Distinguished Engineer, Networking

Equinix•Redwood City, CA

1d•$269,000 - $403,000•Onsite

About The Position

Equinix is seeking a world-class Distinguished Engineer, Networking to help define the architecture of one of the world's most interconnected digital infrastructure platforms. This is the most senior individual contributor role within the Network Architecture organization and serves as the technical counterpart to leadership. The Distinguished Engineer is the person trusted to solve the hardest architectural problems in the company, challenge assumptions before they become production issues, and raise the technical bar across the global engineering organization. This leader will shape the future of Equinix's network architecture across optical transport, software-defined interconnection, AI-native infrastructure, intent-driven networking, and cloud-scale routing. They will work directly with Product, Engineering, Operations, strategic customers, and hyperscale partners to build the technical foundation for the next generation of interconnection services. Equinix is executing several major architectural shifts simultaneously. Fabric One introduces intent-driven, any-to-any connectivity built on open APIs and deep integration with cloud providers. Fabric Intelligence enables AI agents to provision, optimize, and manage network infrastructure autonomously. Fabric Geo Zones introduces jurisdiction-aware data paths where data sovereignty becomes a property of the network itself, not merely an application-level policy. The platform already connects more than 10,500 businesses, 3,000 cloud and IT providers, and eight of the world's ten largest AI model providers. Because Equinix operates as a neutral interconnection platform, this role designs not for a single cloud or ecosystem—but for the broader Internet itself.

Requirements

15+ years designing, building, and operating large-scale network infrastructure
Experience operating at cloud scale within: AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Equivalent hyperscale environments, Large-scale carrier or exchange networks
Expert-level knowledge of: Optical transport, DWDM, OTN, Coherent networking, ROADMs, IP/MPLS, BGP, SDN and control-plane architectures
Proven ability to influence architecture decisions across large engineering organizations
Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to operate equally comfortably at: Executive strategy level, Whiteboard architecture level, Protocol and packet-debugging level

Nice To Haves

Experience designing infrastructure for AI training and distributed inference workloads
Experience with carrier-neutral interconnection, peering, IXPs, or cloud exchange platforms
Familiarity with network-as-code, intent-driven networking, and autonomous infrastructure systems
Understanding of data sovereignty architectures and jurisdiction-aware traffic engineering
Contributions to standards bodies, patents, open-source initiatives, publications, or major industry platforms

Responsibilities

Define the architecture for the network that powers the Equinix Interconnection portfolio, including: Equinix Fabric, Fabric Cloud Router, Metro Connect, Internet Exchange, Network Edge, Future intent-driven and AI-enabled networking services
Develop architectural patterns that support current products while providing the foundation for future innovation across the company.
Serve as a lead architect behind: Fabric One: Design the network architecture behind intent-driven connectivity where applications and infrastructure consume network services through software; Fabric Intelligence: Create the networking foundation for AI-native operations where intelligent agents provision, optimize, diagnose, and heal infrastructure autonomously; Fabric Geo Zones: Develop architectures that enforce geographic and regulatory boundaries across global infrastructure environments and sovereign jurisdictions
Lead architectural decisions spanning Layers 0 through 3, including: Coherent optics, DWDM, OTN, ROADMs, Optical transport, IP/MPLS, BGP at hyperscale, Software-defined networking, Control plane architecture
Provide technical leadership on vendor decisions, technology bets, standards adoption, architecture reviews, and long-range platform evolution.
Build proof-of-concepts, validate new technologies, evaluate tradeoffs, and translate architectural concepts into production recommendations
Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Operations to ensure roadmap priorities are technically sound, scalable, and operationally viable
Represent Equinix externally with: Strategic customers, Hyperscalers, AI infrastructure providers, Industry standards organizations, Technical conferences, Strategic technology partners
Serve as a trusted technical voice with CTOs, VPs Engineering, and senior architects across the global infrastructure ecosystem.
Mentor senior and principal engineers across the organization
Create architectural standards, reusable design patterns, review mechanisms, and technical practices that improve engineering quality across the company