Solutions Architect - Network and Cybersecurity

iConnect SA; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

iConnect SA in Johannesburg is seeking a senior, hands-on Solutions Architect to design practical customer solutions and act as the escalation point for complex network, routing, firewall and VPN issues.

This role blends solution architecture, network engineering, cybersecurity and cloud operations, requiring close collaboration with Sales, Projects, Core Networks, Support and the Cerberus Secure team to deliver production-ready designs and seamless handovers.

Qualifications

• Experience in solution architecture or senior technical design within an ISP, MSP, MSSP, systems integrator or comparable environment.
• Senior-level production experience with IP networking, routing, firewalling, NAT, DNS, VPN technologies and structured troubleshooting.
• FortiGate experience and working production knowledge of FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer and FortiAuthenticator.
• At least two years of practical cybersecurity experience and a sound understanding of SOC, SIEM and SOAR principles.
• Experience with endpoint protection or EDR, advanced email protection, SPF, DKIM and DMARC, security monitoring and incident response.
• Experience managing cloud-hosted workloads, virtual infrastructure or cloud services.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex designs and incidents clearly to customers and internal teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer discovery and translate technical business requirements into secure, scalable solution designs (handovers to implementation).
• Produce product solution diagrams, technical scopes and implementation handovers, and guide Sales on quotes for non-standard solutions.
• Act as senior escalation point for network, firewall, routing and VPN incidents, with deep fault isolation and root-cause reporting.
• Design, deploy and support FortiGate environments with FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer and FortiAuthenticator.
• Configure and troubleshoot MikroTik routers, routing, firewall rules, NAT and site-to-site VPNs; contribute to deployment scripts.
• Support cybersecurity services across SOC, SIEM, SOAR, endpoint protection and email security; assist with backups.
• Support cloud-hosted systems and services including security, availability, monitoring and incident resolution.
• Take responsibility for wider TechOps services including hosting, Microsoft 365, internal infrastructure and documentation.
• Create technical standards, training materials and mentor engineers through complex incidents.

Skills

Solution architecture

Senior technical design

IP networking

Cybersecurity concepts

Customer-facing communication

Education

Diploma or degree in Information Technology or Computer Science

Tools

FortiGate

FortiManager

FortiAnalyzer

FortiAuthenticator

MikroTik (MTCRE)

Job description

iConnect SA is looking for a senior, hands-on Solutions Architect who can design practical customer solutions and become the escalation point for complex network, routing, firewall and VPN issues. This role sits at the intersection of solution architecture, network engineering, cybersecurity and cloud operations.

You will work with Sales, Projects, Core Networks, Support, and the Cerberus Secure team. You must be equally comfortable in a customer coping session, producing a defensible technical design, and troubleshooting a live production issue at Tier 3 level.

Location: Johannesburg Head Office

Work Arrangement: Fully Office-Based

Employment Type: Full-time, permanent

What you will do:

• Lead customer discovery and translate technical business requirements into secure, scalable solution designs.
• Product solution diagrams, technical scopes and implementation handovers, and guide Sales on the correct services and components to quote for non-standard solutions.
• Act as the senior escalation point for network, firewall, routing and VPN incidents, including deep fault isolation, packed analysis and root-cause reporting.
• Design, deploy and support FortiGate environments and work confidently with FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiAuthenticator.
• Configure and troubleshoot MikroTik routers, routing, firewall rules, NAT and site-to-site VPNs, and contribute to standardised deployment scripts
• Work with the Cybersecurity Team to support our managed cybersecurity services across SOC, SIEM, SOAR, endpoint protection, advanced email security, DMARC, firewalling, threat intelligence, DNS security and backups.
• Support cloud-hosted systems and services, including security, availability, monitoring, maintenance and incident resolution.
• Take responsibility for wider TechOps services including hosting, Microsoft 365, internal infrastructure, deployments, technical administration and documentation.
• Create technical standards, training material and operational documentation, and mentor support engineers through complex incidents.

What you need:

• Proven experience in solution architecture or senior technical design within an ISP, MSP, MSSP, systems integrator or comparable environment.
• Senior-level production experience with IP networking, routing, firewalling, NAT, DNS, VPN technologies and structured troubleshooting.
• Senior-level FortiGate experience and working production knowledge of FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer and FortiAuthenticator.
• At least two years of practical cybersecurity experience and a sound working understanding of SOC, SIEM and SOAR principles. Senior-level cybersecurity or SOC engineering expertise is not required.
• Experience with endpoint protection or EDR, advanced email protection, SPF, DKIM and DMARC, security monitoring and incident response.
• Experience managing cloud-hosted workloads, virtual infrastructure or cloud services.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex designs and incidents clearly to customers and internal teams.

Qualifications and Certifications:

• Relevant diploma or degree in Information Technology or Computer Science
• FortiNet NSE 5/7 certification is strongly preferred
• MikroTik (MTCRE) networking, cloud or cybersecurity certifications are advantageous

A Major Advantage:

• Software development, scripting or automation experience using Python, PowerShell or similar technologies, particularly where you have integrated platforms through REST APIs, webhooks or workflow automation.
• Exposure to ELK, Elastic Defend, TheHive, MISP, ThreatDown, IRONSCALES, Technitium DNS, Redstor, Microsoft 365, AWS, or Azure will also be valuable.

Who Will Thrive in this Role:

• You are a pragmatic architect who remains technically hands-on. You make designs that can be supported in production, stay calm during escalations, document your reasoning, and take ownership from discovery through deployment and operational handover.
• You value evidence, security by design and continuous improvement.