At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of a comprehensive hosting architecture strategy across diverse environments.
- Company: Dynamic organisation with a focus on innovative cloud solutions.
- Benefits: Flexible freelance role with hybrid working options and competitive pay.
- Other info: Opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment with potential for career advancement.
- Why this job: Shape the future of hosting architecture and make a significant impact in a changing environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in infrastructure architecture, particularly with Azure and AWS.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
The organisation operates a fragmented hosting estate comprising on‑premises data centres (Hitachi and Cisco UCS compute), legacy cloud deployments (Azure), co‑location facilities, and external service provider connectivity (Bloomberg, Refinitiv, FX platforms). There is no overarching hosting strategy or defined landing zones. This role will develop and own the hosting architecture strategy across all categories, rationalising the current estate and defining scalable, repeatable patterns for future service deployment.
Key responsibilities
- Define a comprehensive hosting strategy spanning on-premises, hyperscaler (Azure, AWS), co-location, and managed service environments.
- Design and implement standardised cloud landing zones by service category, enabling repeatable, governed deployment patterns.
- Assess the existing Azure environment (built during COVID) and determine appropriate target architecture and integration with on-premises systems.
- Develop a hosting rationalisation roadmap, identifying workloads for migration, consolidation, or retirement.
- Define ISP and external connectivity architecture, rationalising current fragmented peering arrangements.
- Evaluate market data and financial services connectivity requirements (Bloomberg, Refinitiv, Trade Point, FX platforms).
- Work with network and security architects to ensure hosting design aligns with network and security standards.
- Produce total cost of ownership models and capacity plans across the hosting estate.
- Evaluate suitability of Hitachi and NTT infrastructure offerings in the context of the broader strategy.
Requirements
Technical requirements
- Broad infrastructure architecture experience across on-premises and cloud platforms.
- Azure architecture: landing zones, hybrid connectivity, governance frameworks.
- AWS architecture experience desirable.
- Compute platforms: Cisco UCS, Hitachi, HPE or equivalent.
- Virtualisation: VMware vSphere / NSX, Citrix (evaluation and rationalisation experience).
- Storage and data centre infrastructure design.
- Understanding of financial services connectivity: co-location, proximity hosting, market data feeds.
- ISP connectivity, BGP peering, and internet edge design.
- Cloud migration methodologies and workload assessment frameworks.
Soft skills
- Strategic thinker with the ability to translate business requirements into architectural decisions.
- Strong written and verbal communication — able to produce clear architecture documentation and present to senior stakeholders.
- Commercial awareness: able to build business cases and challenge incumbent vendor pricing.
- Comfortable operating in an environment undergoing significant organisational change.
Infrastructure / Cloud Hosting Architect - freelance - hybrid, London, UK employer: Comgent
As a Senior Network Engineer in London, you will join a forward-thinking company that values inclusivity and diversity, fostering a collaborative work culture where your expertise in routing and switching will be highly regarded. With opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work on complex network environments, this hybrid role offers a perfect balance of flexibility and engagement, making it an excellent choice for those seeking meaningful and rewarding employment in the tech sector.
