Network Architect

Contract: Network Architect

Start: ASAP (on completion of background checks)

Duration: 12 Months

Rate: €600 - €650 a day

Location: Europe remote – some travel to Valencia Spain

Reference: 20913

We are seeking one senior network architect to support the planned separation of a manufacturing plant’s network environment as it transitions to a joint venture structure. The network must evolve toward a standalone end state, while the original entity and approved shared services continue to coexist on the same campus.

The architect will provide architecture analysis, planning, documentation, and coordination. They will work at the direction of the client, who sets priorities and sequencing. Implementation stays with the client and its regional execution teams.

Responsibilities

• Assess the current-state environment, including architecture standards, patterns, constraints, and dependencies.
• Engage stakeholders across security, network, application, manufacturing, regional operations, management consulting, and the joint venture to gather and validate requirements.
• Evaluate and document architecture considerations for LAN, wireless, firewall, load balancing, extranet connectivity, segmentation boundaries, and compute and storage dependencies.
• Define the coexistence model for joint venture and non-joint-venture entities on a shared campus, including permitted and prohibited connectivity paths.
• Maintain supporting documentation for assumptions, risks, decisions, dependencies, and implementation coordination.
• Coordinate with European implementation resources and support information sharing.
• Participate in architecture reviews and update documentation based on agreed feedback.
• Incorporate evolving segmentation strategy and management consulting outputs as they are approved.
• Provide regular status and governance input (weekly or as agreed).

Required Qualifications

• Senior-level network architecture experience in large enterprise and manufacturing environments.
• Strong Cisco switching and enterprise LAN architecture experience.
• Working knowledge of Cisco SDA fabric architecture and network segmentation principles.
• Strong Palo Alto firewall and F5 load balancer architecture experience.
• Experience implementing agent-based micro-segmentation solutions.
• Ability to factor Red Hat compute platforms and NetApp storage dependencies into infrastructure architecture.
• Strong stakeholder facilitation, technical documentation, diagramming, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to work remotely across time zones and travel internationally when approved.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with joint venture separation, divestiture, extranet, or complex network isolation scenarios.