Technical architect - OSS/Network Automation (FTC or Outside IR35)

Open as a 12 months Fixed term contract OR a 6 month Outside IR35 contract (FTC is customer preference)

80 K GBP/Annum for FTC/450 GBP/Day (Outside IR35) for freelance

Overview

An experienced Technical Architect with strong expertise in system architecture, microservices, Graph databases, and network OSS technologies including NETCONF, RESTCONF, and IETF YANG models. The role involves designing scalable OSS platforms, network automation systems, and data architectures using modern microservices and workflow orchestration frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and architect scalable OSS/Network Automation platforms.
• Define microservices architecture, system integrations, and data flows.
• Design Graph DB based network topology/inventory/service modelling systems.
• Architect event-driven systems using Kafka.
• Design and implement workflow orchestration using Argo Workflows.
• Define API architecture, API Gateway, GraphQL interfaces.
• Work with NETCONF/RESTCONF and IETF YANG models for network device integration.
• Define CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps.
• Lead engineering teams and provide technical guidance and architecture governance.
• Ensure system scalability, performance, security, and reliability.
• Collaborate with OSS/BSS teams, network teams, and cloud/platform teams.

System Architecture & Engineering

• System Design & Architecture
• Microservices Architecture
• Event-driven Architecture
• Distributed Systems

Technologies

• Python
• Apache Kafka
• Argo Workflows
• Graph Databases (Neo4j/JanusGraph/Neptune etc.)
• GraphQL
• API Gateway

Networking/OSS

• OSS/BSS systems
• Network Inventory/Topology systems
• IETF YANG Models
• NETCONF
• RESTCONF
• Network Automation/SDN/NMS

DevOps/Cloud

• CI/CD pipelines
• Azure DevOps
• Docker/Kubernetes (preferred)
• Cloud Platforms (Azure preferred)

Secondary/Good to Have Skills

• Kubernetes
• Terraform
• Streaming platforms
• Network Modeling/Service Modeling
• Telecom domain experience
• TM Forum frameworks (eTOM/SID/Open APIs)
• Observability/Monitoring tools