Senior Lead Solution Architect

Lumen is the trusted network for the AI‑powered world, connecting people, data, and applications through our expansive fiber network and connected ecosystem. We enable secure, high‑performance connectivity across cloud, edge, and AI workloads for enterprises, governments, and communities. At Lumen, you’ll work on infrastructure customers rely on today and build for what’s next, where performance, security, and resilience matter. This is a high accountability environment where bold ideas drive real innovation for our customers, partners, and industry. The work is challenging, expectations are clear, and trust is built into how we operate. If you’re ready to take ownership, deliver meaningful impact, and help shape the future of AI‑ready connectivity, join us today. The Role Lumen Validated Designs accelerate time-to-value, reduce deployment cost, and simplify technology adoption with production-tested architectures, built on the Lumen Network. They reinforce Lumen's leadership as a trusted partner in #digitaltransformation , #cloud , #security , and the #AI economy.  We are building a team of highly skilled, talented, and customer-focused professionals to work with Lumen Product, Technology, Partner, and Sales teams, and our ecosystem partners, to create Lumen Validated Designs and solutions that address customer needs and industry use cases. The Senior Lead Solution Architect will be a key member of the Lumen Validated Designs team and will work closely with x-functional team members in Lumen Product, Technology, Connected Ecosystem, and Sales to manage the technical aspects of Validated Design projects from concept to launch. This position requires skilled leadership and technical competency to plan, manage and deliver all aspects of the design, architecture, validation (in the lab and with customers), and documentation of solutions as part of an LVD, crossing multiple disciplines. The Senior Lead Solution Architect role will collaborate across Lumen and with our partners, leading innovative conversations that help shape the growth of our business. The successful Senior Lead Solution Architect must have a strong desire to leverage their technical and communication skills, including business acumen and industry knowledge, to understand business requirements, develop a technical architecture, and effectively present solutions that address our business partner’s requirements and provide business value. Location This is a remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S. The Main Responsibilities The Senior Lead Solution Architect will be responsible for analyzing customer needs and requirements through strategic discovery, utilizing technical thought leadership, discussing industry best practices, and then delivering a technical solution that meets or exceeds the business need – including non-functional specifications, enablers, 3rd party requirements, and delivers the documented business value. Business Meetings: Leads and attends business meetings in person and via collaboration tools. Prepares and delivers technical proposals and presentations with the appropriate level of business acumen for the audience. Provides detailed, specific responses to solution and technology questions. Demonstrates strong solution ‘selling abilities’ and effective, proactive business communications. Interacts with all levels of IT and Business teams. Solution Development: Analyze and identify business partner’s and customer’s business and technology objectives, conduct full technical discovery, and architect business solutions to meet gathered requirements. Assess business and operations impacted by technology. Craft and propose solutions that meet the business’s requirements and objectives by asking probing questions that are meaningful to the business to collect information that enables the architecture team to be more effective and responsive to clients’ needs. Ability to complete complex custom designs. Customer Advocate: Acts as a client advocate, participating in efforts including technical presentations, architecture design discussions, proof-of-concept engagements, RFP/RFI responses, solution demonstrations, and technical workshops. Deliver findings including key pain points, proposed solutions to meet business needs, and ROI where applicable. Design, architect and demonstrate visionary solutions in a way that closely reflects our client's technology roadmap. Proven ability to collaborate with diverse roles and teams to achieve clarity in solution design. Collaborating with directors, product managers, solution architects, partner alliance managers, and other leads within the LVD team and across groups, and with ecosystem partners. Consistently apply and improve the LVD Framework, including: Design and build reference architectures and blueprints. Document integration points with Lumen platforms (network, edge, cloud, security, media & entertainment, AI) and partner technologies. Define design considerations (scale, resilience, compliance, performance). Capture technical dependencies and assumptions. Develop detailed adoption guides (step-by-step deployment, configuration, and policy workflows). Run technical validation in the lab and at customer deployments. Document and provide technical enablement assets for field and partners. Refine architecture and adoption guides and feed learnings back into the next iteration of the LVD. Adapt LVD to new use cases, products, and integrations. What We Look For in a Candidate Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, MIS, or equivalent education and experience. 10+ years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 8+ years with a master’s degree. Experience in developing IT solutions including Telecommunications B/OSS system architecture, operations, infrastructure/database architecture, and/or applications development. Experience with one or more of the following telecommunications or technology platforms: network, edge, contact center, voice, security, media & entertainment, AI Ability to lead & engage in technical workshops, and solution discussions with Business and IT Stakeholders. Strong listening, reasoning, and objection handling skills. Experience with technical validation and testing methodologies and practice in the lab and at customer deployments. Experience working with diverse stakeholders and teams in a dynamic environment, with a high degree of drive and independence. Experience utilizing UML modeling, use cases, or other methods to communicate architectural concepts clearly to diverse groups. Excellent written and verbal communication. Hands-on development experience in a DevOps environment. SAFE or other Agile methodology experience desired. Sense of Urgency – prioritize and communicate; move quickly without fear, and have a plan to fix mistakes quickly. Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines and on multiple projects simultaneously. Must be very detail-oriented with ability to demonstrate a high degree of accuracy.  Ability to prioritize with good time management skills and organizational capabilities. Ability to work independently, or as part of a team, assuming accountability to build complex customer solutions. Experience with validated designs, solutions, ecosystem partners, and industry use cases are an asset. Compensation This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors. Location Based Pay Ranges $132,232 - $176,310 in these states: AL AR AZ FL GA IA ID IN KS KY LA ME MO MS MT ND NE NM OH OK PA SC SD TN UT VT WI WV WY $138,844 - $185,124 in these states: CO HI MI MN NC NH NV OR RI $145,456 - $193,940 in these states: AK CA CT DC DE IL MA MD NJ NY TX VA WA Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process. Learn more about Lumen's: Benefits Bonus Structure Requisition #: 342461 Life at Lumen Life at Lumen is human and connected, even in a fast moving, AI‑focused organization. We set clear expectations and trust people to meet them. With real support and shared accountability, teams collaborate better, move faster, and deliver meaningful outcomes. Our Lumen 8 behaviors guide how we interact, make decisions, and work together, shaping a culture built to perform and win. To learn more about Life at Lumen and how we live the Lumen 8, please visit: https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/life-at-lumen Background Screening If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page . Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 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To review Lumen’s Global Employment Applicant and Talent Community Privacy Notice, please visit: https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/privacy-notice Disclaimer The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions. In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Please be advised that Lumen does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Lumen, they are not for employment with us, but may relate to another company with a similar name. Job Segment: Solution Architect, Computer Science, Database, Pre-Sales, Application Developer, Technology, Sales