Lead technical network architect - dv cleared

Job Description

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:

o CCNP (Cisco) o VCP-NV (VMware) o PCNSE (Palo Alto) o Azure Network Engineer / AWS Solutions Architect (or equivalent experience) ________________________________________ Technical Expertise: Proven experience designing and governing secure network architectures across: o VMware (private cloud) o Microsoft on-premise environments o Multi-cloud (Azure and/or AWS)

• Strong experience delivering LAN, WAN, hybrid cloud, and datacentre network designs

Deep understanding of: o Cisco technologies (ACI, ASA, Firepower, ASR, Catalyst, Nexus) o VMware NSX o Palo Alto Firewalls Networking protocols and technologies: o VLANs, MPLS, IPsec, OSPF, BGP, SD-WAN, SDN o TCP/IP, VPN, DNS, QoS

• Experience designing networks in Azure (VNet) and AWS (VPC)

Knowledge of: o Zero Trust architecture o Network automation and orchestration o Monitoring tools (SolarWinds, PRTG) o 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: o Designing secure, resilient environments (ideally government/defence) o Delivering business continuity and disaster recovery solutions o 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 (e.g. 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:

o NCSC guidance o GDS standards o Secure by Design principles o Cloud Security Principles o 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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