Infrastructure Architect

Are you an experienced Infrastructure Architect with deep expertise in enterprise data center environments, open to a new assignment? We would be happy to explore this opportunity with you.

General information
Duration:                                           9-month contract with possible extension
Start:                                                  2 March 2026
No. of working hours:                    36 hours per week
Location:                                            Fully remote possible, you need to live in the EU
Contract type:                                  Freelance, or on our payroll for the duration of the project

About the Role
Our client is looking for an experienced Infrastructure Architect to define and govern the target-state infrastructure architecture within a complex, multi-site, hybrid IT landscape.

In this role, you will lead the design of enterprise data center strategy, virtualization platforms, storage architectures, network connectivity models, and hybrid cloud integration patterns. You will establish scalable, resilient, and secure infrastructure blueprints aligned with business growth, regulatory requirements, and operational continuity objectives.

You will work closely with infrastructure engineering teams, cloud architects, security stakeholders, and external technology partners to drive consolidation initiatives, modernization programs, and hybrid integration strategies across on-premises and cloud environments.

This role requires proven experience designing enterprise-scale infrastructure architectures across multi-site data center environments with hybrid cloud integration. Candidates without prior experience in complex, large-scale transformation programs are unlikely to ramp up quickly.

Tasks & Responsibilities
1. Data Center Strategy & Architecture

• Define enterprise data center strategy, multi-site architecture blueprints, and infrastructure consolidation roadmaps.
• Design scalable and resilient infrastructure supporting business growth, operational continuity, and hybrid workload placement.
• Establish standards for physical layout, power and cooling systems, environmental controls, and facilities governance.
• Develop colocation strategies, footprint optimization initiatives, and geographic distribution models for disaster recovery and latency optimization.
• Lead data center migration programs, infrastructure refresh cycles, and technology modernization initiatives.

2. Compute Platform & Virtualization

• Architect enterprise virtualization platforms (e.g., leading hypervisor technologies and software-defined compute stacks) with high-availability clustering, resource optimization, and performance management capabilities.
• Design compute infrastructure supporting mission-critical applications, databases, and enterprise services.
• Define hypervisor selection criteria, virtual machine lifecycle governance, and workload segmentation standards.
• Establish physical server standards, hardware refresh methodologies, and vendor rationalization strategies.
• Optimize resource allocation models, including showback/chargeback inputs where applicable, to maximize infrastructure utilization.

3. Storage Architecture & Data Management

• Design enterprise storage architectures (e.g., SAN/NAS, software-defined storage, object storage platforms) with tiered strategies and performance optimization.
• Define capacity planning and lifecycle management frameworks across structured and unstructured data.
• Implement replication, snapshot, and data protection mechanisms aligned with business continuity objectives.
• Optimize performance metrics such as IOPS, latency, and throughput through tiering, caching, and workload placement strategies.

4. Network Infrastructure & Connectivity

• Design resilient data center networking architectures leveraging redundant switching/routing patterns and failover mechanisms.
• Architect WAN and software-defined networking (e.g., SD-WAN-class solutions) for distributed enterprise environments.
• Define network segmentation, micro-segmentation, and traffic engineering strategies for security and performance.
• Establish load balancing architectures and network virtualization/overlay frameworks.
• Standardize governance of foundational network services (IP addressing, DNS/DHCP, IPAM-class solutions).

5. Hybrid Cloud Integration & Multi-Cloud Connectivity

• Design hybrid infrastructure architectures integrating on-premises environments with major public cloud platforms.
• Establish secure cloud connectivity models (e.g., private connectivity, direct interconnect, VPN-based integration) and hybrid networking patterns.
• Define workload placement strategies based on latency, data sovereignty, compliance, and cost considerations.
• Architect hybrid identity and access management patterns integrating on-prem directories with cloud identity platforms.
• Design data synchronization and hybrid storage architectures supporting workload mobility and cloud bursting scenarios.
• Establish cloud governance frameworks ensuring consistent security, compliance, and operational standards across environments.

6. Backup, Recovery & Business Continuity

• Architect enterprise backup and recovery solutions (e.g., enterprise backup platforms, immutable storage targets, cloud-based recovery tiers).
• Design disaster recovery architectures aligned with defined recovery objectives (RPO/RTO) and failover orchestration models.
• Implement geographically dispersed recovery strategies for critical workloads.
• Define archival and compliance-driven retention policies across hybrid environments.

7. Capacity Planning & Performance Management

• Establish enterprise capacity management frameworks with forecasting models and proactive planning.
• Define infrastructure performance baselines, service-level metrics, and KPIs for availability and responsiveness.
• Implement continuous optimization initiatives for workload distribution and cost efficiency across on-prem and cloud.
• Develop unified monitoring and observability strategies (e.g., enterprise monitoring, telemetry, and analytics platforms) with proactive alerting and predictive insights.

8. Security Architecture & Compliance

• Embed security-by-design principles with layered defense strategies and zero-trust architectural patterns.
• Establish infrastructure hardening standards, vulnerability management processes, and patch governance frameworks.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory and industry compliance requirements across hybrid environments.
• Conduct infrastructure risk assessments and architecture security reviews spanning data center and cloud.

9. Infrastructure Automation & Orchestration

• Design infrastructure automation frameworks leveraging infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and configuration management tooling.
• Define repeatable deployment patterns, orchestration pipelines, and self-service provisioning capabilities.
• Establish automated operational workflows, incident response orchestration, and remediation playbooks.

10. Architecture Governance & Standards

• Chair architecture review forums to evaluate infrastructure proposals and enforce enterprise standards.
• Maintain architecture repositories including HLDs, LLDs, topology diagrams, and configuration baselines.
• Define architectural principles, design patterns, and lifecycle management standards.
• Manage technical debt and continuous evolution roadmaps across infrastructure domains.

11. Vendor Management & Strategic Partnerships

• Lead strategic vendor evaluations, technology assessments, and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Conduct total cost of ownership analysis and support commercial decision-making.
• Define vendor performance metrics, service-level governance frameworks, and partnership strategies.

12. Technical Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Provide principal-level technical leadership to infrastructure engineering teams.
• Translate executive business requirements into scalable infrastructure strategies.
• Lead architecture forums, cross-functional design reviews, and center-of-excellence initiatives.

13. Key Competencies

• On-Premises Infrastructure Expertise
• Multi-site data center architecture and consolidation
• Enterprise virtualization and software-defined infrastructure
• Tiered storage and data lifecycle governance
• Data center networking and WAN/SD-WAN connectivity
• Backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning

14. Hybrid & Multi-Cloud Knowledge

• Integration with major public cloud providers
• Hybrid connectivity and secure integration patterns
• Hybrid identity and access management
• Multi-cloud governance and workload placement strategies

Your Profile

1. Technical & Platform Expertise

• Extensive experience designing enterprise on-premises and hybrid infrastructure architectures.
• Strong background in multi-site data center environments and consolidation programs.
• In-depth knowledge of virtualization, storage, networking and backup architectures.
• Proven experience integrating on-prem environments with major public cloud platforms.
• Solid understanding of hybrid identity, access management, and security architectures.

2. Architecture & Transformation Experience

• Proven experience leading large-scale infrastructure modernization and transformation initiatives.
• Strong ability to translate business, regulatory, and operational requirements into scalable technical designs.
• Experience establishing architecture standards, governance frameworks, and design principles.
• Comfortable operating in complex, multi-entity or international environments.

3. Governance, Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Experience leading architecture review boards and governance processes.
• Strong background in managing strategic vendors and technology partners.
• Ability to conduct technical evaluations, proofs of concept, and TCO analyses.
• Proven ability to engage with senior IT leadership and business stakeholders.

4. Personal & Professional Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset.
• Structured and documentation-driven approach to architecture and design.
• Excellent communication skills at both technical and executive levels.
• Proactive, self-driven, and comfortable working in high-velocity transformation environments.
• Able to operate independently in a remote, distributed team setup.

5. Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in enterprise infrastructure, architecture, or platform engineering roles.
• Prior experience in M&A, carve-out, or large-scale organizational transformation programs.
• Experience working in regulated or compliance-driven environments.
• Familiarity with infrastructure automation, IaC, and DevOps-oriented operating models.

Does this role spark your interest? Then please provide me with your most recent resume and contact details, so that we can discuss this vacancy in more detail by phone!

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