Network & Firewall Architecture Lead

The Network & Firewall Architecture Lead is a senior role within the GETS team responsible for the global architecture standards, governance, and strategic direction of Yum’s network and firewall environment. This role ensures architectural consistency across regions, prevents technical drift, and provides authoritative guidance for major initiatives, transformations, and high-risk technical decisions.
 

The role partners with Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Cloud, Network Operations, Security Architecture, Engineering, GRC, regional technology teams, vendors, and managed service providers to define scalable, secure, and resilient architecture patterns. It is accountable for reducing technical debt through modernization planning, roadmap execution, and governance that supports Yum’s business, security, and operational priorities.

The Network & Firewall Architecture Lead owns global network and firewall architecture standards and governance for Yum. This role establishes the architectural guardrails, reference designs, design review practices, and modernization roadmap needed to maintain a consistent, secure, and scalable global network environment.
 

As the final technical authority for high-risk changes and significant design decisions, this role provides deep technical leadership across architecture, security, operational readiness, and risk management. The role requires strong influence across functions and regions, the ability to translate strategy into practical architecture direction, and the judgment to balance security, resiliency, cost, performance, and operational complexity.
 

Required Skills
•    Expert-level knowledge of enterprise network and firewall architecture in complex, multi-region environments.
•    Deep understanding of routing, switching, firewalls, network segmentation, VPN, SD-WAN, wireless, DNS, load balancing, remote access, cloud networking, and network security control patterns.
•    Strong ability to define architecture standards, reference designs, guardrails, governance processes, and technical exception models.
•    Experience leading architecture for major network, firewall, infrastructure, cloud, security, or transformation initiatives.
•    Ability to assess technical debt, prioritize modernization work, and develop strategic roadmaps that improve resiliency, scalability, security, and operational efficiency.
•    Strong risk-based decision-making skills, including the ability to evaluate design tradeoffs across security, performance, availability, cost, user experience, and operational complexity.
•    Experience reviewing and approving high-risk technical changes, significant design decisions, and complex architecture exceptions.
•    Ability to influence senior leaders, technical teams, vendors, and regional stakeholders without relying solely on direct authority.
•    Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex architecture decisions to technical and non-technical audiences.
•    Experience with architecture governance, change governance, audit remediation, vulnerability remediation, compliance requirements, and control validation as they relate to network and firewall environments.
 

Qualifications
•    Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Network Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
•    Typically 12+ years of relevant experience in network architecture, firewall architecture, infrastructure architecture, cybersecurity architecture, or a closely related technology function.
•    Experience owning or materially shaping architecture standards and governance for enterprise-scale or global network and firewall environments.
•    Experience serving as a senior technical authority for complex design decisions, high-risk changes, architecture exceptions, or major transformations.
•    Experience partnering with cybersecurity, infrastructure, operations, cloud, GRC, regional technology teams, vendors, and managed service providers.
•    Relevant certifications such as CCIE, CCNP, CISSP, CISM, cloud networking certifications, firewall platform certifications, or architecture-related certifications are preferred but not required.

 Salary Range: $157,100 - $184,900 + eligible bonus + comprehensive benefits

Global Network and Firewall Architecture Governance

• Own global network and firewall architecture standards, governance processes, reference architectures, and design patterns.
• Define and maintain architectural guardrails for network connectivity, firewall policy design, segmentation, perimeter controls, cloud connectivity, remote access, and related network security capabilities.
• Establish architecture review practices that ensure designs are aligned to enterprise standards, cybersecurity expectations, operational requirements, and business objectives.
• Ensure architecture decisions are documented, traceable, risk-informed, and reusable across regions and major programs.

Architectural Consistency and Technical Drift Prevention

• Ensure architectural consistency across the global environment by identifying divergence from approved standards and driving corrective actions.
• Prevent technical drift by maintaining clear design principles, standard patterns, technology lifecycle expectations, and exception management processes.
• Partner with operations, engineering, regional teams, and vendors to ensure implemented solutions remain aligned to approved architecture.
• Create visibility into architecture exceptions, legacy patterns, unsupported technologies, configuration inconsistencies, and design risks.

Leadership for Major Initiatives and Transformations

• Provide architectural leadership and technical guidance for major network, firewall, infrastructure, security, cloud, and transformation initiatives.
• Shape solution designs for complex programs by evaluating options, tradeoffs, dependencies, risk, scalability, resiliency, and operational readiness.
• Influence program direction by translating enterprise strategy into architecture requirements, design principles, and implementation guardrails.
• Represent network and firewall architecture in strategic planning, design reviews, risk forums, vendor discussions, and executive-level technical decision-making.

Modernization and Technical Debt Reduction

• Reduce technical debt through architecture modernization, lifecycle planning, rationalization, and strategic roadmap execution.
• Develop and maintain a network and firewall architecture roadmap that improves resiliency, scalability, security posture, operational efficiency, and cost effectiveness.
• Identify legacy platforms, fragmented designs, unsupported capabilities, and high-risk patterns that require remediation or modernization.
• Prioritize modernization initiatives based on business impact, cybersecurity risk, operational complexity, dependency management, and enterprise value.

Final Technical Authority and High-Risk Change Governance

• Serve as the final technical authority for high-risk network and firewall changes, significant architecture decisions, and critical design exceptions.
• Review and approve complex designs, high-risk changes, major firewall rule architecture changes, segmentation changes, and material network transformations.
• Provide clear technical direction when designs involve competing priorities, ambiguous requirements, unresolved risks, or cross-functional impact.
• Ensure high-risk changes include appropriate architecture validation, operational readiness, rollback planning, risk review, and post-implementation learning.

Cross-Functional Influence and Thought Leadership

• Act as a trusted advisor to GETS, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, regional technology teams, and leadership on network and firewall architecture matters.
• Mentor architects, engineers, and operational teams on architecture standards, design quality, risk-based decision-making, and modernization priorities.
• Consult with strategic vendors and service providers to evaluate architecture options, roadmaps, capabilities, and alignment to Yum standards.
• Communicate complex technical matters in a clear, business-oriented way to senior leaders, program teams, and technical stakeholders.