Senior Network Hosting Architect - freelance - hybrid, London, UK
Contract | Comgent | United Kingdom
Posted On 04/18/2026
Job Information
Standard Business working Hours Yes
Work Experience 8-10
City London
State/Province City of London
N/A
Special Considerations
We are committed to building an inclusive workplace and encourage applications from women and other under-represented groups in tech. All qualified candidates are welcome.
Start date: May/ June 2026
Location: London, UK (Hybrid — minimum 2 days per week in office)
Job Description
Reports to Head of Data Centre and Network Services.
A highly skilled Senior Network Hosting Architect with extensive experience designing, delivering, and optimising large-scale enterprise, internet-facing, cloud, and market-data-driven hosting environments.
This role is accountable for shaping end-to-end hosting network architectures supporting internal enterprise workloads, external internet services, regulated payment platforms, and real‑time market data distribution, ensuring resilience, security, scalability, and operational excellence in performance‑critical and regulated environments.
* deep expertise across traditional networking, multi‑cloud connectivity, low‑latency market data platforms, payment systems, and SaaS‑integrated infrastructure.
* strong architectural leadership, stakeholder engagement, and structured delivery capabilities are essential, with the ability to influence both technical teams and senior business leadership.
The ideal candidate is proactive, able to be detail‑orientated when required, and comfortable operating in regulated environments.
Requirements
Hosting Network Architecture & Strategy
Lead the architecture of secure, scalable, and resilient network hosting platforms across:
* On‑premise data centres and colocation
* Hybrid and multi‑cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP/GSP, Oracle Cloud)
* SaaS‑integrated services (e.g. Microsoft 365, infrastructure SaaS platforms)
Define hosting strategies supporting market data platforms, payment systems, enterprise applications, and customer‑facing internet services.
Develop multi‑year network hosting roadmaps aligned to business growth, regulatory expectations, and technology evolution.
Technical Governance & Engineering Leadership
Act as the senior technical authority for complex hosting, connectivity, and L2–L7 network challenges across enterprise, internet, and SaaS‑integrated environments.
Own architectural governance for market data, payment platform, and cloud hosting designs, ensuring compliance with internal standards and external regulation.
Provide design assurance for secure inbound/outbound internet connectivity, DDoS‑protected architectures, and Zero Trust access models.
Cloud, SaaS & Internet Connectivity
Architect and operate cloud networking across:
* AWS, Azure, Google Cloud / GSP, and Oracle Cloud
* Hybrid connectivity using ExpressRoute, Direct Connect, Partner Interconnect, and equivalent services
Design resilient connectivity models for Microsoft 365 and key infrastructure SaaS services, including identity‑aware routing, secure egress, and performance optimisation.
Define internet hosting patterns covering DMZs, ingress/egress, load balancing, DNS, CDN integration, and secure access.
Market Data & Low‑Latency Platforms
Architect, optimise, and support market data hosting environments including:
* Bloomberg, Reuters, and other exchange / data‑vendor platforms
* Low‑latency multicast and unicast distribution
* Cross‑connects within colocation and exchange venues
Design deterministic, high‑availability network paths for latency‑sensitive trading and analytics workloads.
Partner with vendors and internal platform teams to ensure performance, resilience, and change control for market data services.
Payment Systems & Regulated Hosting
Design hosting network architectures for payment systems and transactional platforms, ensuring:
* High availability and fault tolerance
* Secure segmentation and encryption
* Compliance with financial and regulatory requirements
Support connectivity to payment gateways, clearing systems, and third‑party providers, including resilience testing and failure scenarios.
Project & Transformation Delivery
Lead major hosting and network transformation initiatives, including:
* Data centre and ACI modernisation
* Cloud and SaaS adoption
* Internet hosting and perimeter redesign
* Market data and payment platform migrations
Drive structured planning, risk management, stakeholder coordination, and controlled delivery.
Operations Excellence & Automation
Champion continuous optimisation across performance, capacity, routing efficiency, internet ingress/egress, and cloud cost efficiency.
Lead resolution of high‑severity incidents across enterprise, market data, payment, and internet‑facing platforms.
Implement automation, observability, and tooling using Infrastructure‑as‑Code and API‑driven platforms.
Act as the technical interface with:
* SaaS providers (e.g. Microsoft 365)
* Telcos, ISPs, exchanges, and market data vendors (Bloomberg, Reuters)
Review and influence technical solutions, SLAs, contracts, and support models.
Provide clear architectural updates and risk assessments to senior stakeholders.
Security, Resilience & Compliance
Embed Zero Trust, segmentation, encryption, and secure connectivity across hosting platforms.
Ensure internet‑facing, cloud, market data, and payment environments meet regulatory, audit, and operational resilience standards.
Maintain high‑quality architecture artefacts, runbooks, and audit evidence.
Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
* 8–12+ years in network engineering and hosting architecture, with senior or lead responsibility.
* Deep knowledge across L2–L7 enterprise, internet, and cloud networking.
* Payment systems and regulated transactional environments.
* Internet‑facing services and SaaS integration.
* Proven multi‑cloud expertise across AWS, Azure, GCP/GSP, and Oracle Cloud.
* Experience supporting Microsoft 365 and infrastructure SaaS connectivity models.
* Advanced routing (BGP, OSPF), low‑latency design, multicast, and high‑availability patterns.
* Comfortable operating in regulated financial services environments with audit‑ready practices.
* Architectural rigor: ensures all designs follow structured governance, secure patterns, and best‑practice frameworks.
* Cross‑Team influence: communicates technical concepts clearly to cybersecurity, infrastructure, and business stakeholders.
* Operational excellence: drives stability, repeatability, and continuous improvement in security operations.
* Innovation & forward thinking: identifies emerging threats, technologies, and solutions relevant to enterprise environments.
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