Lead Technical Architect; Network - DV Cleared

Position: Lead Technical Architect (Network) - 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 data centre 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 data centre 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 (Solar Winds, 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 Dev Sec Ops  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 Dev Sec Ops  environments ________________________________________ Certes Computing (and all of its subsidiary companies) is committed to promoting equality and diversity in its business operations.