Solution Architect – Private Cloud, Datacentre Networking & Security

IP-People; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

IP-People is seeking an experienced Solution Architect to join its growing presales team, focusing on private and hybrid cloud infrastructure, datacentre technologies, networking, and security. The role involves designing complex customer solutions and working closely with sales, engineering and delivery teams.

The ideal candidate will lead technical discovery, create designs and proposals, and ensure solutions are practical, scalable, and commercially viable for customers.

Qualifications

• Strong background in private/hybrid cloud infrastructure and solution design.
• Excellent knowledge of datacentre infrastructure and enterprise networking.
• Experience with Cisco networking technologies or equivalent.
• Proven ability in customer-facing presales and technical consultancy.
• Ability to design secure, scalable cloud-datacentre solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design private, sovereign and hybrid cloud solutions including compute, storage, and security.
• Architect solutions integrating customers' existing infrastructure with hosted datacentre and cloud environments.
• Design secure connectivity between customer sites and datacentres, including WAN, routing, and firewalls.
• Lead technical discovery sessions, workshops and infrastructure assessments.
• Produce high-level and low-level designs, proposals and statements of work.
• Support bids, tenders, RFPs and complex customer opportunities.
• Present technical solutions to customers and stakeholders.

Skills

Private cloud

Hybrid cloud

Datacentre networking

Networking security

Presales engagements

Solution architectures

Job description

Looking for a home-based opportunity? Do you have expertise in Private cloud solutions? Experienced in customer facing presales engagements? Want to join an expanding technology services provider? If so, please see below...

We're recruiting for an established UK cloud and managed services provider looking to appoint an experienced Solution Architect to join its growing technical presales team.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a strong background in private/hybrid cloud infrastructure, datacentre technologies, networking and security, who enjoys designing complex customer solutions.

The role covers a broad range of technologies, including sovereign/private cloud, virtualisation, datacentre infrastructure, Cisco networking, connectivity and network security.

A particularly important part of the position is understanding how to securely connect customers' existing IT environments to hosted datacentres and cloud platforms.

We're looking for someone who can bring these technologies together into a complete, secure and commercially viable solution.

This isn't a dedicated networking role, but equally, we're looking for more than someone whose experience is predominantly servers, storage and virtualisation.

What You'll Be Doing

Working closely with sales, engineering and delivery teams, you'll take ownership of the technical solution design throughout the presales process.

Responsibilities include:

• Designing private, sovereign and hybrid cloud solutions incorporating compute, storage, virtualisation, networking and security.
• Architecting solutions that integrate customers' existing infrastructure with hosted datacentre and cloud environments.
• Designing secure connectivity between customer sites and datacentres, considering WAN connectivity, routing, firewalls, network segmentation and resilience.
• Working with Cisco datacentre networking technologies and wider enterprise networking solutions.
• Leading technical discovery sessions, customer workshops and infrastructure assessments.
• Producing high-level and low-level designs (HLD/LLD), technical proposals and statements of work.
• Supporting bids, tenders, RFPs and complex customer opportunities.
• Presenting technical solutions to customers and stakeholders.
• Working with engineering and delivery teams to ensure solutions are practical, scalable, secure and commercially viable.
• Providing technical guidance throughout implementation and delivery.

What We're Looking For

We're particularly interested in Solution Architects, Technical Architects, Presales Architects and Senior Solutions Engineers with experience across cloud infrastructure and networking.

• Strong background in private/hybrid cloud infrastructure and solution architecture.
• Good knowledge of datacentre infrastructure, virtualisation and associated technologies.
• Strong understanding of enterprise networking and how networking integrates with cloud and datacentre environments.
• Experience with Cisco networking technologies or comparable enterprise networking solutions.
• Understanding of WAN connectivity, routing, switching, firewalls and network security.
• Ability to design or contribute to secure connectivity between customer environments and hosted infrastructure.
• Customer-facing technical presales, solution design or technical consultancy experience.
• Experience producing technical proposals, solution documentation and HLD/LLDs.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to engage customers at both technical and commercial levels.

Technologies & Experience of Interest

Experience with some of the following would be particularly relevant:

• VMware / vSphere
• OpenStack
• Hybrid Cloud
• Datacentre Switching & Network Architecture
• VXLAN / EVPN / Network Fabrics
• WAN / SD-WAN / MPLS
• BGP / Routing & Switching

Network Security

• Firewalls & VPNs
• Secure Network Design

You don't need experience with every technology listed above. We're interested in candidates who understand how cloud infrastructure, datacentre networking and security fit together, rather than specialists in just one area.

Experience within an MSP, cloud services provider, systems integrator, hosting provider or technology solutions business would be advantageous.

Interested?

If you're an experienced Solution Architect or Technical Presales professional with a strong understanding of hybrid cloud, datacentre infrastructure, networking and security, we'd be keen to speak with you.