Principal Network Architect

Crusoe•Sunnyvale, CA

27d•$265,000 - $310,000

About The Position

Crusoe is looking for a Principal Network Architect to define and own the network architecture strategy across our entire infrastructure stack, spanning bare-metal data center switching fabrics and RDMA interconnects to SDN control planes, Kubernetes networking, and cloud-layer overlays. As the industry's first vertically integrated AI infrastructure provider, Crusoe operates at a scale that few companies can match, including a 1.2 GW hyperscale campus in Abilene, TX powering the Stargate project. This is a high-impact, principal-level individual contributor role reporting directly to the Director of Networking, with broad technical authority and cross-organizational influence. In this role, you'll do more than solve today's problems; you'll build the architecture that runs the AI infrastructure of tomorrow. You'll introduce and institutionalize modern networking paradigms like intent-based networking, declarative configuration management, and network source of truth, transforming how Crusoe designs, provisions, and operates its network at hyperscale.

Requirements

12+ years of progressive network engineering and architecture experience, with at least 5 years in leadership role.
Large-scale data center expertise with a proven track record designing networks at 500+ switches across multi-campus environments.
Expert-level routing knowledge including deep proficiency in BGP, EVPN/VXLAN, OSPF, ECMP, BFD, and modern data center routing design.
SDN and programmability experience with production-level work using an SDN controller (OpenDaylight, ONOS, Apstra, Contrail, or equivalent) and network programmability via NETCONF/YANG, RESTCONF, or gNMI.
Kubernetes networking proficiency with hands-on experience in CNI selection (Calico, Cilium, Flannel, Multus), network policies, and BGP integration.
RDMA and HPC networking understanding including familiarity with RoCEv2, InfiniBand, PFC, ECN, and lossless fabric design for AI/ML workloads.
Software engineering fundamentals including strong command of Git, CI/CD, code review, and infrastructure-as-code tooling (Terraform, Ansible, Nornir).
Communication and influence with exceptional written and verbal skills and the ability to write crisp design documents and drive alignment across engineering and product leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a hyperscaler, AI cloud provider, HPC center, or large-scale co-location operator.
Hands-on experience with SONiC OS, P4 programmable data planes, SRv6, or silicon-level knowledge of Broadcom Tomahawk/Trident.
Open source contributions to networking projects such as SONiC, NetBox, FRR, or Cilium.
Familiarity with formal network verification tools like Batfish or Minesweeper, or eBPF-based networking and observability.
Relevant certifications including CCIE (DC/SP), JNCIE, or vendor-specific SDN/cloud certifications.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end network architecture for Crusoe's AI data centers, including spine-leaf fabrics, out-of-band management, RDMA (RoCEv2/InfiniBand), and inter-campus WAN design.
Design and evolve SDN control plane architectures for programmable underlay and overlay networking across multi-vendor hardware environments.
Define CNI selection, network policies, multi-cluster service mesh, and BGP peering architecture across Crusoe's Managed Kubernetes platform.
Architect IBN frameworks that translate high-level business and operational goals into validated, auto-generated device configurations.
Establish infrastructure-as-code practices, GitOps-driven network provisioning, and continuous validation pipelines for network state.
Build and own Crusoe's SoT strategy, defining authoritative data models (IPAM, DCIM, CMDB) and ensuring all devices, links, and policies are version-controlled and consistently sourced.
Design day-0/1/2 automation using tools like Ansible, Nornir, or Terraform, driven by the network source of truth.
Define streaming telemetry architecture (gNMI/gRPC), intent verification, and closed-loop remediation pipelines.
Establish engineering standards and reference architectures, lead architecture reviews, author design documents, and present proposals to senior leadership.
Mentor senior and staff network engineers, growing the technical depth and breadth of the broader network engineering team.