Equinix is the world’s digital infrastructure company®, shortening the path to connectivity to enable the innovations that enrich our work, life and planet.

A place where tech thinkers and future builders turn bold ideas into breakthrough experiences, we welcome your unique perspective.

Help us challenge assumptions, uncover bias, and remove barriers—because progress starts with fresh ideas.

The Senior Principal

Architect is a highly influential technical leadership role responsible for end-to-end architectural direction, technical governance, and the evolution of software and network platforms within Network Platform Engineering (NPE).

NPE designs, builds, and operates Equinix’s global network infrastructure and platforms, including:

Network architecture across optical, routing, switching, and SDN

Software platforms for control, observability, automation, and operations at global scale

Industry engagement through standards bodies and developer communities

This role operates within a small group of senior and principal architects, requiring solid collaboration, shared ownership, and alignment across domains, while partnering closely with engineering teams and stakeholders.

The Senior Principal Architect spans software and network architecture, including control plane systems and observability, acting as a broad technical generalist who guides systems from strategy through execution and operations. This role serves as a key technical authority, driving standards, resolving escalations, and anticipating future technology shifts.

Architecture & Technical Leadership Define and drive end-to-end architecture across network and software platforms, including control plane, data plane, telemetry, APIs, automation, and operations

Provide architectural leadership across network control systems, infrastructure software (OEM / ODM / open networking), and observability platforms

Guide engineering teams and tech leads on architecture, design patterns, and implementation; Drive software platform architecture with a system-level perspective, ensuring scalability, resilience, and operational excellence

Shape design across control plane systems, telemetry and observability pipelines, and network platforms

Own architectural strategy from long-term vision through delivery and steady-state operations

Translate business needs into architectural direction and clearly communicate trade-offs to senior stakeholders

Partner cross-functionally to improve platform quality, operability, and readiness

Drive adoption of AI-driven capabilities where relevant





Act as a senior escalation point for complex, cross-domain technical issues

Provide architectural leadership during critical incidents and ambiguous problem spaces

Leverage data-driven insights to accelerate diagnosis and resolution

Establish and evolve architectural governance, standards, and best practices with peer architects

Ensure consistency across platforms while enabling team autonomy and addressing technical debt

Promote responsible and scalable integration of AI capabilities

Define and track metrics for system health, performance, and architectural quality

Influence outcomes across engineering, product, and leadership through technical expertise and collaboration

Act as a trusted technical advisor to senior leadership

Proven success in a senior architecture role (Principal / Senior Principal level), influencing technical direction across multiple teams and domains

Experience operating within an architecture community or peer architect model, driving alignment and shared outcomes

Experience applying AI/ML in large-scale infrastructure or platform environments

Familiarity with AIOps, data engineering, and production ML pipelines

Technical Expertise Deep expertise in modern, cloud-native and distributed software architectures

Strong experience with control plane systems, telemetry and observability platforms, and network software stacks

Solid grounding in large-scale network architecture and operations

Ability to reason across hardware, software, and operational systems

Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage across engineering, product, and senior leadership

Proven ability to influence architectural outcomes across teams through collaboration and technical leadership

Broad technical generalist with strong architectural judgment and systems thinking The Senior Principal Architect plays a key role in Equinix’s architectural leadership community. Through close collaboration with peer architects, engineering teams, and product leaders, this role shapes platform direction, influences how systems are designed and operated, and ensures Equinix can scale effectively as it evolves.

United States - Redwood City Office GHQ :



240,000 - 360,000 USD / Annual

United States - Dallas Infomart Office DAI : 200,000 - 300,000 USD / Annual

Canada - Toronto Office TRO : 166,000 - 248,000 CAD / Annual

Our pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and location. Individual pay is based on additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training.

The targeted pay range listed reflects the base pay only and does not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Employees are eligible for bonus, and equity may be offered depending on the position.

Employee Assistance Program : An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.

US Benefits

- Insurance: You may enroll in health, life, disability and voluntary plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members.
- Retirement: You and Equinix may contribute to a retirement plan to help you plan for your financial future.
- Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays: You will receive an accrued amount of PTO each pay period along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge.

Canada Core Benefits

- Insurance: You may enroll in healthcare coverage that is designed to complement the provincial healthcare system, along with life, disability and optional benefit plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members.
- Retirement: You may also enroll in Equinix-sponsored retirement or savings plans: Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Group Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Plan (TSFA).
- Vacation and Paid Holidays: Equinix offers both vacation and personal time, along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law.

We use artificial intelligence in our hiring process.

📌 Job Posting Title Senior Principal Engineer, Product Software (Network Platform) (Toronto)
🏢 Equinix
📍 Toronto