Overview:
A Network Architect is responsible for designing and governing network architecture that supports business services.
This includes translating requirements into scalable, secure, and resilient designs, and making informed trade-off decisions across cost, risk, and performance.

Core Responsibilities:
Architecture and Design
Design enterprise network architecture across data center, WAN, cloud, and hybrid environments
Define standards, patterns, and reference architectures
Ensure scalability, resiliency, and security by design
Trade-off and Decision Making:
Balance performance, cost, risk, and operability
Evaluate competing approaches (e.g., overlay vs underlay, vendor vs open solutions)
Make design decisions at the system level rather than the device level
This is a key differentiator compared to a technical project manager or engineer
Vendor and Technology Neutrality:
Evaluate technologies across multiple vendors (e.g., Cisco, VMware, Juniper) and open source.
Avoid designing around a single vendor’s constraints or bias
Select solutions based on best architectural fit
Complex Programme Delivery:
Lead architecture across large, multi-domain programmes
Collaborate with infrastructure, security, cloud, and application teams
Own end-to-end design coherence rather than isolated components
Typically involves large-scale enterprise or highly regulated environments with multi-region and high-resilience requirements
Stakeholder Management (Conflict Handling):
Align stakeholders across security, operations, business, and vendors
Manage conflicting requirements such as:
Security vs usability
Cost vs resiliency




Speed vs governance
Drive decisions to closure through effective communication
Governance and Standards:
Define and enforce network standards
Review designs to ensure alignment with architectural principles
Provide guidance to engineering and delivery teams
Required Skills:
Technical (Core Expectations)
Strong fundamentals:
Routing and protocols: BGP (mandatory), OSPF, TCP/IP
Data center networking and fabric design
Network security principles (e.g., segmentation, access control)
Modern enterprise stack:
Software-defined networking (e.g., NSX)
VXLAN and overlay networking
Hybrid cloud networking
Network automation (e.g., Python, APIs)
Platform expertise:
Strong Linux and networking integration
Ability to troubleshoot network issues at the operating system level
Y working with containers and infrastructure tooling
Experience
Proven delivery of complex, enterprise-scale projects
Preferably within financial services or similarly regulated environments
Experience with:
High availability and disaster recovery designs
Multi-region and data center interconnects
Secure access models
Soft Skills (Critical for the Role)
Robust ability to articulate trade-offs
Confidence in constructively challenging stakeholders
Clear communication across both technical and non-technical audiences
Ability to drive decisions, not just facilitate discussions
Anti-Patterns (What This Role Is Not)
Not a technical project manager
Not limited to facilitating discussions
Not focused solely on explaining architecture without making decisions
Not driven by vendor-led solutions.
[email protected]

📌 Network Architect (Chennai)
🏢 Prodapt
📍 Chennai