Director, Connectivity Architecture (Principal Design Authority)

GSK•Upper Providence, PA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Connectivity Architecture is GSK’s Principal Architect and Design Authority for global connectivity platforms. The role defines, governs and evolves the target‑state connectivity architecture, ensuring major initiatives deliver affordable, secure, resilient, observable and operable outcomes that enables us to unite science. technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. This position provides leadership through architectural authority, standards and governance. It sets the standards for WAN/SD‑WAN, campus LAN/Wi‑Fi, cloud and data centre connectivity, DDI (DNS/DHCP/IPAM), firewalling and Zero Trust access, enabling consistent, scalable delivery across a global, regulated enterprise.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience
Significant experience in enterprise networking and connectivity, including acting as Principal Architect/Design Authority for large‑scale transformations
Deep architectural expertise across SASE, WAN/SD‑WAN, LAN/Wi‑Fi, cloud/hybrid networking, DDI (DNS/DHCP/IPAM), firewalling and Zero Trust access
Strong architectural judgement and trade‑off analysis, balancing cost, risk, resilience, performance and automation
Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and delivery teams without direct line management responsibility
Experience defining operability/observability by design and working with SRE/Operations to embed NFRs and telemetry standards
Comfortable operating across platform-oriented delivery, agile environments and large multi‑vendor engagements
Exceptional communication skills, able to translate complex technical topics into executive decision enablers

Nice To Haves

Experience in complex, regulated, mission‑critical enterprise environments
Working exposure to AI‑driven operations, automation and telemetry platforms for network observability
Relevant technical certifications desirable (e.g., Juniper, CCNP/CCIE, cloud networking)

Responsibilities

Own the enterprise connectivity architecture vision, principles and target state aligned to business strategy, security requirements and the digital roadmap
Define and maintain global connectivity standards, reference architectures and design patterns across WAN/SD-WAN, LAN/Wi-Fi, cloud connectivity, DDI, firewalling and Zero Trust access
Act as the authoritative Design Authority for material connectivity decisions—chair architecture reviews, approve high‑impact designs and manage deviations with clear guardrails
Embed ‘security by design’ and segmentation principles into all connectivity designs, ensuring compliance with cybersecurity and regulated environment requirements
Define architecture roadmaps that drive simplification, automation, lifecycle management, end‑of‑life remediation and platform standardisation
Own non‑functional requirements (NFRs) for operability, observability, resilience, performance and automation, ensuring they are testable and built into delivery templates
Provide architectural leadership into RFPs/vendor selection and solution validation; ensure supplier designs adhere to enterprise standards and long‑term value objectives
Partner with Operations/SRE to ensure architectures are operationally fit, measurable (telemetry‑first) and supported by clear runbooks and service models
Support investment decisions by articulating architectural trade‑offs across cost, risk, resilience, scalability and automation
Translate complex architectural decisions into clear, actionable recommendations for senior stakeholders and executive forums