Job Title: Wireless Architect
Location: Warwick
Employment type: contract (Inside Ir35)
Detailed job Description:
Position Overview
We are seeking a Senior Technical Architect - Wireless to join our Technical Architecture team and help design, standardize, and evolve a large-scale global enterprise wireless environment.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced wireless engineer with CWNE or CCIE Wireless-level expertise who is looking to transition into architecture, as well as an architect who is relatively early in their architecture career.
The Senior Technical Architect - Wireless will work closely with Network Engineering and other Technical Architects to develop wireless architectures, high-level designs, standards, LLD templates, golden configurations, and implementation guidelines.
The organization is currently transitioning from Aruba to Cisco Meraki, providing the successful candidate with an opportunity to play a significant role in the architecture and standardization of the future wireless environment.
This is a Senior-level architecture position. The successful candidate will have meaningful technical ownership while working alongside experienced Principal Technical Architects who will provide mentorship and guidance.
Responsibilities
Wireless Architecture & Design
- Develop high-level designs for enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) environments.
- Develop and maintain wireless reference architectures, standards, and design patterns.
- Design enterprise wireless solutions addressing coverage, capacity, RF performance, resiliency, security, and operational requirements.
- Evaluate wireless technologies and designs for scalability, performance, security, and operational effectiveness.
- Support the organization’s transition from Aruba to Cisco Meraki through architecture, design, standards, and technical guidance.
- Participate in wireless technology evaluations, proof-of-concepts, and architecture assessments.
- Contribute to wireless technology roadmaps and life cycle planning.
Wireless Engineering Standards
- Develop and maintain wireless LLD templates, golden configurations, and configuration standards.
- Establish standardized WLAN design and deployment practices that can be consistently implemented by Engineering.
- Develop standards for RF configuration, SSIDs, authentication, roaming, RF management, channel utilization, power, and other WLAN parameters.
- Partner with Network Engineering to validate and continuously improve wireless standards and configurations.
- Validate wireless configurations and implementations against approved architecture, standards, HLDs, LLDs, and golden configurations.
- Identify standards deviations and work with Engineering to resolve or formally document exceptions.
Wireless Security & Access Control
- Provide architecture and technical guidance for enterprise wireless authentication and access control.
- Design and support integration between wireless infrastructure and Aruba ClearPass and Cisco ISE.
- Develop standards for 802.1X, WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise, guest access, device onboarding, and network access policies.
- Work with Security and Network Engineering to ensure wireless solutions meet enterprise security requirements.
Technical Leadership
- Own assigned wireless architecture initiatives and deliverables.
- Review engineering designs and provide architectural guidance.
- Mentor wireless engineers and share technical knowledge.
- Create Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) and maintain architecture documentation.
- Collaborate with LAN/WAN, Security, Cloud, End User Computer, and other technical architects.
- Work with vendors and technology partners on wireless capabilities and solutions.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of enterprise wireless networking experience or equivalent depth of wireless engineering experience.
- Strong hands-on experience designing, implementing, troubleshooting, and optimizing enterprise WLAN environments.
- CWNE or CCIE Wireless-level expertise strongly preferred.
Strong knowledge of:
- Enterprise WLAN architecture and design
- RF fundamentals and 802.11 technologies
- WLAN security and authentication
- 802.1X and RADIUS
- WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise
- RF management, channel planning, power management, and capacity
- Wireless roaming and client behavior
- WLAN troubleshooting and performance analysis
Significant experience with Cisco Meraki wireless.
Significant experience with Aruba AOS 8 wireless environments.
Experience with Aruba ClearPass and/or Cisco ISE, with strong preference for experience with both.
Experience developing or working with wireless standards and design documentation.
Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work effectively across Architecture, Engineering, and Security teams.