Lead Technical Architect – Networks (DV Cleared)
Clearance: Developed Vetting (DV) – mandatory
Onsite Requirement: 3 days per week
Rate: £750 – £775 per day Inside IR35
Location: Milton Keynes
Overview
We are seeking an experienced Lead Technical Architect (Networks) to join our client, reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer. This is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and governing network architecture across both physical and logical domains.
The successful candidate will play a key role in a new project, leading network architecture strategy and ensuring designs are secure, scalable, resilient, and cost‑effective, aligned with organisational objectives and enterprise architecture standards.
This role requires a strong blend of deep technical expertise, architecture governance, and stakeholder engagement, with a particular emphasis on end‑to‑end datacentre design and customer‑facing delivery.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead network architecture across physical and logical environments
- Define and govern secure, scalable, and cost‑efficient network designs
- Act as the primary architect for key project delivery initiatives
- Translate business and security requirements into technical solutions
- Produce and review high‑ and low‑level designs (conceptual, logical, physical) aligned to TOGAF
- Provide leadership and guidance to architects and technical teams
- Drive best practices in network automation, provisioning, and orchestration
- Influence senior stakeholders through evidence‑based recommendations
- Support incident resolution and technical escalations
- Develop and maintain technical roadmaps aligned to organisational strategy
Essential Skills & Experience
Qualifications & Certifications
- Degree (or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Network Engineering, or Telecommunications
- Industry certifications or willingness to work towards TOGAF, ITIL, PRINCE2, Agile
- Professional certifications such as:
- CCNP (Cisco)
- VCP‑NV (VMware)
- PCNSE (Palo Alto)
- Azure Network Engineer / AWS Solutions Architect (or equivalent experience)
Technical Expertise
- Proven experience designing and governing secure network architectures across:
- VMware (private cloud)
- Microsoft on‑premise environments
- Multi‑cloud (Azure and/or AWS)
- Strong experience delivering LAN, WAN, hybrid cloud, and datacentre network designs
- Deep understanding of:
- Cisco technologies (ACI, ASA, Firepower, ASR, Catalyst, Nexus)
- VMware NSX
- Palo Alto Firewalls
- Networking protocols and technologies:
- VLANs, MPLS, IPsec, OSPF, BGP, SD‑WAN, SDN
- TCP/IP, VPN, DNS, QoS
- Experience designing networks in Azure (VNet) and AWS (VPC)
- Knowledge of:
- Zero Trust architecture
- Network automation and orchestration
- Monitoring tools (SolarWinds, PRTG)
- F5 BIG‑IP (LTM, ASM)
- Understanding of high‑grade encryption technologies for secure environments
Architecture & Delivery Experience
- Experience producing robust architecture designs using TOGAF frameworks
- Strong track record of:
- Designing secure, resilient environments (ideally government/defence)
- Delivering business continuity and disaster recovery solutions
- Designing DDoS protection and security controls (WAF, IDS/IPS, EDR/XDR/NDR)
- Experience evaluating solution options across cost, quality, time, and risk
- Exposure to network automation tools (Ansible, Terraform, Python)
- Experience working within CI/CD and DevSecOps environments
Leadership & Stakeholder Management
- Proven ability to lead and mentor technical teams
- Experience influencing senior stakeholders and decision‑makers
- Ability to act as a key escalation point for complex issues
- Strong customer‑facing and communication skills
Knowledge Requirements
- UK Government and security frameworks, including:
- NCSC guidance
- GDS standards
- Secure by Design principles
- Cloud Security Principles
- Technology Code of Practice
- Experience designing secure / air‑gapped environments
- Expertise in cloud‑native networking and modern architectural practices
Desirable Skills
- Membership of professional bodies (e.g., BCS, IET)
- Experience working at OFFICIAL (or higher) government classification levels
- Advanced certifications (e.g., CCIE)
- Experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) networking
- Awareness of AI‑driven operational optimisation
- Strong experience with automation in DevSecOps environments
Certes Computing (and all of its subsidiary companies) is committed to promoting equality and diversity in its business operations.
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