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CenturyLink

Global telecommunications and IT services provider

Principal Architect

Cloud EngineeringPosted on Oct 30
Full-timeRemote in USA$152.1k - $223k

About the Job

Requirements

  • At least 12 years of enterprise architecture, cloud architecture, or technology strategy experience.
  • At least 8 years of public cloud experience across Azure, AWS, and/or Google Cloud Platform.
  • At least 5 years of FinOps, cloud economics, cloud governance, or cost optimization experience.
  • Proven experience influencing executive stakeholders and enterprise architecture decisions.
  • Expertise in enterprise architecture frameworks, governance, cloud economics, financial management, FinOps operating models, unit economics, and allocation methodologies.
  • Expertise in cloud migration strategies, Kubernetes, container platforms, Infrastructure-as-Code tools including Terraform, Bicep, and CloudFormation, cost management platforms including Flexera, CloudHealth, Apptio Cloudability, and native cloud service provider tooling, and AI/ML platform architecture and cost optimization.
  • Knowledge of financial modeling and forecasting, budget management, executive communications, business capability mapping, and strategic planning.
  • At least one advanced FinOps certification, such as FinOps Certified Practitioner, FinOps Certified Engineer, FinOps Certified Professional, FinOps Certified Cloud Practitioner, or FinOps for Containers.
  • At least one major cloud architecture certification, such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or Google Professional Cloud Architect.

Responsibilities

  • Define and govern multi-cloud architecture standards across Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform.
  • Develop reusable reference architectures, solution patterns, and governance frameworks.
  • Lead architecture reviews for cloud transformation, modernization, and strategic initiatives while embedding financial accountability into design decisions.
  • Integrate cost optimization into architecture and engineering practices.
  • Establish cost-aware patterns for compute, storage, networking, AI/ML, Kubernetes, databases, and SaaS platforms.
  • Develop unit economics, chargeback/showback models, cloud costing methodologies, and enterprise FinOps maturity programs.
  • Lead application rationalization, cloud migration, and platform modernization efforts.
  • Identify savings through rightsizing, scheduling, architectural improvements, consolidation, and commitment-based discounts.
  • Implement financial guardrails, policy-as-code, and workload placement strategies to improve cost efficiency.
  • Define standards for cloud consumption, tagging, allocation, lifecycle management, and capacity planning.
  • Ensure alignment with security, compliance, operational, and risk management requirements while participating in architecture and FinOps governance forums.
  • Partner with engineering teams to automate cost controls, budget management, policy enforcement, optimization recommendations, and reporting.
  • Support FinOps platforms, dashboards, and operational tooling, and promote Infrastructure-as-Code and FinOps-as-Code practices.
  • Present architecture strategies, cloud economics recommendations, and optimization roadmaps to senior leadership.
  • Develop business cases, return-on-investment analyses, total-cost-of-ownership assessments, and cloud investment strategies.
  • Mentor architects, engineers, and FinOps practitioners while driving enterprise-wide cloud financial accountability.

Desired Qualifications

  • TOGAF 9 or 10 certification.
  • Certified Kubernetes Administrator or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer certification.
  • AWS DevOps Engineer Professional or Azure DevOps Engineer Expert certification.

About the Company

CenturyLink

Global telecommunications and IT services provider

CenturyLink, now Lumen Technologies, provides telecommunications and IT services for businesses and government, including voice, network, cloud, and managed services. Its offerings cover VoIP, SIP Trunking, hosted VoIP, SD-WAN, MPLS, IPVPN, plus Big Data as a Service, IoT, and cloud management across hybrid, private, and public clouds—backed by data centers. Compared with competitors, it combines traditional communications with modern network and cloud services at scale, serving a wide range of industries globally. Its goal is to help customers communicate, connect, and digitally transform with secure, reliable, and scalable network and cloud solutions.

Company size
10,001+
Company stage
IPO
Headquarters
Monroe, LA
Founded
1930

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