Lead Network Solutions Designer
Contract: 9 months
Rate: £500 – £700 per day (Outside IR35)
Location: Manchester – 1 day onsite per week
Overview
A leading retail client is looking for an experienced Lead Network Solutions Designer to provide technical leadership and solution design across enterprise connectivity and network platforms. This role requires strong technical depth and design authority, but is not hands-on engineering.
You will act as the senior design expert, shaping network solutions that support business change, transformation and operational resilience.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the end-to-end design of enterprise network and connectivity solutions
* Act as the senior network design authority, providing direction rather than hands-on delivery
* Design and govern solutions across core switching, routing, firewalls and load balancing
* Influence technical direction across internal teams and third-party suppliers
* Evaluate, challenge and approve supplier designs and commercial proposals
* Support complex change initiatives with clear technical leadership and decision-making
* Contribute to network roadmaps, lifecycle planning and future investment strategy
Required Skills & Experience
* Proven experience as a senior or lead network designer/architect in large enterprise environments
* Deep technical knowledge (design-level, non-hands-on) across:
* Cisco enterprise networking technologies
* Fortinet firewall and security platforms
* Core switching and routing (enterprise and data centre)
* Firewalls and network security architecture
* Load balancing technologies
* Equinix / colocation and data centre connectivity
* Azure networking (hybrid connectivity, cloud integration)
* Recognised as a networking expert capable of owning complex design decisions
* Ability to clearly explain and justify design choices to senior stakeholders
* Experience working within regulated or customer-facing environments (retail preferred)
Desirable Experience
* Voice / unified communications technologies
* Exposure to both traditional infrastructure and cloud-based network models
* Experience working with managed service providers and complex supplier ecosystems
* Familiarity with Agile, Waterfall or hybrid delivery environments