Network Architect in Houston, Texas at Fervo Energy Company

The Network Architect is a senior individual contributor responsible for designing and evolving Fervo's network architecture across corporate IT, hybrid cloud, and site environments. This role is the subject-matter expert for the Fortinet Security Fabric, with deep ownership of FortiGate, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiNAC, and Fortinet Secure SD-WAN. The Network Architect will also define how the Fortinet platform integrates with Cisco-based OT networks, cloud services, and cybersecurity controls.

This is a hands-on architecture role, not a strategy-only position. The Network Architect will establish standards, explain the rationale behind design decisions, and advise technical and executive stakeholders, while remaining close enough to implementation to support commissioning, major changes, and complex incident resolution. This individual will partner closely with the Hybrid Cloud Architect, cybersecurity, site teams, network engineers, and external providers to build a network platform that is repeatable, supportable, and increasingly delivered through automation and CI/CD.

Responsibilities

Network Architecture & Technical Direction

• Design the target-state architecture for enterprise, cloud, WAN and SD-WAN, wireless, and site connectivity, balancing reliability, security, maintainability, scalability, and cost
• Own architectural standards and lifecycle strategy for the Fortinet Security Fabric, including high availability, capacity, firmware, licensing, and platform roadmaps
• Define secure integration patterns between Fortinet-based IT networks and Cisco-based OT environments, including routing, segmentation, access control, and resilient interconnects
• Produce reference architectures, topology diagrams, technical decision records, configuration standards, and implementation guidance that serve as the network source of truth
• Evaluate design options and clearly communicate recommendations, tradeoffs, and risk to engineers, business leaders, and executives

Automation & Platform Engineering

• Develop and execute a roadmap to move network provisioning and change management toward version-controlled, automated delivery through CI/CD
• Build reusable templates and automation using FortiManager, APIs, Python, Ansible, Terraform, or comparable infrastructure-as-code tools
• Establish testing, validation, monitoring, and rollback practices for automated network changes
• Partner with the Hybrid Cloud Architect to design secure, scalable connectivity across cloud and on-premise environments

Delivery, Reliability & Operations

• Remain hands-on with configuration, deployment, commissioning, upgrades, and troubleshooting of Fortinet and Cisco network infrastructure
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex network incidents, leading root-cause analysis and durable remediation
• Lead network design and delivery for new site builds, plant commissioning, expansions, and infrastructure refreshes
• Guide routing and switching, BGP and OSPF, SD-WAN, VPN, QoS, wireless, network segmentation, and high-availability design
• Use FortiAnalyzer and related tooling to improve observability, performance management, capacity planning, and operational readiness
• Coordinate with managed service providers, vendors, Fortinet support, and Cisco partners to maintain service quality and drive issues to resolution

Security, Governance & Team Enablement

• Design and enforce firewall policy, network access control, segmentation, secure remote access, and logging standards in partnership with cybersecurity
• Support incident response, risk assessments, audits, and remediation by providing network telemetry, evidence, and technical leadership
• Review network designs and changes, mentor engineers and contractors, and raise the team's ability to reason through design decisions rather than only execute configurations
• Create runbooks and operational standards that make the environment easier to support and reduce dependence on individual knowledge

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 8+ years of experience in network engineering or infrastructure operations, including meaningful responsibility for architecture, standards, or complex design decisions
• Deep, recent hands-on experience across the Fortinet Security Fabric, particularly FortiGate, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiNAC, and Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
• Strong Cisco routing and switching experience and the ability to integrate enterprise IT networks with OT or industrial environments
• Advanced knowledge of BGP, OSPF, VLANs and VRFs, IPsec and SSL VPN, QoS, high availability, and network segmentation
• Experience designing and supporting hybrid cloud networking in Azure or AWS
• Experience with network automation, CI/CD, scripting, APIs, or infrastructure-as-code tools such as Python, Ansible, or Terraform
• Strong troubleshooting and diagnostic skills in complex, uptime-critical environments
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain architecture decisions and recommendations to executive stakeholders

Preferred

• Fortinet certifications such as FCP or FCSS in Secure Networking or Network Security
• Cisco certification such as CCNP or CCIE
• Experience supporting industrial control systems, operational technology networks, or site commissioning, particularly in regulated infrastructure, plus familiarity with NIST, ISO 27001, IEC 62443, or NERC CIP