Senior Network Architect

Sargent & Lundy•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Sargent & Lundy is a leading consulting engineering firm specializing in the power and energy sectors. Since 1891, we have provided comprehensive engineering, design, and consulting services for both traditional and renewable power generation, grid modernization, nuclear power, and more. Our mission is to help clients achieve their energy goals effectively by adopting advanced technologies and sustainable practices. Role Overview The Senior Network Architect will be responsible for the strategy, design, and roadmap of Sargent & Lundy’s enterprise network and connectivity services across data centers, colocation, cloud (Azure), WAN, campus/LAN, wireless, and security services. This role focuses on delivering highly available, redundant, and secure network solutions built primarily on a Cisco and Meraki technology stack and integrated with modern cloud-native architectures. The ideal candidate will have deep technical expertise, strong design and troubleshooting skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively across infrastructure, security, and application teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/Network Engineering or equivalent experience.
10+ years enterprise networking, 5+ years in senior/architecture roles.
Comprehensive Cisco/Meraki experience (campus, Wi-Fi, WAN, VPN, and NAC).
Extensive Palo Alto NGFW and security policy design.
Proven route/switch expertise in complex multi-site environments.
Hands-on with DNS, DHCP, VPN, cert management, and auth protocols.
Experience with Load balancers, WAF, MPLS/WAN, and cloud networking.
Clear and concise documentation and ability to explain complex designs.

Nice To Haves

Experience with network automation/assurance (Prime, DNA-C, Meraki API, etc.) and SASE/SD-WAN (Zscaler).
Certifications such as CCNP/CCIE, F5, Azure, or security.
Strong ownership, communication, troubleshooting, leadership/mentoring abilities.

Responsibilities

Lead and evolve end-to-end enterprise network architecture (data centers, corporate office, SD-WAN, branch LAN/WLAN, Internet edge) with a focus on redundancy, failover, and availability.
Design and operate Cisco/Catalyst/Meraki networks and core routing/switching (VLANs, VRFs, STP, HSRP/VRRP, BGP, OSPF/EIGRP).
Own Azure and cloud networking (vNets, hybrid connectivity, secure Internet access, cloud security/identity) plus DNS/DHCP/IPAM standards and automation.
Lead Palo Alto NGFW and Zscaler/GlobalProtect architecture and support, including VPN (remote and site-to-site), certificates, and auth (RADIUS, TACACS+, SAML/SSO, EAP).
Design and support load balancing and WAF (Imperva or cloud WAF) for secure, resilient application delivery.
Work with carriers on MPLS/WAN (installs, QoS, resiliency, and routing policies).
Define and maintain network standards, baselines, and patterns across LAN/WAN/data center/cloud/security.
Provide tier-3 escalation, maintain HLD/LLD, runbooks, diagrams, and drive adoption of new security/cloud/distributed networking technologies.
Mentor engineers on design, security, documentation, and automation best practices.