Skip to main contentA logo with &quat;the muse&quat; in dark blue text.

Senior Principal Cloud Network Architect

AT GM Financial
GM Financial

Senior Principal Cloud Network Architect

Arlington, TX

Overview

Why GM Financial Technology?

GM Financial is set to change the auto finance industry and is leading the path of embarking on tech modernization - we have a startup mindset, and preserve our small company culture, in a public company environment with financial stability and intense growth over a decade-plus history.

We are data junkies and trust in data and insights to advance our business objectives. We take our goal of zero emission, zero collision, zero congestion, and zero friction very seriously. We believe as an auto finance market leader we are in the driver's seat to lead us in the GM EV mission to change the world.

We are building global platforms, in LATAM, Europe, China, U.S. and Canada - and we are looking to grow our high-performing team. GMF is comprised of over 10,000 team members globally. Join our fintech culture within a Blue-Chip company where we are changing the way we use technology to support our customers, dealers, and business.

Want more jobs like this?

Get jobs in Arlington, TX delivered to your inbox every week.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.


Responsibilities

About the Role:

The Senior Principal Cloud Network Architect is a strategic and technical leadership position, responsible for driving the design, implementation, and governance of GM Financial's global network infrastructure. This role integrates enterprise vision with hands-on architecture to ensure a highly available, secure, and scalable network backbone that supports modern cloud and hybrid workloads. You will serve as a key influencer across business units, contributing technical depth, cross-functional leadership, and a strong architectural mindset to shape the future of networking at GM Financial.

In this role, you will:

Strategic Vision & Architecture:

  • Architect highly scalable, distributed, and secure network solutions across data center, hybrid cloud (AWS and Azure), and edge environments.
  • Develop and execute a forward-looking network strategy aligned with enterprise IT and business goals.
  • Drive modernization through adoption of automation, cloud-native technologies, and software-defined networking (SDN).
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and incorporate them into the infrastructure roadmap.

Cloud Networking Expertise

  • Required hands-on experience in AWS and Azure networking: VPCs, VNets, Transit Gateway, ExpressRoute, VPNs, network security groups, route tables, cloud-native firewalls and load balancers.
  • Design secure hybrid cloud connectivity and cloud-first network topologies.
  • Contribute to cloud governance and workload placement strategies from a networking perspective.

Network Security Expertise

  • Design and manage secure network environments, incorporating zero-trust principles and layered defense strategies.

Innovation & Technical Depth:

  • Own high-impact network innovation initiatives, from concept to implementation.
  • Prototype and validate solutions using modern tooling and automation frameworks (Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD pipelines).
  • Influence the technical roadmap by identifying opportunities for performance, reliability, and automation gains.
  • Firewalls (cloud-native and on-premise)
  • Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)
  • Web Application Firewalls (WAF)
  • Network Access Control (NAC)
  • Load Balancers (F5, Azure/AWS native, etc.)
  • DDoS protection, segmentation, and encryption in transit
  • Collaborate closely with cybersecurity teams to ensure alignment with enterprise security strategy.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory and industry standards related to infrastructure security.

Enterprise Leadership & Influence

  • Lead architectural alignment across departments and global infrastructure teams.
  • Collaborate with enterprise architects, product owners, and executives to guide technology decisions.
  • Act as a mentor, thought leader, and technical advisor, promoting best practices across the organization.
  • Operational Excellence
  • Lead proactive network performance management, monitoring, and observability efforts.
  • Implement SLAs, KPIs, and error budgets in partnership with SRE and platform teams.
  • Drive agility through iterative, measurable improvements in availability, scalability, and latency.
  • Mentorship & Community Engagement: Serve as a mentor and coach across technical teams. Foster a strong internal knowledge-sharing culture and support technical community development.

Governance & Risk Management

  • Define architectural standards, baselines, and governance frameworks to ensure consistency across environments.
  • Proactively identify and mitigate risks related to availability, performance, and compliance.
  • Ensure disaster recovery and resiliency are integrated into network designs.

Communication skills

  • Effectively communicating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, including senior management, to ensure alignment on network strategy.

Qualifications

What makes you a dream candidate?

  • Experience with leading cross-functional and/or global initiatives from start to finish
  • Advanced knowledge of business acumen and a deep understanding of business implications of decisions
  • In-depth understanding of company values, mission, vision, and strategic direction
  • Comprehensive knowledge of GM Financial's business operations
  • Advanced relationship management skills and ability to influence others to achieve results by working across the business unit, being open to ideas and actively engaging and influencing others
  • Proven skills in providing leadership through mentorship, influence, inspiration, collaboration, and teamwork
  • Exemplifies professional behavior in using logic, analysis and judgment when encountering challenges
  • Strong ability to map long-term vision for the business unit and generate innovative ideas that create value
  • Ability to maintain and grow strong working relationships and build trust with peers, cross-functional partners, and related professional organizations
  • Thrive in environments that require cross-functional influence and business alignment.
  • Have a passion for solving complex challenges and building future-proof architectures.

Experience:

  • Have 12 years of progressive experience in infrastructure and network architecture.
  • Possess 5+ years of experience leading large-scale hybrid network initiatives.
  • Have deep technical knowledge in network protocols, routing, switching, security, and cloud connectivity.
  • Are fluent in cloud networking patterns across AWS and Azure
  • 5-7 years leading through mentorship in related field required
  • 5-7 years driving thought leadership and innovation across products required

What We Offer: Generous benefits package available on day one to include: 401K matching, bonding leave for new parents (12 weeks, 100% paid), tuition assistance, training, GM employee auto discount, community service pays and nine company holidays.
Our Culture: Our team members define and shape our culture. We have an environment that welcomes new ideas, fosters integrity, and creates a sense of community and belonging. Here we do more than. work - we thrive.
Compensation: Competitive salary and bonus eligibility; this role is eligible for company vehicle program.
Work Life Balance: Flexible hybrid work environment, 3-days a week in office.

I-JI1

#LI-Hybrid

#GMFjobs

Client-provided location(s): Arlington, TX, USA
Job ID: GM_Financial-49099
Employment Type: Full Time

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • Health Insurance
    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • Life Insurance
    • Short-Term Disability
    • Long-Term Disability
    • FSA
    • FSA With Employer Contribution
    • HSA
    • HSA With Employer Contribution
    • Mental Health Benefits
    • Fitness Subsidies
  • Parental Benefits

    • Birth Parent or Maternity Leave
    • Non-Birth Parent or Paternity Leave
    • Adoption Leave
  • Work Flexibility

    • Remote Work Opportunities
    • Hybrid Work Opportunities
  • Office Life and Perks

    • Happy Hours
    • Company Outings
    • On-Site Cafeteria
    • Holiday Events
  • Vacation and Time Off

    • Paid Vacation
    • Paid Holidays
    • Personal/Sick Days
    • Leave of Absence
    • Volunteer Time Off
  • Financial and Retirement

    • 401(K) With Company Matching
    • Performance Bonus
    • Profit Sharing
  • Professional Development

    • Tuition Reimbursement
    • Promote From Within
    • Mentor Program
    • Shadowing Opportunities
    • Access to Online Courses
    • Lunch and Learns
    • Internship Program
    • Leadership Training Program
  • Diversity and Inclusion

    • Unconscious Bias Training
    • Employee Resource Groups (ERG)