Director, Network Architecture and Engineering (Remote)

Johnson Controls · Milwaukee · $160,000–$190,000 (stated in the posting)

About Us

Johnson Controls, a global leader in thermal management, mission-critical building systems, energy efficiency, and decarbonization, helps customers use energy more productively, reduce carbon emissions, and operate with the precision and resilience required in rapidly expanding industries such as data centers, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, and higher education.

For more than 140 years, Johnson Controls has delivered performance where it really matters. Backed by advanced technology, lifecycle services and an industry-leading field organization, we elevate customer performance, turn goals into real-world results and help move society forward.

The Director of Network Architecture & Engineering Services is responsible for defining, governing and advancing the technical direction of the organization’s global network infrastructure. The role provides leadership across network strategy, architecture, engineering project delivery, technology standards, innovation and technical governance, ensuring that network capabilities are secure, resilient, scalable, supportable and aligned with business priorities.

This is a senior leadership role for an individual who can translate strategy into executable engineering plans, lead global technical teams, deliver complex global projects, establish clear technical standards and act as the senior design authority for enterprise networking.

Position Summary

The successful candidate will lead a global network architecture and engineering capability responsible for the design and delivery of enterprise network solutions. The role will set the target-state architecture, maintain global standards and reference designs, govern technical decisions, and direct the engineering delivery of strategic projects from requirements and design through implementation, testing and operational handover.

Working closely with Network Operations, Cyber Security, Enterprise Architecture, Cloud, Infrastructure, business stakeholders, program teams and strategic service providers, the Director will ensure that network solutions deliver strong business outcomes while meeting security, performance, resilience and supportability requirements.

What You Will Do

Network Strategy & Architecture

Define and maintain the global network strategy, target-state architecture, architectural principles and multi-year roadmap.
Act as the senior design authority for enterprise networking and provide clear technical direction for major investments and transformation programs.
Establish reference architectures and approved design patterns across WAN, SD-WAN, LAN, wireless, cloud networking, internet connectivity and related network services.
Assess business and technology requirements and translate them into secure, scalable and operationally supportable solutions.
Evaluate emerging technologies and industry developments, recommending adoption where they provide measurable business, security or operational value.
Ensure network architecture aligns with enterprise architecture, cyber security strategy and broader technology objectives.

Technology Standards & Governance

Own enterprise network technology standards, design principles, reference architectures, engineering patterns and technical policies.
Establish and maintain global standards for WAN, SD-WAN, LAN, wireless, cloud networking, internet connectivity, network security integration, automation and observability.
Lead architecture and engineering design reviews, ensuring solutions comply with approved standards and strategic direction.
Govern technical exceptions and design variances through documented review, risk assessment, approval and mitigation processes.
Drive consistency across platforms, configurations, deployment methods, testing, documentation and operational handover.
Partner with Cyber Security and Enterprise Architecture to embed security-by-design and Zero Trust principles into network standards.
Act as the final technical authority for network architecture standards and engineering best practice.

Network Engineering Leadership & Project Delivery

Lead and develop a global team of network architects and engineers responsible for solution design, implementation and continual improvement.
Direct the engineering delivery of strategic network projects, including network transformation, SD-WAN, campus LAN and wireless, cloud connectivity, SASE, data center networking, segmentation, internet and enterprise connectivity initiatives.
Own the technical delivery process from requirements gathering and high-level design through low-level design, build, testing, deployment, validation, operational handover and project closure.
Ensure projects are delivered to agreed scope, schedule, budget, quality and technical standards.
Provide technical leadership and executive-level oversight for complex, high-risk and business-critical network implementations.
Partner with project and program management teams to define delivery plans, dependencies, resource needs, risks, milestones and acceptance criteria.
Oversee engineering demand, resource planning, prioritization and workload management across the architecture and engineering portfolio.
Establish engineering methodologies, quality controls, peer-review practices, testing standards and implementation readiness criteria.
Ensure designs are fully documented, security reviewed, tested, supportable and successfully transitioned into production operations.
Lead technical problem-solving and decision-making when projects encounter design, integration, performance or delivery challenges.
Drive lessons learned and continuous improvement across project execution and engineering practices.

How You Will Do It

Zero Trust & Security-by-Design

Partner with Cyber Security and Enterprise Architecture to develop network architectures aligned with Zero Trust principles.
Embed identity-aware access, least-privilege connectivity, segmentation and micro-segmentation, strong policy enforcement and continuous verification into network design standards.
Guide the adoption of secure access technologies, including Network Access Control, Secure Access Service Edge and Zero Trust Network Access, where appropriate.
Ensure all network projects complete the required security architecture, threat, risk and compliance reviews.
Design for cyber resilience, limiting lateral movement and reducing the impact of security events through appropriate network controls.
Promote secure-by-design engineering practices across internal teams, partners and service providers.

Innovation, Automation & Continuous Improvement

Drive adoption of network automation, orchestration, APIs, infrastructure as code and modern engineering practices.
Identify opportunities to simplify designs, standardize deployments, reduce manual effort and improve engineering quality.
Advance observability and data-driven engineering to improve design decisions, validation and service outcomes.
Build a culture of innovation, technical curiosity, disciplined experimentation and continuous improvement.

Vendor & Service Provider Governance

Provide technical leadership and governance across strategic technology vendors, managed service providers and systems integrators.
Set engineering standards, design expectations, documentation requirements and acceptance criteria for partner-delivered solutions.
Ensure supplier designs align with enterprise standards, security requirements and the long-term network strategy.
Lead technical input to sourcing activities, requests for proposal, statements of work, commercial evaluations and solution assurance.
Hold partners accountable for technical quality, engineering outcomes, knowledge transfer and continuous improvement.
Maintain effective senior relationships with key vendors to influence roadmaps and resolve material technical issues.

Risk, Resilience & Operational Readiness

Ensure network architectures are resilient, scalable, secure and designed to meet business availability requirements.
Identify architectural and engineering risks, including single points of failure, design weaknesses, capacity constraints and supportability concerns.
Ensure projects include appropriate resilience, performance, monitoring, testing, rollback and recovery requirements.
Partner with Network Operations to ensure solutions are operationally ready and supported by clear documentation, training and service transition plans.
Use operational experience, incident trends and service performance insights to improve architecture and engineering standards.

Stakeholder Leadership

Build trusted relationships with senior technology leaders, business stakeholders and delivery partners.
Translate complex technical topics into clear business impacts, options, recommendations and investment decisions.
Present strategies, roadmaps, designs, risks, business cases and program updates to senior leadership.
Create alignment across Architecture, Engineering, Operations, Cyber Security, Cloud, Infrastructure and program teams.
Mentor technical leaders and build succession, capability and career development across the function.

People Leadership

Set clear objectives, priorities and accountabilities for architecture and engineering teams.
Build an inclusive, high-performing culture focused on ownership, quality, collaboration and customer outcomes.
Coach and develop senior architects, engineers and emerging technical leaders.
Assess capability needs and shape workforce, partner and sourcing strategies accordingly.
Travel: 15%

What We Look For

Knowledge & Experience Requirements

Enterprise Networking

Expert knowledge of SASE solutions, enterprise WAN, SD-WAN, routing and switching, campus LAN, wireless LAN and enterprise internet connectivity.
Strong understanding of data center networking, load balancing and application delivery technologies.
Knowledge of core network services including DNS, DHCP and IP address management.
Demonstrated expertise in network architecture methodologies, high-level and low-level design, engineering standards and design assurance.
Experience designing highly available, resilient and scalable networks for complex global organizations.

Cloud & Modern Connectivity

Strong knowledge of hybrid and multi-cloud networking, including connectivity and network services within Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.
Understanding of cloud interconnect, direct connectivity, transit architecture, cloud routing and secure connectivity patterns.
Knowledge of Secure Access Service Edge, software-defined networking and modern branch and campus architectures.

Zero Trust & Network Security

Deep understanding of Zero Trust architecture and its application to enterprise networking.
Knowledge of identity-aware networking, least privilege, segmentation, micro-segmentation and continuous verification principles.
Experience with Network Access Control, Zero Trust Network Access, secure remote access and security policy integration.
Understanding of network security architecture, threat mitigation, vulnerability risk reduction and cyber-resilient design.
Ability to translate security requirements into practical network standards and engineering controls.

Engineering, Automation & Service Transition

Knowledge of network automation, orchestration, APIs, infrastructure as code and configuration management practices.
Experience with network observability, monitoring, telemetry, performance analysis and service validation.
Strong understanding of project engineering, implementation planning, testing, change readiness and operational handover.
Experience defining engineering methods, quality gates, technical acceptance criteria and documentation standards.

Leadership & Commercial Acumen

Proven ability to lead globally distributed architecture and engineering teams across regions and time zones.
Experience delivering large-scale, complex network projects and transformation programs.
Demonstrated success governing managed service providers, technology vendors and systems integrators.
Strong financial and commercial awareness, including business case development, budget planning, supplier evaluation and value management.
Excellent executive communication, influencing, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.

Qualifications

Required

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
Extensive progressive experience in enterprise networking, including significant architecture, engineering and technical leadership responsibility.
Proven experience leading complex global network solution delivery in a large enterprise environment.
Demonstrable experience establishing technical standards, reference architectures and engineering governance.
Experience leading and developing senior technical professionals.

Preferred

Master’s degree in a relevant technology, engineering or business discipline.
Advanced industry certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, Aruba, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud or equivalent.
Experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, critical operations or other highly distributed business environments.
Experience working within a multi-vendor, managed-service delivery model.

Leadership Profile

Strategic thinker who can convert long-term direction into clear standards, priorities and deliverable plans.
Credible technical leader who can challenge constructively and make timely, evidence-based decisions.
Delivery-focused leader with strong ownership, discipline and attention to quality.
Collaborative communicator who builds alignment across technical, operational and business teams.
Calm and decisive when managing ambiguity, competing priorities and complex delivery risks.
Committed to developing people, strengthening technical capability and creating an inclusive culture.

Measures of Success

A clear and adopted network strategy, target architecture and technology standards framework.
Consistent compliance with approved network standards and design governance.
Predictable, high-quality engineering delivery across the network project portfolio.
Improved project readiness, testing, documentation and transition into operations.
Increased standardization, automation and reuse of approved engineering patterns.
Stronger integration of Zero Trust and security-by-design principles into network solutions.
Effective technical governance of vendors and managed service providers.
A strong, engaged architecture and engineering team with clear capability development and succession plans.

SALARY RANGE: $160,000 - $190,000 (Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.) This role offers a competitive Bonus plan that will take into account individual, group, and corporate performance. This position includes a competitive benefits package. The posted salary range reflects the target compensation for this role. However, we recognize that exceptional candidates may bring unique skills and experiences that exceed the typical profile. If you believe your background warrants consideration beyond the stated range, we encourage you to apply. To support an efficient and fair hiring process, we may use technology assisted tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to help identify and evaluate candidates. All hiring decisions are ultimately made by human reviewers. For details, please visit the About Us tab on the Johnson Controls Careers site at https://jobs.johnsoncontrols.com/about-us

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Johnson Controls International plc. is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law. To view more information about your equal opportunity and non-discrimination rights as a candidate, visit EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit here.

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