Infrastructure Architect (Networks Strategy)

We are recruiting an Infrastructure Architect (Networks) to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Legal & General’s network landscape. This role is responsible for designing, developing, and guiding the evolution of our network infrastructure to ensure it remains robust, secure, and scalable. Operating on a fractional basis across multiple product and service teams, the Infrastructure Architect will provide technical leadership, mentor fellow architects, and collaborate closely with Product Owners and engineers. With deep expertise in L&G’s infrastructure, policies, and standards, they will be empowered to drive informed, timely decisions removing blockers and accelerating delivery across the organisation. A key part of this role is providing forward-thinking recommendations that enhance resilience and performance, while contributing to the seamless implementation of network solutions in a dynamic, collaborative environment.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading the design of network infrastructure across multiple teams to ensure alignment with L&G’s overarching technology architecture and strategy, enabling technology to fully support business objectives.
• Designing and enabling mechanisms for rapid, delegated architectural decision‑making within product and service teams, ensuring that architecture does not hinder delivery for customers.
• Developing and clearly communicating strategies, solution designs, key decisions and architectural approaches, while creating roadmaps, patterns and standards to ensure consistent adoption across all teams.
• Acting as a trusted authority on L&G’s infrastructure policies, standards and frameworks, providing pragmatic and actionable guidance that empowers teams to deliver at pace.
• Leading the evaluation and selection of new technologies and infrastructure options, using deep expertise in network and infrastructure domains to guide teams toward the most effective solutions.
• Determining when architectural decisions require escalation to enterprise-level governance forums, ensuring that only high-impact matters are raised for organisation-wide consideration.
• Engaging stakeholders and conducting appropriate testing ahead of any system or business changes to ensure a full understanding of impacts on internal teams and customers, in line with Consumer Duty obligations.

Qualifications:

• Relevant professional certifications (e.g., CCIE, CISSP) are advantageous.
• Strong, in-depth expertise across network and security technologies, including WAN, cloud environments (AWS and Azure), data centre networking, and office LAN and wireless solutions spanning multiple vendors.
• Solid understanding of complementary technologies such as DNS, Active Directory, Entra ID, and proxy services.
• Extensive experience designing modern network infrastructure solutions using both cloud-based and on-premise technologies in a product- or service-oriented environment.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale network migration and transformation programmes, including oversight and assurance of third-party suppliers and the ability to communicate complex solutions effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience working within Financial Services or other highly regulated environments.
• Demonstrated leadership in shaping, coordinating, and delivering complex network architecture initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and architecture teams.
• Experience mentoring and developing less-experienced architects, driving architectural best practices, and influencing design decisions that balance quality, cost, and delivery timelines while navigating technical constraints and dependencies.

Benefits:

• The opportunity to participate in our annual, performance-related bonus plan and valuable share schemes.
• Generous pension contribution.
• Life assurance.
• Healthcare Plan (permanent employees only).
• At least 25 days holiday, plus public holidays, 26 days after 2 years’ service. There’s also the option to buy and sell holiday.
• Competitive family leave.
• Participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand-new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice (permanent employees only).
• There are the many discounts we offer – both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online.
• In 2023, some of our workspaces were redesigned. Our offices are great spaces to connect and collaborate and have your wellbeing at the heart.

Additional Information:

At L&G, we believe it's possible to generate positive returns today while helping to build a better future for all. If you join us, you’ll be part of a welcoming, inclusive culture, with opportunities to collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds, views, and experiences. Guided by leaders with integrity who care about your future and wellbeing. Empowered through initiatives which support people to develop their careers and excel. We care passionately about outcomes rather than attendance and are therefore open to discussing all kinds of flexible working options including part-time, term-time and job shares. Although some roles have limited flexibility due to customer demand, we accommodate requests when we can. It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet every single criterion in this advert. Instead, think about what you excel at and what else you can bring in terms of strengths, potential and connection to our purpose.