Network Architect

Pattern Energy Group•Houston, TX

4d•$111,000 - $139,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Pattern Energy is a renewable energy company that develops, constructs, owns, and operates wind and solar generation, transmission, and energy storage facilities. The Network Architect designs, implements, and maintains secure, resilient, and scalable network infrastructure across corporate IT and Operational Technology (OT) environments. The role leads firewall architecture, SD-WAN, dynamic routing, network segmentation, and NAT design, while supporting compliance with NERC CIP requirements and protecting generation, substation, and SCADA environments. It also enables reliable connectivity across the enterprise. The position balances network security with the operational reliability demands of critical OT and generation environments, where downtime can have significant business and safety impacts. Challenges include troubleshooting complex routing and firewall policy interactions across segmented IT/OT zones, maintaining NERC CIP audit readiness, and evaluating new technologies for compatibility with legacy SCADA systems. The work is supported by structured change management, coordination with OT and compliance stakeholders, thorough documentation, and attention to evolving security and regulatory requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Network Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent work experience.
8–10 years of progressive experience designing and supporting enterprise network and security infrastructure.
Deep, hands-on expertise with Palo Alto and Fortigate firewall platforms, including Panorama and FortiManager.
Experience with SD-WAN architecture, dynamic routing protocols (BGP, OSPF), NAT design, and network segmentation.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with NERC CIP compliance and OT/ICS/SCADA network environments is strongly preferred.
Relevant certifications such as PCNSE, Fortinet NSE, or CCNP are a plus.

Responsibilities

Design, deploy, and maintain enterprise firewall architecture across Palo Alto and Fortigate platforms, including policy standardization and rule-base optimization.
Architect and manage SD-WAN across corporate and OT sites, including transport selection, path-steering policies, and failover design.
Design and maintain dynamic routing (BGP/OSPF) across WAN, data center, and OT environments to ensure resilient, redundant connectivity.
Own network segmentation strategy, including VLANs, zones, and micro-segmentation, separating IT, OT, and DMZ environments according to Purdue Model best practices.
Lead NERC CIP compliance efforts for network infrastructure, including Electronic Security Perimeter (ESP) design, access controls, and audit evidence support.
Design and support OT network infrastructure connecting SCADA, substations, and generation sites, ensuring reliability and security.
Serve as the escalation point for complex network, firewall, and routing incidents, and lead root-cause analysis.
Maintain network architecture documentation, standards, and disaster-recovery and failover runbooks.