Senior Principal Engineer, Product Software

Equinix

Senior Principal Engineer responsible for end-to-end architectural direction in Network Platform Engineering at Equinix, shaping software and network platforms.

Posted 5/25/2026full-timeRedwood City • California, Texas • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $240,000 - $360,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Cloud

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define and drive end-to-end architecture across network and software platforms, including control plane, data plane, telemetry, APIs, automation, and operations
Act as architect-of-record for critical platforms and initiatives, collaborating with peer architects on shared systems and boundaries
Provide architectural leadership across network control systems, infrastructure software (OEM / ODM / open networking), and observability platforms
Guide engineering teams and tech leads on architecture, design patterns, and implementation; lead architecture and design reviews
Drive software platform architecture with a system-level perspective, ensuring scalability, resilience, and operational excellence
Shape design across control plane systems, telemetry and observability pipelines, and network platforms
Champion automation-first design and strong operational practices
Own architectural strategy from long-term vision through delivery and steady-state operations
Translate business needs into architectural direction and clearly communicate trade-offs to senior stakeholders
Partner cross-functionally to improve platform quality, operability, and readiness
Drive adoption of AI-driven capabilities where relevant
Act as a senior escalation point for complex, cross-domain technical issues
Provide architectural leadership during critical incidents and ambiguous problem spaces
Leverage data-driven insights to accelerate diagnosis and resolution
Establish and evolve architectural governance, standards, and best practices with peer architects
Ensure consistency across platforms while enabling team autonomy and addressing technical debt
Promote responsible and scalable integration of AI capabilities
Drive efficiency through automation, standardization, and simplification
Define and track metrics for system health, performance, and architectural quality
Influence outcomes across engineering, product, and leadership through technical expertise and collaboration
Act as a trusted technical advisor to senior leadership
Represent Equinix externally and contribute to industry standards, innovation, and emerging technologies

Requirements

What you’ll need

Significant experience in large-scale, mission-critical infrastructure environments
Proven success in a senior architecture role (Principal / Senior Principal level), influencing technical direction across multiple teams and domains
Experience operating within an architecture community or peer architect model, driving alignment and shared outcomes
Experience applying AI/ML in large-scale infrastructure or platform environments
Familiarity with AIOps, data engineering, and production ML pipelines
Understanding of model lifecycle management and real-time inference systems (nice to have)
Deep expertise in modern, cloud-native and distributed software architectures
Strong experience with control plane systems, telemetry and observability platforms, and network software stacks
Solid grounding in large-scale network architecture and operations
Ability to reason across hardware, software, and operational systems.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Insurance: You may enroll in health, life, disability and voluntary plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members.
Retirement: You and Equinix may contribute to a retirement plan to help you plan for your financial future.
Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays: You will receive an accrued amount of PTO each pay period along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge.
Employee Assistance Program: An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.
Canada Core Benefits: You may enroll in healthcare coverage that is designed to complement the provincial healthcare system, along with life, disability and optional benefit plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members.
Retirement: You may also enroll in Equinix-sponsored retirement or savings plans: Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Group Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Plan (TSFA).
Vacation and Paid Holidays: Equinix offers both vacation and personal time, along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

architecturenetwork control systemsinfrastructure softwareobservability platformsAI/MLAIOpsdata engineeringproduction ML pipelinescloud-native architecturesdistributed software architectures

Soft Skills

architectural leadershipcollaborationcommunicationinfluencing technical directionproblem-solvingcross-functional partnershiptechnical expertisetrusted advisoroperational excellencemetrics tracking