VP, Network Connectivity Architect (L12)

Job Description:

Role Title: VP, Network Connectivity Architect (L12)

Company Overview:

Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry’s most complete digitally enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoors, pet and more.

• We have recently been ranked #2 among India’s Best Companies to Work for by Great Place to Work. We were among the Top 50 India’s Best Workplaces in Building a Culture of Innovation by All by GPTW and Top 25 among Best Workplaces in BFSI by GPTW. We have also been recognized by AmbitionBox Employee Choice Awards among the Top 20 Mid-Sized Companies, ranked #3 among Top Rated Companies for Women, and Top-Rated Financial Services Companies.

• We provide best-in-class employee benefits and programs that cater to work-life integration and overall well-being.

• We provide career advancement and upskilling opportunities, focusing to take up leadership roles.

Organization Overview:

The Connectivity Engineering Organization at Synchrony provides the core networking and security foundation that enables reliable, secure communication across data center and cloud environments. The team supports critical services including remote access, firewalling, remote site connectivity, DNS, CDN capabilities, and network automation, ensuring consistent connectivity, strong security controls, and scalable operations across the enterprise

Role Summary/Purpose:

We are seeking a VP, Network Connectivity Architect to join our Connectivity Engineering team. This role will provide technical leadership across multiple teams, leading the design, implementation, optimization, and operational support of enterprise connectivity solutions spanning physical and cloud environments. The ideal candidate will have strong communication skills and a demonstrated ability to work effectively in a matrixed environment with engineering and development teams, as well as partner across business areas of the enterprise. This individual will help drive end-to-end target state architecture for applications within the cloud footprint and work with engineering teams to migrate and build cloud capabilities.

This position requires broad expertise in connectivity and cloud-based networking technologies, including Software-Defined Networking (SDN), firewalls, load balancing, core routing, and switching. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of evaluating, introducing, and delivering new connectivity technologies into production, while executing initiatives on time, within budget, and with minimal business impact. Strong project management and Agile experience are also critical.

Key Responsibilities:

• Architect & deliver enterprise connectivity solutions across hybrid environments, including:
  • Multi-cloud fabric / cloud transit, data center network architecture, SD-WAN, branch connectivity, and third-party network/security integrations
  • Support remote access connectivity (VPN/SASE), DNS services, and support for Security/Access Infrastructure initiatives
  • Partner with provisioning teams for circuit ordering, analysis, and implementation readiness
• Provide technical leadership and modernization direction
  • Research, pilot, test, and introduce new connectivity technologies; drive modernization and new capabilities
  • Guide product/engineering roadmaps and lead architecture through the full lifecycle (design → build → deployment → support)
  • Collaborate across multiple Agile teams to evaluate, engineer, and deploy solutions
  • Drive Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) transformation, automation, and repeatable engineering patterns
  • Partner with engineering and business stakeholders to resolve connectivity issues and deliver measurable outcomes
• Establish and govern engineering standards, risk, and lifecycle management
  • Own network standards, configuration management policies, and product certification requirements
  • Support compliance/audit responses; oversee software review, vulnerability analysis, and remediation alignment
  • Plan and manage technology lifecycle events (EOL/EOS) and vendor support contracts (including reconciliation)
  • Run architecture design reviews and collaborate with tooling/monitoring teams to improve operational automation
• Optimize performance, cost, and operational efficiency
  • Continuously assess and optimize solutions for scalability, resiliency, performance, and cost efficiency
  • Standardize and streamline deployment/operational processes through automation and improved engineering workflows
  • Stay current on industry trends and emerging technologies to inform adoption and innovation
• Cross-functional collaboration & team enablement
  • Integrate network solutions into DevOps/Operations workflows and delivery pipelines
  • Promote best practices for architecture, governance, and operations; foster continuous learning and improvement across teams

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience); advanced degree preferred with 5+ years in IT infrastructure and/or cloud architecture or in lieu of degree 7+ years equivalent experience
• 5+ years designing and deploying enterprise connectivity/networking solutions (internal and external connectivity)
• Experience in highly regulated environments (e.g., banking/financial services) and supporting compliance frameworks (PCI DSS, GDPR, SOC 2)
• Proven expertise designing, implementing, and securing hybrid cloud/data center networking (business centers, physical/virtual data centers)
• Hands-on proficiency with IaC/automation tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation) and scripting/automation fundamentals
• Strong technical background across core connectivity technologies, such as:
  • Cloud connectivity (AWS/Azure; GCP a plus)
  • Circuit/WAN edge technologies (SDWAN/MPLS/Private Line/Internet)
  • DNS (Infoblox, Route 53., Azure DNS)
  • Load balancing (VMWare AVI, AWS ELB, Azure LB)
  • SDDC/network virtualization (VMware NSX)
  • Data center networking (Cisco Nexus / Cisco ACI)
  • Routing/switching and firewalls (enterprise-grade)

Desired Skills/Knowledge:

• Experience with cloud fabric / transit architectures (e.g., Aviatrix, Equinix, native cloud transit patterns)
• Familiarity with Git-based source control and modern engineering workflows (CI/CD, peer review)
• Self-motivated; able to prioritize and execute across multiple teams and stakeholders in a matrixed environment
• Strong analytical, presentation, and communication skills; able to influence technical and executive audiences and partner effectively with external vendors/partners
• Demonstrated curiosity and continuous learning mindset; actively drives modernization and innovation

Recommended Certifications:

• Aviatrix ACE – Cloud Backbone Specialty
• Aviatrix ACE – Professional
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
• Cisco CCNP Enterprise (routing/switching)

Eligibility Criteria :

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience); advanced degree preferred with 5+ years in IT infrastructure and/or cloud architecture or in lieu of degree 7+ years equivalent experience
   

Work Timings: 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM IST

This role qualifies for Enhanced Flexibility offered in Synchrony India and will require the incumbent to be available between 06:00 AM Eastern Time – 11:30 AM Eastern Time (timings are anchored to US Eastern hours and will adjust twice a year locally). This window is for meetings with India and US teams. The remaining hours will be flexible for the employee to choose. Exceptions may apply periodically due to business needs)
We are proud to offer flexibility at Synchrony. Our way of working allows you the option to work from home or workspaces in our Regional Engagement Hubs—Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, or Delhi/NCR.
Occasionally you may be required to commute or travel to Hyderabad or one of the Regional Engagement Hubs for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, trainings, and culture events.

For Internal Applicants:

• Understand the criteria or mandatory skills required for the role, before applying

• Inform your manager and HRM before applying for any role on Workday

• Ensure that your professional profile is updated (fields such as education, prior experience, other skills) and it is mandatory to upload your updated resume (Word or PDF format)

• Must not be any corrective action plan (Formal/Final Formal)

• L10+ Employees who have completed 18 months in the organization and 12 months in their current role and level are only eligible to apply for this opportunity

Grade/Level: 12

Job Family Group:

Information Technology