses, service definitions, and clear technical requirements handed to the engineering and automation teams. 

Key Responsibilities 

Inter-Metro Backbone & Carrier Hotel Expansion 

Design and own the end-to-end architecture for the multi-metro SR/MPLS backbone, including EVPN/VXLAN-to-MPLS stitching strategy, traffic engineering, TI-LFA fast-reroute, capacity planning, and resiliency design. Define the carrier hotel entry strategy across priority US markets — transport options, SR/MPLS stitching profiles, and peering architecture — in close collaboration with the Optical Architect. Produce all design documents, MOPs, SOPs, and operational runbooks required for backbone deployment and ongoing operations. 

Peering, Interconnection & Service Definition 

Build the peering and interconnection strategy: IXP participation, BGP peering policy, public and private peering architecture, route server integration, and cloud on-ramp design (AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, Google Cloud Interconnect, OCI FastConnect). Define the network service catalog — virtual cross-connects, private peering, internet exchange access, and cloud on-ramps — and specify the provisioning architecture the Network Automation Engineer and Portal team will build against. Partner with Product Management to translate capabilities into defined service tiers with SLAs grounded in real architecture. 

Reliability, Security & Architecture Governance 

Own the carrier-grade resiliency architecture targeting 99.999% availability: failure domain modeling, redundancy strategy, fast-reroute design, and protection switching at every layer. Define the zero-trust security architecture, DDoS mitigation approach (RTBH, Flowspec, scrubbing integration), and macro/micro-segmentation model within EVPN/VXLAN tenants. Enforce architecture governance: conduct structured reviews of all major proposed changes to topology, routing design, or platform selection; publish and maintain reference architectures and configuration standards across all network domains. 

Technology Roadmap, Vendor Strategy & Automation Advisory 

Work in close partnership with the Sr. Director of Network Engineering to define, build, and maintain the 3–5 year network technology roadmap: what gets built, replaced, or deferred and why. This Architect is a primary contributor and co-author of that strategy — bringing the depth of backbone, interconnection, and service architecture experience needed to translate competitive ambition into a credible, sequenced technical plan. The Sr. Director owns the roadmap; this role shapes it. Define the vendor and platform strategy, evaluate emerging technologies (SRv6 evolution, AI-assisted operations, P4 programmable forwarding, next-generation coherent optical), and engage vendors at the engineering and product roadmap level. For automation and observability, act as the technically demanding internal customer: define provisioning logic, SR policy management requirements, self-healing behavior specifications, and observability requirements. Implementation rests with the Network Automation Engineer; this role provides the architectural direction and precise requirements. 

Technical Leadership & Escalation 

Serve as Tier-4 technical authority and final escalation for complex production issues across backbone, metro fabrics, optical transport, and carrier hotel connectivity. Mentor senior engineers through design reviews and direct technical collaboration. Lead architecture review boards and structured knowledge-sharing on backbone technologies, SR/MPLS, peering, security design, and automation patterns. 

Required Skills & Qualifications 

Non-Negotiable 

• 15–20+ years of progressive network engineering and architecture experience, with 5–8+ years at Principal, Sr. Principal, or equivalent architect level in a service-provider, carrier-neutral data center, or hyperscale environment. 

• Production-proven expertise in EVPN/VXLAN fabric design at data-center scale and expert-level MPLS mastery including SR-MPLS and SRv6 (traffic engineering, flex-algo, TI-LFA, BGP-CT). 

• Deep BGP experience: route reflectors, confederations, complex policy design, multi-protocol BGP (EVPN, labeled unicast, Flowspec), and large-scale routing table management. 

• Proven track record designing and deploying multi-metro or service-provider backbone networks, including EVPN-to-MPLS stitching, inter-domain connectivity, and carrier hotel or IXP integration. 

• Direct experience with internet peering and interconnection: IXP participation, BGP peering policy, public and private peering architecture, and route server integration. 

• Cloud on-ramp design experience: AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, Google Cloud Interconnect, or equivalent integrated into a backbone routing domain. 

• Working knowledge of network security architecture: BGP control plane security, RPKI/ROA, DDoS mitigation (RTBH, Flowspec), and macro/micro-segmentation within EVPN/VXLAN. 

• Sufficient depth in network automation and NetDevOps to provide precise, actionable requirements to an automation engineer: provisioning logic, SR policy management, EVPN service state, and zero-touch provisioning goals. 

• Exceptional written and verbal communication: publication-quality design documents and the ability to present ROI, risk, and architecture trade-offs to C-level audiences. 

Preferred 

• Direct experience at a carrier-neutral colocation or interconnection provider with responsibility for peering infrastructure, customer connectivity, or backbone architecture. 

• Background at a major service provider, hyperscaler, or CDN with backbone or interconnection scope. 

• Expert-level certification: CCIE (RS, SP, or DC track), JNCIE-SP, or JNCIE-DC. 

• Experience with AI/HPC fabric design and lossless transport requirements for GPU clusters. 

• Experience defining network service catalogs and working with product and commercial teams to bring connectivity products to market. 

Ideal Candidate Profile 

The right person for this role has built backbone networks that other companies rely on for production traffic. They have stood up carrier hotel presences, negotiated peering relationships, designed EVPN-to-MPLS stitching in production, written the MOP, and been on the bridge when things went wrong at 2am. They understand what it takes to operate a network at five-nines because they have been responsible for one. They have seen how a global carrier-neutral operator or major service provider runs its interconnection infrastructure — and they know exactly what Phoenix needs to build to compete at that level. 

They are technically precise in everything they produce, opinionated where it matters, and willing to defend positions with data and architecture principles. They write clearly. They do not wait to be directed. They assess the current state, identify the gaps, and produce a prioritized plan on their own initiative. They understand automation deeply enough to be a demanding customer of an automation engineer — they know what they need built, why, and can specify it precisely. They have mentored senior engineers through direct technical exchange, not org charts.