Senior Network Architect
The Senior Network Architect serves as the senior technical authority for JAX's enterprise network architecture across data center, campus, cloud, remote access, wireless, segmentation, internet edge, and secure connectivity services. The role designs, modernizes, and guides complex network architectures that support security, resiliency, scalability, performance, and business continuity. This senior individual contributor aligns network architecture with cybersecurity strategy and Zero Trust principles, leads major transformation and migration efforts, provides hands-on architecture and troubleshooting support, develops standards and roadmaps, engages vendors, and mentors technical staff without direct people-management responsibilities.
Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions
- Serve as the senior technical authority for JAX's enterprise network architecture, including data center, campus, cloud, remote access, wireless, segmentation, internet edge, and secure connectivity services.
- Serve as a thought leader on The Jackson Laboratory's Architecture Review Board.
- Design, modernize, and guide implementation of complex network architectures that support security, resiliency, scalability, performance, and business continuity requirements.
- Lead architecture planning for major network transformation efforts, including network modernization, segmentation, cloud connectivity, data center connectivity, firewall architecture, secure access, and enterprise routing strategy.
- Evaluate current-state network architecture, identify risks, technical debt, performance constraints, resiliency gaps, and security concerns, and develop practical improvement roadmaps.
- Act as a working architect by contributing directly to design, configuration review, implementation planning, troubleshooting, migration execution, validation, and post-implementation support.
- Develop target-state architectures, design standards, reference diagrams, migration plans, implementation runbooks, and technical decision records.
- Provide expert-level guidance on routing, switching, firewalls, VPN, SD-WAN, wireless, segmentation, load balancing, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, network access control, cloud networking, and hybrid connectivity.
- Partner with Security, Infrastructure, Cloud, Endpoint, Research IT, Operations, and application teams to ensure network architecture supports organizational, security, compliance, and operational goals.
- Lead or contribute to major network migration and modernization initiatives, including architecture design, vendor evaluation, risk assessment, dependency mapping, cutover planning, and production readiness.
- Provide technical leadership for network projects by defining scope, sequencing work, coordinating stakeholders, managing technical dependencies, tracking risks, and communicating progress.
- Translate business, research, security, and operational requirements into secure and resilient network architecture solutions.
- Review proposed changes to network infrastructure and security controls for architectural alignment, operational impact, risk, and long-term maintainability.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex network issues, including performance problems, routing issues, firewall behavior, segmentation gaps, connectivity failures, and availability concerns.
- Collaborate with the CISO and network/security leadership to align network architecture with cybersecurity strategy, Zero Trust principles, risk reduction goals, and incident response readiness.
- Develop and maintain architecture documentation, network diagrams, standards, patterns, and lifecycle roadmaps.
- Provide technical mentorship and guidance to network engineers, security engineers, analysts, and infrastructure staff without direct people-management responsibilities.
- Engage with vendors, service providers, consultants, and internal stakeholders to evaluate technologies, resolve issues, and ensure effective and fiscally responsible solutions.
- Participate in capacity planning, lifecycle planning, disaster recovery planning, and network resiliency reviews.
- Support complex networking projects as a Project Manager.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Other Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Demonstrated expertise designing and supporting complex network architectures across campus, data center, cloud, remote access, wireless, and internet-edge environments.
- Expert-level knowledge of routing, switching, TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, VRFs, SD-WAN, VPN, wireless, network segmentation, firewall architecture, DNS, DHCP, IPAM, load balancing, and high-availability network design.
- Strong experience with network security architecture, including firewalls, secure remote access, network access control, segmentation, Zero Trust concepts, secure internet edge, and hybrid cloud connectivity.
- Experience with observability tools for monitoring network metrics, proactively identifying service risks, preventing outages, and equipping technical teams with actionable insights for issue resolution.
- Preferred experience leading or substantially contributing to major network migrations, redesigns, cloud connectivity initiatives, data center transitions, segmentation programs, or enterprise network modernization efforts.
- Experience serving as a working architect who can move between strategy, design, project leadership, implementation support, troubleshooting, and operational validation.
- Demonstrated project management experience, including defining project scope, developing implementation plans, coordinating technical teams, managing risks and dependencies, communicating status, and driving work to completion.
- Experience developing network architecture roadmaps, technical standards, design documentation, migration plans, implementation runbooks, and executive-level summaries.
- Ability to evaluate existing environments, identify architectural gaps, assess risk, and recommend practical, cost-effective solutions.
- Experience working in high availability, security, compliance, research, healthcare, regulated, or mission-critical infrastructure environments preferred.
- Experience with cloud networking in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or hybrid cloud environments preferred.
- Experience with automation, infrastructure as code, scripting, APIs, or network configuration management tools preferred.
- Experience with vendor management, technology evaluation, RFP/RFI support, contract input, and service provider coordination preferred.
- Track record of taking initiative, working independently, and driving complex technical efforts from concept through implementation.
- Effective organizational skills and ability to manage competing priorities across architecture, implementation, operations, and project work.
- Ability to establish and maintain strong working relationships with technical teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and leadership.
- Advanced delivery skills: define technical scope, estimate realistic timelines, coordinate contributors, manage dependencies, identify risks, communicate tradeoffs, and deliver secure, scalable, supportable solutions aligned with business needs.
- Expert-level network domain expertise, including enterprise network architecture, adjacent security and infrastructure systems, industry trends, lifecycle management, and operational realities of complex production environments.
- Expert problem solving: break down complex technical and organizational problems, identify root causes, develop long-term solutions, balance priorities, and guide teams through ambiguous or high-impact issues.
- Strong communication skills: explain complex technical topics to technical and non-technical audiences, produce clear architecture documentation, present recommendations, listen effectively, ask clarifying questions, and build alignment.
- Ability to work independently as a senior individual contributor with no direct reports.
- Relevant certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP, JNCIE, CISSP, AWS Advanced Networking, Azure Network Engineer, or equivalent experience preferred.
Education: Bachelor's Required / Masters Preferred
Experience: 10 Years Required
Pay Range: $113,718 - $190,388
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About JAX:
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.
Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community. For more information, please visit www.jax.org.
EEO Statement:
The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.
