Junior Solutions Architect

Reflex Solutions; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Reflex Solutions seeks a Junior Solutions Architect – Carrier Solutions to help design, document, and implement carrier-grade network solutions across core, access, transport and data centre environments. You will work with senior architects, engineering, project management, and customers to translate requirements into fit-for-purpose components.

You will assist with solution development across MPLS, VXLAN, DWDM, XGSPON, CGNAT and data centre fabrics, producing high-quality documentation,

Qualifications

• Foundational carrier and enterprise networking knowledge across MPLS, VXLAN and EVPN.
• Experience with DWDM, GPON/XGSPON, BNG/CGNAT and data centre networking.
• Ability to translate requirements into modular design components and diagrams.
• Familiarity with monitoring tools and vendor ecosystems; strong documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Support design, documentation, and implementation of carrier-grade solutions.
• Produce HLDs/LLDs, migration plans, and implementation standards.
• Create topology diagrams and ensure designs meet performance and resilience goals.
• Assist during migrations, testing, go/no-go reviews, and handover sessions.
• Participate in vendor evaluations and interoperability testing.

Skills

MPLS

VXLAN

EVPN

DWDM

GPON / XGSPON

BNG / CGNAT

Routing and Switching

Data Centre networking

ECMP

MLAG

Redundancy

Failover

Load balancing

HLD/LLD development

Documentation accuracy

Vendor ecosystems (Huawei/Nokia/Junip​

Cisco

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications / Computer Science / Electronic Engineering / Network Engineering

Tools

IRIS

SNMP telemetry

syslog

Performance dashboards

Git

NetBox

Huawei

Nokia

Juniper

Cisco

Job description

About Reflex

Reflex Solutions, founded in 2000 in South Africa, is a leader in providing seamless Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions. With a focus on building and managing the technological backbone that powers businesses, Reflex Solutions offers high-value, end-to-end ICT solutions that are critical for the development and growth of companies. The company boasts vast in-house experience in networking and IP telephony and controls its service levels and pricing by owning its core fibre network and Tier III data centre.

About the role

The Junior Solutions Architect – Carrier Solutions supports the design, documentation, and implementation of telecommunications and carrier-grade network solutions across core, access, transport, data centre, and managed service environments.

This role works closely with Senior Solution Architects, Engineering, Project Management, Operations, and customer stakeholders to translate business and technical requirements into fit-for-purpose carrier solutions.

The Junior Solutions Architect is responsible for assisting with solution development across technologies such as MPLS, VXLAN, DWDM, XGSPON, CGNAT, BNG, IP Core, Data Centre fabrics, and optical transport.

The role focuses on producing high-quality technical documentation, validating solution designs, supporting migrations, and ensuring alignment to engineering standards and customer requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

Requirements Gathering & Technical Discovery

• Participate in customer and internal discovery workshops.
• Gather business, commercial, operational, and technical requirements.
• Assist in translating customer use cases into technical solution components.
• Identify assumptions, constraints, dependencies, and risks early in the design lifecycle.
• Support the clarification of functional and non-functional requirements.

Solution Design Support

• Assist in producing High-Level Designs (HLDs), Low-Level Designs (LLDs), migration plans, and implementation standards.
• Support the design of carrier-grade services including:
  • MPLS and VXLAN overlays
  • DWDM and optical backhaul
  • Broadband aggregation (BNG / CGNAT)
  • XGSPON / GPON (OLT / ONT)
  • Data Centre spine-leaf architectures
  • Managed WAN and SD-WAN solutions
• Develop logical, physical, and service topology diagrams.
• Ensure solutions align to scalability, resilience, redundancy, and performance standards.

Documentation & Standards

• Produce and maintain:
  • HLDs
  • LLDs
  • Scope of Work documents
  • Acceptance Test Plans (ATP)
  • Migration Runbooks
  • Monitoring requirements
  • Operational handover packs
• Ensure documentation complies with architecture and engineering governance standards.
• Maintain version control within Git, NetBox, and document repositories.

Implementation & Migration Support

• Support project delivery teams during implementation windows and migrations.
• Validate configurations against approved design standards.
• Assist with pre- and post-implementation testing.
• Participate in Go/No-Go technical reviews.
• Support rollback strategy validation and implementation readiness reviews.
• Assist in customer and operational handover sessions.

Vendor & Technology Validation

• Support technical evaluations of vendor solutions including Huawei, Nokia, Juniper, Cisco, and third-party platforms.
• Participate in proof-of-concept activities and interoperability testing.
• Review software, hardware, and firmware compatibility requirements.
• Assist with technical recommendations for lifecycle upgrades and technology refresh initiatives.

Operational Architecture Alignment

• Ensure designs are supportable by Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 operational teams.
• Assist in defining monitoring thresholds, KPIs, telemetry requirements, and alerting logic.
• Work with NOC and Service Management teams to ensure operational readiness.
• Incorporate fault handling and resilience requirements into all solution designs.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

Technical Competencies

• Foundational understanding of carrier and enterprise networking technologies:
  • MPLS
  • VXLAN
  • EVPN
  • DWDM
  • GPON / XGSPON
  • BNG / CGNAT
  • Routing and Switching
  • Data Centre networking
• Understanding of resilience concepts:
  • ECMP
  • MLAG
  • Redundancy
  • failover
  • load balancing
• Exposure to HLD/LLD development and technical diagramming.
• Familiarity with monitoring platforms such as IRIS, SNMP telemetry, syslog, and performance dashboards.
• Working knowledge of vendor ecosystems such as Huawei, Nokia, Juniper, and Cisco.

Analytical & Problem-Solving

• Strong troubleshooting mindset.
• Ability to break down complex carrier services into modular design components.
• Good understanding of dependencies, risks, and failure domains.
• Strong documentation accuracy and attention to detail.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to engineers, project managers, and customers.
• Comfortable participating in customer technical workshops and design reviews.
• Strong collaboration skills across architecture, engineering, operations, and project teams.

Experience & Education

• Bachelor’s degree, Diploma, or equivalent in:
  • Telecommunications
  • Computer Science
  • Electronic Engineering
  • Network Engineering
• 2–4 years of experience in:
  • carrier engineering
  • network design
  • solution support
  • technical architecture
  • telecom project delivery
• Exposure to service provider or FNO environments is highly advantageous.

Preferred Certifications

• CCNA / CCNP Service Provider
• HCIA / HCIP Routing & Switching or Service Provider
• JNCIA / JNCIS
• Nokia NRS / XGSPON certifications
• TOGAF Foundation (desirable)
• ITIL Foundation

Key Success Metrics

• Accuracy and quality of HLD/LLD documentation
• Successful support of project migrations and implementations
• Reduction in design defects identified during delivery
• Architecture compliance to standards
• Customer acceptance of technical solutions
• Operational handover quality
• Reuse and standardization of design patterns
• Contribution to solution innovation and optimization