Senior Network Hosting Architect - freelance - hybrid, London, UK

Job description

Reports to Head of Data Centre and Network Services.
A highly skilled Senior Network Hosting Architect with extensive experience designing, delivering, and optimising large-scale enterprise, internet-facing, cloud, and market-data-driven hosting environments.
This role is accountable for shaping end-to-end hosting network architectures supporting internal enterprise workloads, external internet services, regulated payment platforms, and real‐time market data distribution, ensuring resilience, security, scalability, and operational excellence in performance‐critical and regulated environments.
Must Have deep expertise across traditional networking, multi‐cloud connectivity, low‐latency market data platforms, payment systems, and SaaS‐integrated infrastructure.
strong architectural leadership, stakeholder engagement, and structured delivery capabilities are essential, with the ability to influence both technical teams and senior business leadership.
Requirements Hosting Network Architecture & Strategy Lead the architecture of secure, scalable, and resilient network hosting platforms across:
On‐premise data centres and colocation
Internet‐facing hosting environments
Hybrid and multicloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP/GSP, Oracle Cloud)
SaaS‐integrated services (e.g. Microsoft 365, infrastructure SaaS platforms)
Define hosting strategies supporting market data platforms, payment systems, enterprise applications, and customer‐facing internet services.
Develop multi‐year network hosting roadmaps aligned to business growth, regulatory expectations, and technology evolution.
Technical Governance & Engineering Leadership Act as the senior technical authority for complex hosting, connectivity, and L2–L7 network challenges across enterprise, internet, and SaaS‐integrated environments.
Own architectural governance for market data, payment platform, and cloud hosting designs, ensuring compliance with internal standards and external regulation.
Provide design assurance for secure inbound/outbound internet connectivity, DDoS‐protected architectures, and Zero Trust access models.
Cloud, SaaS & Internet Connectivity Architect and operate cloud networking across:
AWS, Azure, Google Cloud / GSP, and Oracle Cloud
Hybrid connectivity using ExpressRoute, Direct Connect, Partner Interconnect, and equivalent services
Design resilient connectivity models for Microsoft 365 and key infrastructure SaaS services, including identity‐aware routing, secure egress, and performance optimisation.
Define internet hosting patterns covering DMZs, ingress/egress, load balancing, DNS, CDN integration, and secure access.
Market Data & Low‐Latency Platforms Architect, optimise, and support market data hosting environments including:
Bloomberg, Reuters, and other exchange / data‐vendor platforms
Low‐latency multicast and unicast distribution
Cross‐connects within colocation and exchange venues
Design deterministic, high‐availability network paths for latency‐sensitive trading and analytics workloads.
Partner with vendors and internal platform teams to ensure performance, resilience, and change control for market data services.
Payment Systems & Regulated Hosting Design hosting network architectures for payment systems and transactional platforms, ensuring:
High availability and fault tolerance
Secure segmentation and encryption
Compliance with financial and regulatory requirements
Support connectivity to payment gateways, clearing systems, and third‐party providers, including resilience testing and failure scenarios.
Project & Transformation Delivery Lead major hosting and network transformation initiatives, including:
Data centre and ACI modernisation
Cloud and SaaS adoption
Internet hosting and perimeter redesign
Market data and payment platform migrations
Drive structured planning, risk management, stakeholder coordination, and controlled delivery.
Operations Excellence & Automation Champion continuous optimisation across performance, capacity, routing efficiency, internet ingress/egress, and cloud cost efficiency.
Lead resolution of high‐severity incidents across enterprise, market data, payment, and internet‐facing platforms.
Implement automation, observability, and tooling using Infrastructure‐as‐Code and API‐driven platforms.
Stakeholder, Vendor & Service Provider Management Act as the technical interface with:
Cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP/GSP, Oracle)
SaaS providers (e.g. Microsoft 365)
Telcos, ISPs, exchanges, and market data vendors (Bloomberg, Reuters)
Review and influence technical solutions, SLAs, contracts, and support models.
Provide clear architectural updates and risk assessments to senior stakeholders.
Security, Resilience & Compliance Embed Zero Trust, segmentation, encryption, and secure connectivity across hosting platforms.
Ensure internet‐facing, cloud, market data, and payment environments meet regulatory, audit, and operational resilience standards.
Maintain high‐quality architecture artefacts, runbooks, and audit evidence.
Qualifications, Skills, And Experience 8–12+ years in network engineering and hosting architecture, with senior or lead responsibility.
Deep knowledge across L2–L7 enterprise, internet, and cloud networking.
Strong experience designing hosting for:
Market data platforms (Bloomberg, Reuters, exchanges)
Payment systems and regulated transactional environments
Internet‐facing services and SaaS integration
Proven multicloud expertise across AWS, Azure, GCP/GSP, and Oracle Cloud.
Experience supporting Microsoft 365 and infrastructure SaaS connectivity models
Advanced routing (BGP, OSPF), low‐latency design, multicast, and high‐availability patterns.
Strong automation mindset (Python, Ansible, IaC).
Comfortable operating in regulated financial services environments with audit‐ready practices.
Competencies Architectural rigor: Ensures all designs follow structured governance, secure patterns, and best practice frameworks.
Cross‐Team influence: Communicates technical concepts clearly to cybersecurity, infrastructure, and business stakeholders.
Operational excellence: Drives stability, repeatability, and continuous improvement in security operations.
Innovation & forward thinking: Identifies emerging threats, technologies, and solutions relevant to enterprise environments.

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Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

London

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

01-08-2026

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English