Distinguished Engineer, Enterprise Architecture

Equinix is the world's digital infrastructure company®, shortening the path to connectivity to enable the innovations that enrich our work, life and planet. A place where tech thinkers and future builders turn bold ideas into breakthrough experiences, we welcome your unique perspective. Help us challenge assumptions, uncover bias, and remove barriers—because progress starts with fresh ideas. You'll find belonging, purpose, and a team that welcomes you—because when you feel valued, you're empowered to do your best work.

Job Summary

Distinguished Engineer to serve as the DIO preeminent technical leader and owner of our overall Enterprise Networking Architecture. This pure IC role carries no direct reports but holds ultimate accountability for defining the global infrastructure architecture and long‑term strategy. You will partner closely with the various DIO & Business unit teams and own the end‑to‑end architecture across all aspects of enterprise networking (LAN/WAN/enterprise/IT datacenter/cloud interconnection), deploy and govern uniform standards, align and influence all global architecture teams, and lead the creation of multi‑year (5‑year) strategic roadmaps. A key emphasis will be on modern, secure, AI‑augmented networking—spanning traditional carrier services to emerging AI tooling and operations. This position is for a world‑class infrastructure architect who has already achieved pinnacle technical impact at the highest levels of scale and complexity. You must be a forward thinker with a big‑picture perspective, able to seamlessly integrate with all architecture teams, drive innovation that influences the industry, and collaborate effectively across diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary interface with the DIO team and executive leadership on all matters of networking architecture; act as the final technical authority and escalation point for complex, cross‑domain decisions.
• Own the holistic enterprise architecture for networking across all aspects (LAN, WAN, datacenter fabrics, cloud connectivity, wireless, access/edge, firewalls, secure remote access, carrier interconnects, and beyond).
• Define, document, deploy, and enforce reference architectures, and best practices; ensure consistency and compliance across all regions, business units, and architecture teams.
• Align and collaborate globally with all architecture teams (cloud, security, infrastructure, application, edge) to drive unified strategy, resolve architectural conflicts, accelerate modernization, and foster seamless integration.
• Lead the development and ongoing refinement of 5‑year global networking strategies; produce comprehensive documentation, roadmaps, risk assessments, technology evaluations, and executive‑level findings/recommendations—always with a forward‑looking, big‑picture view.
• Architect high‑performance, secure connectivity solutions leveraging a broad range of technologies, including (but not limited to): LAN/WAN technologies with vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and whitebox solutions; next‑generation firewalls and security appliances (Palo Alto, FortiGate, Cisco); wireless access points and management platforms (Mist AI, Meraki); out‑of‑band/terminal servers (ZPE, Opengear); carrier services including VPLS, MPLS, point‑to‑point (P2P), metro connect (MC), SD‑WAN overlays, and emerging alternatives.
• Champion the integration of AI in the enterprise space; including AI‑driven network operations (AIOps), predictive analytics, autonomous remediation, threat detection, capacity planning, and configuration management—as well as broader AI tooling impacts on infrastructure (e.g., AI workloads' networking demands, edge AI inference).
• Drive monitoring, observability, and tooling strategies (e.g., advanced telemetry, eBPF, AI‑enhanced anomaly detection) to achieve proactive, automated operations.
• Drive innovation that shapes the industry: identify emerging trends, pioneer novel architectures, influence vendor roadmaps, and contribute to standards bodies.
• Represent the company externally through thought leadership: patents, publications, conference keynotes (e.g., NANOG, RSA, Black Hat), vendor influence, and standards contributions.
• Mentor senior/principal engineers; lead architecture review boards, technical guilds, and cross‑org working groups to elevate engineering excellence while collaborating effectively and building strong working relationships.

Qualifications

• 18+ years of progressive experience in enterprise‑scale networking and security architecture, with 10+ years in senior/lead/principal roles owning large‑scale designs (global multi‑site, 10,000+ endpoints, petabit‑class fabrics).
• Prior Distinguished Engineer, Senior Principal Engineer, Fellow, or equivalent executive IC title at a very large Fortune 50 technology company (such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, NVIDIA, Meta, or similar hyper‑scale tech giants ranked in the top tier of Fortune 500 by revenue/market cap/scale).
• Demonstrated external impact: patents, influential open‑source contributions, published papers, standards participation, or high‑profile speaking.
• Deep, hands‑on mastery across all aspects of enterprise networking, including but not limited to: Datacenter/enterprise LAN/WAN: BGP/EVPN, VXLAN, leaf‑spine, SD‑WAN, high‑speed fabrics (400G+); Security: Zero‑trust, firewalls (Palo Alto, FortiGate, Cisco), micro‑segmentation, SASE/SSE; Wireless: Mist AI, Meraki, enterprise WLAN design; Out‑of‑band: ZPE, Opengear terminal servers; Carrier interconnects: MPLS, VPLS, P2P, metro Ethernet, managed connectivity; Additional domains: Edge networking, hybrid/multi‑cloud integration, IoT/OT connectivity, network automation/orchestration, performance optimization, and resilience engineering.
• Proven track record leading 3‑5+ year strategic planning, producing actionable roadmaps that deliver measurable outcomes (e.g., cost optimization, 99.9999% availability, reduced attack surface).
• Strong experience integrating AI/ML into networking (AIOps, predictive maintenance, automated security response) and understanding AI's implications on enterprise infrastructure.
• Exceptional ability to influence without authority at C‑level/executive forums, document complex strategies clearly, and align diverse global teams.
• Forward‑thinking mindset with big‑picture vision; proven ability to seamlessly integrate with cross‑functional teams, drive industry‑leading innovation, work well with others, and collaborate effectively in high‑stakes environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related.
• Active involvement in industry bodies (IETF, ONUG, CNCF networking SIGs) or AI/networking communities.
• Experience in regulated sectors (finance, healthcare, critical infrastructure).
• Proficiency with automation/IaC (Ansible, Terraform, Python) for network/security configs and GitOps practices.

Equinix Benefits

As an employee, you become important to Equinix's success. We ensure all your benefits are in line with our core values: competitive, inclusive, sustainable, connected and efficient. We keep them competitive within the current marketplace to ensure we're providing you with the best package possible. So, wherever you are in your career and life, you'll be able to enhance your experience and bring your whole self to work.

• Employee Assistance Program: An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.
• US Benefits: Insurance: You may enroll in health, life, disability and voluntary plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members.
• Retirement: You and Equinix may contribute to a retirement plan to help you plan for your financial future.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays: You will receive an accrued amount of PTO each pay period along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific plan or program terms.

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability. If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form. Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy/childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political/organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law.