Architect

We are currently seeking an experienced professional to join our team in the role of OpenShift Platform Architect, responsible for end‐to‐end OpenShift architecture and design and for leading migration of application workloads onto OpenShift across on‐premises and hybrid environments.

Role purpose

You will define and govern platform architecture, standards, and reference designs for OpenShift, ensuring the platform is secure, compliant, scalable, and operable. You will lead migration strategy, landing zones, and onboarding patterns so that product teams can move workloads to OpenShift safely and efficiently.

Key responsibilities (What you’ll do)

1) Architecture & reference design (core)

• Own OpenShift platform reference architecture across on‐prem and hybrid environments, including cluster topology, multi‐cluster strategy, tenancy model, and shared services.
• Define landing zone standards for application onboarding (projects/namespaces, quotas/limits, network segmentation, ingress/route standards, service accounts, RBAC patterns).
• Establish and maintain platform standards for:
• Cluster lifecycle (build, upgrade, patching, decommission)
• Platform add‐ons (observability, logging, registry, backup/restore)
• Resilience & availability (HA design, failure domains, DR principles)

2) Migration strategy & delivery leadership

• Design migration approaches and lead execution planning for:
• VM / legacy platform → OpenShift, or Kubernetes distro → OpenShift, or OpenShift 3.x → 4.x migration programmes (as applicable).
• Create migration artefacts: migration runbooks, cutover plans, rollback procedures, dependency mapping, hypercare criteria, and “definition of done” for migration waves.
• Partner with application, network, storage, security, and operations teams to remove blockers and ensure a consistent onboarding experience.

3) Security architecture, governance & compliance (bank‐grade controls)

• Define and enforce OpenShift security architecture:
• RBAC model and privileged access controls
• Network policies / segmentation principles
• Secure configuration standards and lifecycle controls (including upgrades/patching)
• Embed security and controls into platform patterns, ensuring operational processes support audit and regulatory expectations.

4) Platform engineering enablement (IaC, automation, standardisation)

• Lead Infrastructure‐as‐Code and automation strategy to deliver consistent platform deployments using tools such as Terraform and Ansible (or equivalent).
• Develop reusable modules/templates for repeatable deployments and operational tasks; integrate into CI/CD workflows where appropriate.
• Drive operational excellence through standard operating procedures, documentation, and continuous improvement practices.

5) Observability, performance & reliability architecture

• Define observability requirements and reference patterns using tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK (or enterprise equivalents), including logging/metrics/alerting standards.
• Guide platform capacity and performance engineering—cluster sizing strategy, utilisation targets, scaling patterns, and cost controls.

6) Stakeholder management & technical leadership

• Provide architectural guidance and design assurance for platform changes, ensuring adherence to standards and risk controls.
• Mentor engineers and support teams, promote knowledge sharing, and maintain high‐quality documentation and runbooks.
• Collaborate globally with teams across regions and time zones, supporting follow‐the‐sun operational needs where required.

Requirements (What you need to have to succeed in this role)

Essential experience

• Strong hands‐on experience designing and operating OpenShift clusters in on‐premises and hybrid environments.
• Proven delivery of OpenShift upgrades and patching and operational lifecycle management.
• Demonstrable experience leading or designing migration programmes to OpenShift (planning, onboarding patterns, cutover/rollback).
• Strong knowledge of OpenShift networking, storage, and security configuration in enterprise settings.
• Strong automation/IaC experience using Terraform and/or Ansible (or equivalent).
• Observability/monitoring experience with Prometheus/Grafana and/or ELK stacks (or equivalents).
• Strong communication and documentation skills; ability to work with development, DevOps, and operations teams for seamless integration.

Desirable

• Experience working in regulated or high‐control environments and contributing to standardisation, operational assurance, and evidence‐driven controls.
• Experience in KVM/virtualisation platforms that underpin on‐prem hybrid architectures (where relevant to the OpenShift estate).

Typical technology scope (indicative)

• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (installation, configuration, lifecycle, shared services)
• Automation/IaC: Terraform, Ansible (or equivalent)
• Monitoring/Logging: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK (or enterprise equivalents)
• Operational processes: incident/problem/change, runbooks, documentation and knowledge sharing