Principal Network Architect - Network Reliability & Datacenter Automation

Major League Baseball is seeking a highly skilled and strategic Principal Network Architect to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of our global data center and enterprise network infrastructure. This role emphasizes network reliability engineering (NRE) principles, automation-first network operations, and high-availability architectures. You will play a critical role in supporting MLB.TV and other high-performance streaming platforms, ensuring low-latency, high-throughput, and fault-tolerant delivery at scale. The ideal candidate has extensive experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting complex multicast environments, along with deep knowledge of unicast, broadcast, and streaming protocols. This is a senior technical leadership position focused on driving network evolution to support scalability, performance, and operational excellence across our on-prem and hybrid cloud environments. Responsibilities • Architect, design, and oversee the deployment of scalable, reliable, and secure data center and backbone network infrastructure • Lead initiatives around network reliability engineering (NRE)-designing self-healing, redundant, and fault-tolerant network systems • Design and implement network automation frameworks for provisioning, configuration management, monitoring, and fault resolution • Drive performance and availability improvements for MLB.TV and other latency-sensitive services, leveraging best practices in streaming and multicast networking • Define network SLAs, metrics, and KPIs; continuously improve uptime and performance across all environments • Perform architecture reviews, capacity planning, and risk analysis across multiple data centers and cloud interconnects • Develop standards, playbooks, and reusable automation templates for streamlined network operations • Evaluate and recommend new tools and technologies for observability, telemetry, and event-driven automation • Provide senior-level guidance and mentorship to network engineers and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams Qualifications & Skills • 10+ years of experience in network engineering, with at least 3-5 years in a senior/principal architect role • Deep understanding of data center networking, BGP, OSPF, VXLAN/EVPN, SDN, and fabric-based architectures • Expertise in designing, operating, and troubleshooting complex multicast environments, including IGMP, PIM, SSM, ASM, and related technologies • Experience supporting high-throughput, low-latency platforms like MLB.TV or similar large-scale media delivery services • Proficiency in network automation tools such as Ansible, Terraform, and Python scripting • Proven track record implementing NRE principles-including automation, chaos engineering, and operational excellence • Strong background in network observability using platforms such as Prometheus, Grafana, NetBox, and Selector.AI • Hands-on experience with multi-vendor network hardware (Cisco, Juniper, Arista, etc.) and cloud networking (AWS, Azure, GCP) • Excellent communication and leadership skills with experience presenting to senior leadership and collaborating across teams • Certifications: CCIE, JNCIE, or equivalent expert-level certifications • Experience building and integrating CI/CD pipelines for automated network deployments • Prior experience in high-scale, low-latency environments such as financial services, hyperscale data centers, or SaaS platforms • Familiarity with zero-trust network architecture (ZTNA) and network segmentation strategies • Deep knowledge of streaming media transport, QoS policies, and multicast troubleshooting at scale Salary Range: $160,000 - $220,000 (Base Salary) + Bonus As a candidate for this position, your salary and related elements of compensation will be contingent upon your work experience, education, skills and any other factors Major League Baseball (MLB) considers relevant to the hiring decision. In addition to your salary, MLB believes in providing a competitive compensation and benefits package for its employees. Top MLB Perks & Benefits • 100% Employer Paid Medical/Dental/Vision Premiums • Company Contributed 401k Plan • Paid Time off and Holidays • Paid Parental Leave • Access to Free Tickets to Baseball Games & MLB.TV • Discounts at MLB Store | MLBShop.com • Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) • Onsite/Online Training & Development Programs • Tuition Reimbursement • Disability Benefits (short term and long term) • Life and Accidental Death Insurance • Pet Insurance Why MLB? Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Employees love working at MLB because of the culture of growth, teamwork, and professionalism. Employees who are most successful at MLB take initiative, know how to identify problems and provide solutions, and always put the Team first. For those ready to step up to the plate and join the major leagues, MLB takes the same approach as teams do with their players: empowering our "workforce athletes" to be at their best by engineering experiences that put employees in the best position to succeed. Major League Baseball is looking for candidates who are passionate about growing America's pastime to best serve its fans for decades to come. MLB is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. California Residents: Please see our California Recruitment Privacy Policy for more details. Colorado Residents: Colorado based applicants 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. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please email us at [email protected]. Requests received for non-disability related issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response. Are you ready to Step Up to the Plate? Apply below! Apply tot his job