Network Architect

Required Profile & Skills: Technical Expertise

• Strong experience designing enterprise-scale network architectures across Campus, Data Centre, WAN, WLAN, Cloud and Hybrid Connectivity environments.
• Ability to define architecture principles, standards, patterns and target-state designs.
• Strong understanding of enterprise network resilience, scalability, segmentation, performance and operational supportability.

Routing, Switching & WLAN

• Deep knowledge of Cisco environments across Campus and Data Centre domains.
• Strong understanding of Aruba network environments, including Aruba Central, switch deployment, Wi-Fi access points and standard network protocols.
• Excellent knowledge of STP, VLANs, IP addressing, Radius, routing, switching and network access control principles.

Dynamic Routing, WAN & SD-WAN

• Strong architectural understanding of WAN and SD-WAN models.
• Advanced knowledge of BGP and OSPF.
• Ability to design and govern routing across multi-vendor and multi-environment landscapes, including Cisco, Aruba, Fortinet, Palo Alto and Azure/AWS cloud environments.

Network Security & Firewalling

• Strong understanding of security architecture principles applied to network infrastructure.
• Good knowledge of Fortinet technologies, including FortiManager and FortiGate architecture and integration principles.
• Good knowledge of Palo Alto firewalling and traffic filtering design.
• Ability to define secure connectivity models, filtering principles, segmentation patterns, VPN architecture and cloud security integration.

Data Centre & Advanced Network Technologies

• Strong understanding of Cisco ACI architecture and data centre network design.
• Ability to provide guidance on complex routing, segmentation and data centre interconnect scenarios.
• Knowledge of F5 load balancing concepts would be an advantage.
• Knowledge of Zscaler proxy architecture would be an advantage.

DDI, Monitoring & Tooling

• Solid understanding of DDI architecture, ideally with Efficient IP.
• Ability to define IP addressing, DNS/DHCP integration and dependency models.
• Experience defining network monitoring, observability and operational-readiness requirements.
• Familiarity with network automation, configuration governance and Network as Code approaches.
• Knowledge of Cisco Catalyst Center automation capabilities would be beneficial.

Soft Skills & Languages

• Fluent written and spoken English is essential for operating in an international context.
• Ability to write clear architecture documentation, design principles, decision records and technical standards in English.
• Ability to collaborate with local IT teams and global stakeholders across multiple countries.

Mandatory English – Fluent

• Fluent written and spoken English is essential for operating in an international context.
• Ability to write clear architecture documentation, design principles, decision records and technical standards in English.
• Ability to collaborate with local IT teams and global stakeholders across multiple countries.

Leadership & Communication

• Strong ability to explain complex network architecture topics clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to influence technical decisions without direct hierarchical authority.
• Proven ability to work with architects, engineers, operations teams, security teams and project managers.

Governance & Documentation

• Strong rigour in producing structured, high-quality architecture documentation.
• Ability to maintain architecture consistency across projects, regions and technology domains.
• Comfortable contributing to technical committees, steering committees and architecture review boards.
• Ability to integrate quickly into an existing technical organization.
• Strong knowledge-transfer mindset.
• Ability to guide engineers and local IT teams during design, deployment, migration and transition phases.
• Strong knowledge-transfer mindset.

Optional Skills

• Experience with F5 load balancing architecture.
• Knowledge of Zscaler proxy and secure internet access architectures.
• Familiarity with Cisco Catalyst Center for automation and network assurance.
• Experience with cloud networking on Azure and/or AWS .
• Experience contributing to NIS 2, cybersecurity resilience or infrastructure compliance programmes.

Experience leading architecture reviews, design boards or technical governance forums.

Key Responsibilities and Activities

1. Network Architecture, Strategy & Design Authority

• Architecture Definition: Define target network architectures for on-premise, data centre, campus, WAN, WLAN, cloud and hybrid connectivity environments.
• Design Authority: Act as a technical design authority for network infrastructure projects, ensuring that proposed solutions are robust, secure, scalable and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Architecture Governance: Review and validate high-level designs, low-level designs, migration approaches, technical patterns and implementation choices proposed by engineering or project teams.
• Technology Roadmap: Contribute to the evolution of the network technology roadmap, including routing, switching, SD-WAN, WLAN, cloud networking, firewalling, segmentation and automation.
• Standardization: Define and maintain network architecture standards, reference designs, design principles and reusable technical patterns across Groupe SEB’s global environments.

2. Network Security & Compliance Architecture

• Security-by-Design: Integrate security requirements into network architecture, including segmentation, filtering, access control, VPN, firewalling, cloud connectivity and secure remote access.
• Firewall & Security Architecture: Define architectural principles and target designs for Palo Alto, Fortinet/FortiManager/FortiGate, vRouters and related security platforms.
• Regulatory Alignment: Ensure network architecture takes account of regulatory and security requirements, including NIS 2-related resilience, traceability, segmentation and operational control expectations.
• Risk Management: Identify architecture risks, technical debt, non-standard implementations and resilience gaps; propose mitigation plans and prioritized remediation actions.
• Operational Security: Work with cybersecurity and operations teams to ensure that network designs can be monitored, operated, audited and maintained securely.
• Campus & WLAN Architecture: Define architecture standards for Cisco and Aruba-based LAN/WLAN environments, including switching, wireless access, VLAN design, STP, Radius integration and access policies.
• Data Centre Architecture: Provide architecture expertise for data centre network environments, including Cisco technologies, Cisco ACI and complex routing designs.
• WAN / SD-WAN Architecture: Define and govern WAN and SD-WAN architectures, including dynamic routing, connectivity models and integration across global sites.
• Dynamic Routing: Provide architectural guidance on routing protocols such as BGP and OSPF across multi-technology environments including Cisco, Aruba, Fortinet, Palo Alto and public cloud platforms.
• Cloud Networking: Support the design of secure and resilient connectivity between on-premise environments and public/private cloud platforms, including Azure and AWS.
• DDI Integration: Define architectural principles for DDI services, including Efficient IP integration, IP addressing, DNS/DHCP design and operational dependencies.
• Network as Code Strategy: Define architecture principles for automated network deployment, configuration management, compliance checking and repeatable infrastructure delivery.
• Automation Governance: Support the industrialization of network build and change processes through automation tooling, including potential use of Cisco Catalyst Center and other orchestration platforms.
• Monitoring Architecture: Define monitoring requirements, key metrics, alerting principles, and observability expectations for network services.
• Operational Readiness: Ensure that monitoring, logging, performance indicators and support procedures are included in network architecture deliverables before production release.
• Tooling Alignment: Work with engineering and operations teams to align network tooling with architecture principles, operational requirements and security expectations.

5. Project Support, Technical Leadership & Transition to RUN

• Architecture Support to Projects: Provide architecture support to deployment, migration, security and transformation projects across global network infrastructures.
• Technical Leadership: Guide network engineers and project teams on complex design decisions, particularly around Cisco ACI, dynamic routing, SD-WAN, segmentation, firewalling and cloud connectivity.
• Design Documentation: Produce and validate architecture documentation, including high-level designs, architecture decision records, network diagrams, design standards and technical principles.
• Transition to RUN: Ensure that solutions are production-ready by validating runbooks, DEX documentation, operational procedures, support models and knowledge transfer materials.
• International Enablement: Support and guide local IT teams during deployment, migration or transformation phases, ensuring consistent understanding of the target architecture.
• Technical Committees: Participate in architecture boards, technical committees, steering committees and project governance forums.
• Project Tracking: Contribute to technical planning, dependency tracking and delivery governance using tools such as Jira.

The Network Architect will be expected to produce or contribute to:

• Network architecture principles and standards.
• High-level designs and target-state architecture documents.
• Network reference architectures and reusable design patterns.
• Security and segmentation design principles.
• WAN, SD-WAN, LAN, WLAN, data centre and cloud connectivity designs.
• Routing and IP addressing standards.
• Network diagrams and architecture views.
• Operational-readiness checklists.
• Technical risk assessments and mitigation recommendations.
• Contributions to Jira tracking, technical committees and steering governance.