Howdens Joinery has an exciting opportunity in our Infrastructure team for an experienced Architect to join us on a permanent basis.
You will provide technical design expertise for the continual development of the Howdens network and infrastructure technology landscape. This is a full-time role based from our office in Brackmills, Northampton, with 4 days per week in the office and 1 day working from home.
What will I be doing as an Infrastructure Architect?
1. Identifying improvements to systems to exploit investments.
2. Ensuring changes to our landscape are in line with technology standards and original designs, while meeting our strategic goals.
3. Strategically consulting and influencing an annual budget of approximately £30 million, including capital expenditures for infrastructure upgrades, maintenance, security, and operational costs for ongoing support and services.
4. Working closely with the wider IT teams of 250+ employees, including network engineers, system administrators, and support staff, to ensure the successful implementation and maintenance of infrastructure projects.
5. Governing the infrastructure that supports over 12,000 users across multiple locations, ensuring high availability, performance, and security of the network and systems.
6. Documenting and developing in-depth knowledge of Howdens' existing network infrastructure architecture and technology portfolio to identify future investment and consolidation opportunities.
7. Creating high-level reference architecture, including Key Design Decisions (KDDs), and supporting Low-Level Design (LLD) to provide a clear framework for infrastructure development.
What we need from you
Experience across a range of infrastructure technologies including but not limited to:
* Cloud infrastructure and services
* Infrastructure as Code
* Microsoft 365
* Virtualisation technologies
* Networking
* Security
* Database technologies
* Storage
* Windows servers
* Windows clients
* AIX and Linux servers
* Experience in infrastructure designs (IaaS and PaaS)
* Understanding of best practice infrastructure and network architectures
* Broad knowledge of IT industry best practices
* Knowledge of IP, Ethernet, routing, and switching within LAN/WAN/Data Centre/Public Cloud environments
* Understanding of Software Defined Networking
* Experience with network security products such as Firewalls, IPS/IDS
What we can offer you
* Basic salary and annual company bonus
* Company car or car allowance
* Private medical insurance
* Excellent pension scheme (up to 12% contribution)
* 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with options to buy additional days
* Staff discount
About Howdens
Howdens Joinery is the UK’s leading trade kitchen supplier, offering a wide range of products across kitchens, joinery, and hardware. With over 900 depots across the UK and Europe, we serve more than 460,000 trade professionals. Our sales last year reached approximately £2.3 billion, and we have an ambitious growth plan.
Joining us means developing within a fast-paced, commercial environment and being part of an organization recognized for excellence in the workplace as one of the Best Big Companies to Work For.
How to apply
We’re committed to building a future where service, innovation, and sustainability are core values. If Howdens sounds like the right place for your career growth, we want to hear from you.
We value inclusivity and are dedicated to providing an environment where everyone feels welcome. If you need adjustments during our recruitment process, please email us with your needs, and we will support you.
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