Lead Solution Architect - Networks

End Date:
Tuesday 13 October 2026

Salary Range: £92,701 - £109,060

Salary: £92,701-£109,060

Location(s):
Leeds or Manchester

Hours:

Full-time

Working Pattern:
Our work style is hybrid, which involves spending at least two days per week, or 40% of our time, at one of our office sites

We support flexible working –

Flexible Working Options:
Hybrid Working, Job Share

Job Description

Want to solve some of the most complex networking and connectivity challenges in UK financial services? You'll help shape the architecture behind a vast hybrid technology estate, influencing how cloud, data centre, security and network services evolve to support millions of customers and thousands of colleagues every day! As a Lead Network Architect, you’ll sit within Core Infrastructure and help design the network, security and infrastructure delivery patterns that keep our platforms connected, protected and ready for change.

Our team works closely with engineering, cyber security, enterprise architecture, platform teams and suppliers to turn complex business needs into practical designs that support the Bank and its customers.

You'll lead solution architecture activities for the Bank network connecting data centres, hosting locations, offices, branches and external services making sure our designs are resilient, secure and aligned to enterprise standards. You'll define reusable connectivity patterns, guide migration approaches for major transformation activity and help teams reach well-grounded conclusions regarding the solutions that form the Bank's network services including routing, domain name services, load balancing, network traffic flow control and application deployment.

You'll also bring people together across architecture, delivery and engineering, building trusted relationships and helping colleagues navigate ambiguity. That means connecting strategic architecture decisions with how network and security change is designed, assured, deployed and operated, while keeping risk, compliance and operational readiness front of mind You'll be joining a collaborative team that values curiosity, clear thinking and shared learning.

There’ll be opportunities to grow your architecture skills, work on high profile infrastructure change and help shape how network architecture capability develops across the wider function.

We're looking for someone who can combine deep networking expertise with strong architectural judgement, influencing skills and a pragmatic approach to delivering secure, resilient and scalable technology solutions across a complex enterprise environment. Demonstrable experience crafting network architectures across large-scale, regulated organisations, with a solid focus on resilience, security, availability and operational sustainability. Broad knowledge of modern networking technologies spanning data centre, cloud, campus, office, branch, wide area, internet and partner connectivity domains.

This should include software-defined networking, hybrid and multi-cloud networking, network automation, and contemporary connectivity and security technologies from leading vendors such as Cisco and others. Ability to design, govern and assure network control architectures, including traffic segmentation, access control, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention, network detection and response, encryption, policy enforcement, Observablity and security control mapping. Experience producing and assuring architecture work including target state architectures, option assessments, high and low-level developments, architecture decision records, standards, patterns and governance submissions.

Collaboration and…