Shield AI is seeking a Network Architect to define and evolve the secure, scalable, and resilient network architecture supporting our engineering, manufacturing, autonomy development, and enterprise operations environments.
As part of the Cloud & Infrastructure team within Enterprise Operations, this highly technical individual contributor will establish network strategy, standards, and reference architectures across Shield AI's offices, engineering labs, manufacturing facilities, data centers, public cloud environments, and international locations. You will remain hands-on for first-of-kind, complex, and high-risk deployments while partnering closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Cloud Platform, Site Infrastructure, Facilities, and Cybersecurity teams.
What you'll do:
- Define and maintain Shield AI's enterprise network architecture, technical strategy, standards, roadmaps, and reference designs.
- Architect scalable LAN, WAN, wireless, internet edge, data-center, VPN, SASE, NAC, and network security solutions across a globally distributed environment.
- Develop high-level and low-level designs for new offices, engineering labs, manufacturing facilities, data centers, cloud environments, acquisitions, and site integrations.
- Design resilient routing and connectivity architectures using BGP, OSPF, IPsec, private circuits, cloud interconnects, diverse internet services, and related technologies.
- Establish standards for segmentation, IP addressing, naming, routing, high availability, quality of service, observability, capacity, and lifecycle management.
- Lead architecture reviews, technology evaluations, proofs of concept, and design decisions for strategic network initiatives.
- Develop secure network architectures for manufacturing, IoT, industrial, engineering, lab, and operational technology environments.
- Define segmentation and access patterns for manufacturing equipment, sensors, robotics, test systems, building systems, cameras, and other connected devices.
- Partner with Manufacturing, Engineering, Facilities, and Cybersecurity teams to integrate operational environments without introducing unacceptable risk to enterprise or controlled networks.
- Design hybrid connectivity across AWS, Azure, data centers, colocation facilities, and on-premises environments, including cloud transit, private connectivity, routing integration, secure ingress and egress, and shared services.
- Support the integration of acquired companies, legacy networks, international locations, and newly constructed facilities into enterprise standards.
- Serve as the senior technical authority for complex network designs, escalations, performance issues, and resiliency improvements.
- Lead and actively participate in first-of-kind, complex, or high-risk deployments, migrations, cutovers, validation testing, incident response, and advanced troubleshooting.
- Translate architecture into implementation plans, reusable configurations, operational standards, and clear handoffs for Network Engineering and Network Security teams.
- Advance network automation and infrastructure-as-code practices using Terraform, Ansible, Python, APIs, and configuration-management platforms.
- Produce and maintain architecture diagrams, design documents, decision records, implementation standards, and operational documentation.
Enterprise Network Architecture
Manufacturing IoT and Hybrid Connectivity
Technical Leadership and Delivery
Required qualifications:
- 10+ years of progressive experience in enterprise network engineering and architecture across complex, multi-site environments.
- Demonstrated experience leading network architecture from requirements and design through implementation, validation, and operational handoff.
- Deep expertise in enterprise routing, switching, wireless, WAN, internet edge, VPN, network segmentation, and high-availability design.
- Advanced knowledge of BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VRFs, QoS, IPsec, DNS, DHCP, NAT, route redistribution, and resilient traffic-engineering patterns.
- Experience architecting networks across offices, engineering facilities, manufacturing environments, data centers, colocation facilities, and public cloud environments.
- Strong experience with firewall architecture, zero-trust principles, network access control, secure remote access, and layered segmentation.
- Experience with AWS and Azure networking, including transit architectures, private connectivity, cloud routing, and network security controls.
- Ability to create clear architecture diagrams, reference designs, technical standards, implementation guidance, and decision documentation.
- Experience evaluating network technologies, vendors, carrier services, and professional-services designs.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and influence outcomes across teams without direct authority.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain architecture decisions, alternatives, and risks to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
- Ability to travel periodically and support planned after-hours implementations or critical incidents.
Preferred qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience designing secure IoT, Industrial IoT, operational technology, or manufacturing networks, including segmentation of production equipment, sensors, robotics, test systems, building systems, and other connected devices.
- Experience applying manufacturing or OT security architecture practices such as zone-and-conduit segmentation, the Purdue model, or ISA/IEC 62443 principles.
- Hands-on experience with Palo Alto Networks, Panorama, Prisma Access, Juniper, Mist, Aruba, ClearPass, or comparable enterprise platforms.
- Experience designing high-density or industrial wireless networks for manufacturing, warehouse, lab, or engineering environments.
- Experience supporting aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, government contracting, or another regulated environment.
- Knowledge of CMMC, NIST 800-171, ITAR, controlled unclassified information, and network designs supporting regulated or isolated environments.
- Experience integrating acquisitions, legacy environments, or international locations into global enterprise standards.
- Experience with network automation, source-controlled configuration, validation testing, and infrastructure-as-code.
- Relevant advanced certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP, JNCIE, PCNSE, AWS Advanced Networking, or equivalent experience.
#LE
Skills Required
- 10+ years of progressive enterprise network engineering and architecture experience in complex, multi-site environments
- Experience leading network architecture from requirements and design through implementation, validation, and operational handoff
- Deep expertise in enterprise routing, switching, wireless, WAN, internet edge, VPN, network segmentation, and high-availability design
- Advanced knowledge of BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VRFs, QoS, IPsec, DNS, DHCP, NAT, route redistribution, and resilient traffic-engineering patterns
- Experience architecting networks across offices, engineering facilities, manufacturing environments, data centers, colocation facilities, and public cloud environments
- Strong experience with firewall architecture, zero-trust principles, network access control, secure remote access, and layered segmentation
- Experience with AWS and Azure networking, including transit architectures, private connectivity, cloud routing, and network security controls
- Ability to create architecture diagrams, reference designs, technical standards, implementation guidance, and decision documentation
- Experience evaluating network technologies, vendors, carrier services, and professional-services designs
- Ability to lead complex technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and influence outcomes across teams without direct authority
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for explaining architecture decisions, alternatives, and risks
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience
- Ability to travel periodically and support planned after-hours implementations or critical incidents
- Experience designing secure IoT, Industrial IoT, operational technology, or manufacturing networks
- Experience with zone-and-conduit segmentation, the Purdue model, or ISA/IEC 62443 principles
- Hands-on experience with Palo Alto Networks, Panorama, Prisma Access, Juniper, Mist, Aruba, ClearPass, or comparable platforms
- Experience designing high-density or industrial wireless networks
- Experience supporting aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, government contracting, or regulated environments
- Knowledge of CMMC, NIST 800-171, ITAR, controlled unclassified information, and regulated or isolated network designs
- Experience integrating acquisitions, legacy environments, or international locations into global enterprise standards
- Experience with network automation, source-controlled configuration, validation testing, and infrastructure as code
- CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP, JNCIE, PCNSE, AWS Advanced Networking, or equivalent experience
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials highlight comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with mental-health support and an EAP. Third-party benefits summaries also portray health coverage as a strong component of the package.
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Retirement Support — Offerings include a 401(k) with employer matching, cited on the careers page and independent benefits directories. Multiple sources indicate a match exists, though exact formulas have varied over time and warrant confirmation.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Company communications describe equity for all full-time hires and stock benefits as part of total rewards. Independent listings also note company equity/RSUs as a standard element.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Shield AI Teams
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
