Principal Cloud Practice Architect

As a Principal Cloud Practice Architect, you'llbe responsible for the strategic planning, design, and implementation of highly available, scalable, and secure network infrastructures that support business objectives. You'll be leading complex network projects, mentoring junior team members, and ensuring the entire network ecosystem is optimized for performance, security, and cost-effectiveness. Work Location; US Rackers: If located near a Rackspace office, you’ll work a hybrid schedule… 2 days in the office and three days remote. If not located near an office, you may work 100% remotely. Work Location; Canadian Rackers: 100% remote only from these provinces... Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Work Location; Mexican Rackers: If you live within a 40km radius of our Mexico City office we’d like for you to work in the office two days a week. If further than 40km you may work fully remote from one these states Monterey, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Guadalajara, or Queretaro. Travel: Between 20% to 25% annual travel across the United States. Discover your inner Racker: Racker Life Information on benefits offered is here . Key Responsibilities Design and develop comprehensive network architecture blueprints for on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. Lead the implementation and deployment of complex network solutions, including routing, switching, firewalls, and load balancing across various platforms. Architect and manage connectivity between on-premises data centers and cloud platforms, including creating and managing complex AWS, GCP and Azure network configurations. Ensure the network architecture adheres to the highest security standards. This includes designing and implementing secure network segmentation, access control policies, and advanced threat protection. Continuously monitor and optimize network performance, troubleshoot complex issues, and implement solutions to ensure low latency and high throughput. Drive the design, deployment, and management of SD-WAN solutions to optimize WAN traffic, improve application performance, and reduce operational costs. Design and implement CDN strategies to accelerate content delivery and enhance the user experience by caching and distributing web content geographically. Work closely with cross-functional teams, including security, cloud engineers, and application developers, to align network strategy with business goals. Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior network professionals. Create and maintain detailed network diagrams, design documents, and operational procedures. Qualifications Must have an associate’s degree in computer science or related field of study; we highly prefer a bachelor's degree. Must be AWS Solutions Architect certified. Expert-level experience with core networking services like VPC, Subnets, Route Tables, Internet Gateway, NAT Gateway, Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, and VPC Peering. Expert-level experience with VNet, Subnets, Route Tables, Virtual Network Gateway, ExpressRoute, Virtual WAN, and VNet Peering. Extensive hands-on experience and expert-level knowledge of Palo Alto Networks Firewalls, including Panorama for centralized management, design, and implementation of security policies, threat prevention, and VPN solutions. Expert-level experience with F5 BIG-IP products, including LTM (Local Traffic Manager) and GTM (Global Traffic Manager), for application delivery, load balancing, and traffic management. Deep expertise in architecting and deploying SD-WAN solutions from leading vendors (e.g., Prisma SD-WAN, Fortinet, Cisco). Must have hands-on experience with SD-WAN design, traffic steering policies, and remote site connectivity. Strong understanding of network security principles, including Zero Trust Architecture, network segmentation, and DDoS mitigation. Hands-on experience with security services like AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall) and Azure Firewall/Application Gateway WAF. Proven experience in designing, configuring, and managing CDN services such as AWS CloudFront and Azure Front Door. In-depth knowledge of networking protocols, including BGP, OSPF, and MPLS. Expert level of communication with the English language both written and verbal. For Rackers in the United States the anticipated starting pay range is: $161,100 - $268,300. Unless already included in the posted pay range and based on eligibility, the role may include variable compensation in the form of bonus, commissions, or other discretionary payments. These discretionary payments are based on company and/or individual performance and may change at any time. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location.. About Rackspace Technology We are the multicloud solutions experts. We combine our expertise with the world’s leading technologies — across applications, data and security — to deliver end-to-end solutions. We have a proven record of advising customers based on their business challenges, designing solutions that scale, building and managing those solutions, and optimizing returns into the future. Named a best place to work, year after year according to Fortune, Forbes and Glassdoor, we attract and develop world-class talent. Join us on our mission to embrace technology, empower customers and deliver the future. More on Rackspace Technology Though we’re all different, Rackers thrive through our connection to a central goal: to be a valued member of a winning team on an inspiring mission. We bring our whole selves to work every day. And we embrace the notion that unique perspectives fuel innovation and enable us to best serve our customers and communities around the globe. We welcome you to apply today and want you to know that we are committed to offering equal employment opportunity without regard to age, color, disability, gender reassignment or identity or expression, genetic information, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, military or veteran status, nationality, ethnic or national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any legally protected characteristic. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.