Technology / Infrastructure Architect

Role Overview

The Technology / Infrastructure Architect is tasked with defining, evaluating, and advancing the organization's enterprise technology and infrastructure framework. This includes ensuring that the underlying technology platforms are dependable, scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-effective. Key areas of responsibility span compute, storage, networking, virtualization, operating systems, infrastructure services, hosting environments including cloud and hybrid, technology standards, lifecycle management, and infrastructure modernization.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and continually update the enterprise technology and infrastructure architecture consistent with business goals and enterprise architecture strategies.
• Analyze the present infrastructure ecosystem covering compute, storage, networking, virtualization, OS platforms, hosting, and shared tech services.
• Establish future-state technology and infrastructure architecture with detailed transition plans.
• Produce technology standards, reference models, guiding principles, architectural patterns, and approved technology portfolios.
• Design infrastructure that is scalable, secure, highly available, and resilient.
• Define architecture strategies for on-premises, private cloud, public cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Evaluate infrastructure capacity, utilization, performance, uptime, and lifecycle stages.
• Spot technology obsolescence, end-of-life issues, technical debt, and opportunities for modernization.
• Set architecture requirements for backup, disaster recovery, business continuity, high availability, and fault tolerance.
• Provide support for network architecture including LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, data center networks, connectivity, and segmentation.
• Advise on server, storage, virtualization, containerization, and platform architectures.
• Collaborate with architects across cloud, security, application, integration, data, and solutions to guarantee cohesive end-to-end architecture.
• Assist with infrastructure platform choices, vendor evaluations, technical assessments, and solution reviews.
• Engage in architecture governance, technical design reviews, and Architecture Review Board activities.
• Define requirements for infrastructure monitoring, observability, capacity management, and operational architecture.
• Support initiatives for data center modernization, consolidation, migration, and infrastructure transformation programs.
• Identify risks, constraints, dependencies related to infrastructure architecture and develop mitigation plans.

Experience & Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years in infrastructure, systems or network engineering, cloud, data center, or related technical fields.
• At least 5 years performing hands-on roles in Infrastructure Architecture, Technology Architecture, or an equivalent senior design position.
• Proven record in designing and managing complex enterprise infrastructure environments.
• Experience managing data centers, compute, storage, virtualization, networking, and hybrid cloud architectures.
• Hands-on experience in large-scale infrastructure transformation projects including modernization, migrations, or consolidations.
• Engagement with technology vendors, infrastructure and security teams, and senior-level stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Computer Engineering, Network Engineering, or related fields.
• Desirable certifications: TOGAF, Cloud Architecture, Networking, Virtualization, Infrastructure or Data Center related qualifications.

Core Skills & Competencies

• Enterprise and Infrastructure Architecture
• Compute, Storage and Server architecture
• Network architecture including segmentation and security
• Virtualization and Container platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V, Docker, Kubernetes
• Cloud platform expertise including Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud
• High availability, resilience, disaster recovery, and business continuity design principles
• Technology lifecycle management and obsolescence handling
• Architecture governance, vendor evaluation, and technical assessments
• Infrastructure monitoring and observability technologies

Preferred Frameworks, Standards & Methods

• TOGAF, ArchiMate for enterprise architecture
• ITIL and COBIT for IT service management
• Cloud architecture frameworks with well-architected principles
• Best practices in data center and infrastructure architecture
• DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code methodologies

Tools & Technology Exposure

• Enterprise architecture tools like Bizzdesign, Sparx Enterprise Architect, Orbus/iServer, ARIS
• Virtualization platforms including VMware and Hyper-V
• Container and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Cloud services from AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
• Enterprise server, storage, backup, and network technologies
• Infrastructure monitoring and observability systems

Personal Attributes

• Analytical mindset coupled with strong systems thinking
• Ability to design practical and balanced technology architectures accounting for resilience, security, scalability, and cost-efficiency
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement capabilities
• Comfort working across various technical domains and architecture disciplines
• Strong focus on infrastructure quality, adherence to standards, and operational feasibility
• Consultative approach suitable for supporting complex transformation initiatives