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 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 (eg 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 (eg, BCS, IET)
* Experience working at OFFICIAL (or higher) government classification levels
* Advanced certifications (eg, 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.