Senior Infrastructure Architect

Placements24; Bloemfontein; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary with bonuses

Medical and dental coverage

Retirement savings plan with company

Hybrid work model

Professional development opportunities

Generous annual leave

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a seasoned Senior Infrastructure Architect in Bloemfontein, Free State, to design, implement and manage robust IT infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments. The role blends hands-on architecture with strategic leadership, guiding network, systems, and security teams to deliver scalable, secure solutions in a growing agricultural tech company.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years of infrastructure experience, strong cloud and virtualization know-how, and a track

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• 8+ years of IT infrastructure design/architecture experience.
• Experience with on-premises data centers and cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Strong knowledge of networking, virtualization, and storage.
• Security best practices and incident response experience.
• Experience with automation/orchestration tools (Ansible, Terraform).
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and architect scalable, reliable, and secure IT infrastructure solutions.
• Develop architectural standards and best practices for deployment and management.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies to improve performance and efficiency.
• Oversee implementation of server, storage, network, and cloud infrastructure.
• Ensure infrastructure aligns with business requirements and security policies.
• Collaborate with IT operations and engineering for operational readiness.
• Develop disaster recovery and business continuity plans for infrastructure.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior staff.
• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues and drive resolution.
• Manage relationships with vendors and service providers.

Skills

Networking protocols

Virtualization (VMware/Hyper-V)

Infrastructure security

Automation (Ansible, Terraform)

Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Disaster recovery planning

Hybrid/remote collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or IT

Tools

VMware

Hyper-V

Ansible

Terraform

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a leading agricultural technology company, is seeking a seasoned Senior Infrastructure Architect to enhance their technological capabilities in Bloemfontein, Free State. This position offers a hybrid work arrangement, allowing for a balance between collaborative office work and the convenience of remote days. You will play a crucial role in designing, implementing, and managing the company's IT infrastructure, ensuring it is robust, scalable, and secure to support their growing operations. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in designing and deploying both on-premises and cloud-based infrastructure solutions. You will work closely with network, systems, and security teams to architect resilient and efficient IT environments. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a company that is leveraging technology to drive innovation in the agricultural sector and to shape the future of its IT infrastructure. You will be a key technical leader, influencing decisions and guiding projects from conception to completion.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and architect scalable, reliable, and secure IT infrastructure solutions.
• Develop architectural standards and best practices for infrastructure deployment and management.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies to improve infrastructure performance and efficiency.
• Oversee the implementation of server, storage, network, and cloud infrastructure.
• Ensure infrastructure aligns with business requirements and security policies.
• Collaborate with IT operations and engineering teams to ensure smooth transitions and operational readiness.
• Develop disaster recovery and business continuity plans related to infrastructure.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior infrastructure staff.
• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues and drive resolution.
• Manage relationships with technology vendors and service providers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in IT infrastructure design and architecture.
• Proven experience designing and managing complex environments including on-premises data centers and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Strong knowledge of networking protocols, virtualization technologies (VMware, Hyper-V), and storage systems.
• Expertise in infrastructure security best practices.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
• Experience with infrastructure automation and orchestration tools (e.g., Ansible, Terraform).
• Ability to work effectively in a hybrid work environment.
• Relevant industry certifications (e.g., CompTIA Network+, AWS Certified Solutions Architect) are a plus.
• Experience in the agricultural or related industries is beneficial.

Benefits

• Competitive annual salary with performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage.
• Retirement savings plan with company contributions.
• Hybrid work model offering flexibility.
• Professional development opportunities and training programs.
• Generous annual leave entitlement.
• Opportunity to work with innovative agricultural technology.
• Collaborative team environment in Bloemfontein.
• Company pension scheme.
• Relocation assistance available for suitable candidates.