DC Architect

Queen Square Recruitment Ltd; Reading; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Queen Square Recruitment Ltd is seeking a DC Architect for a long-term contract in Reading. Office-based role requiring end-to-end data centre design leadership across compute, storage and networking to support hybrid cloud modernization.

The candidate will integrate on-prem infrastructure with public clouds, oversee DR/BC, security/compliance, and drive IaC automation. 1-year contract, IR35 Inside.

Qualifications

• A Data Centre Architect designs scalable, high-availability data centre architectures (Tier II-IV) across compute, storage and networking.
• Strong expertise in integrating on-premises infrastructure with public cloud (Azure, AWS, GCP), including hybrid/multi-cloud strategies.
• Deep knowledge of VMware, Hyper-V, or KVM and container platforms like Kubernetes and Docker.
• Expertise in LAN/WAN design, SDN, leaf-spine architectures, segmentation, firewalls, and load balancing.
• Experience with SAN, NAS, object storage, backup/recovery, replication, and data lifecycle management.
• DR strategies, failover models, and RPO/RTO aligned with SLAs.
• Security frameworks, zero-trust, encryption, ISO 27001/PCI-DSS, regulatory requirements.
• IaC tooling (Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell, Python) for provisioning.

Responsibilities

• End-to-end design, planning and governance of data centre infrastructure.
• Bridge infrastructure, cloud and business needs to deliver resilient, scalable environments.
• Lead architecture decisions aligned with hybrid cloud and modernization goals.

Skills

Data Centre Design

Hybrid & Cloud

Virtualization & Containers

Networking Architecture

Storage & Data Mgmt

DR & BC

Security & Compliance

IaC & Automation

Capacity Planning

Vendor & Stakeholder Mgmt

SDDC

Edge Computing

Green Data Centre

AI/ML Infra

Monitoring & Observability

Regulatory Compliance

Migration & Transformation

FinOps

DevSecOps

Job description

New Long term Contract for the role of DC Architect

Location: Reading (Office Based)

Contract Duration:1 Year

IR35 Status: Inside IR35

The Role

A Data Centre Architect is responsible for the end-to-end design, planning, and governance of data center infrastructure- including compute, storage, network, security, and facilities. The role ensures high availability, scalability, performance, and compliance while aligning with business and digital transformation goals (e.g., hybrid cloud, modernization).

A Data Centre Architect plays a strategic and technical leadership role, bridging infrastructure, cloud, and business needs. The position demands deep technical expertise along with the ability to design resilient, scalable, secure, and cost-efficient environments.

Your Profile

Essential skills/experience:

• Enterprise Data Centre Design Proven experience in designing scalable, high-availability data center architectures (Tier II-IV), including compute, storage, and networking layers.
• Hybrid & Cloud Integration Strong expertise in integrating on-premises infrastructure with public cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP), including hybrid and multi-cloud strategies.
• Virtualization & Containerization Deep knowledge of VMware, Hyper-V, or KVM along with container platforms like Kubernetes and Docker.
• Advanced Networking Architecture Expertise in LAN/WAN design, SDN, leaf-spine architecture, network segmentation, firewalls, and load balancing.
• Storage & Data Management Experience with SAN, NAS, object storage, backup/recovery, replication technologies, and data lifecycle management.
• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Strong experience in designing DR strategies, failover models, and defining RPO/RTO aligned with business SLAs.
• Security & Compliance Frameworks Knowledge of infrastructure security, zero-trust models, encryption, and compliance standards like ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and regulatory requirements.
• Automation & Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Hands‑on experience with automation tools such as Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell, or Python for provisioning and configuration.
• Capacity Planning & Performance Optimization Ability to forecast growth, optimize resource utilization, and implement performance tuning across infrastructure components.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Management Experience in evaluating vendors, leading RFPs/PoCs, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver architecture solutions.
• Software-Defined Data Centre (SDDC) Exposure to SDDC technologies including VMware NSX, vSAN, and software-defined networking/storage.
• Edge Computing & Distributed DC Models Understanding of edge data center deployments and low-latency architecture designs.
• Green Data Centre Practices Knowledge of energy-efficient designs, carbon footprint reduction, and sustainability initiatives.
• AI/ML Infrastructure Awareness Familiarity with GPU-based infrastructure and high-performance computing (HPC) environments for AI workloads.
• Advanced Monitoring & Observability Experience with AIOps, predictive analytics, and advanced observability platforms (e.g., Dynatrace, AppDynamics).
• Regulatory & Industry-Specific Compliance Exposure to domain-specific regulations (e.g., BFSI, healthcare) and data residency requirements.
• Migration & Transformation Programs Experience in large-scale DC consolidation, relocation, or cloud migration initiatives.
• Financial Management / FinOps Understanding of cost governance models for infrastructure and hybrid cloud environments.
• DevSecOps Integration Familiarity with embedding security into DevOps pipelines and infrastructure provisioning workflows.