Lead Technical Network Architect - DV Cleared

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.

JBRP1_UKTJ