Network Architect

Network Architect

SWIFT

Leiden, Netherlands

We are looking a seasoned Network and Infrastructure Architect with strong managerial capabilities to drive architectural evolution and lead technical excellence across our platforms.

This role combines hands-on architecture (50%) with team leadership and governance responsibilities (50%), requiring both deep technical expertise and the ability to influence, guide, and deliver in a complex enterprise environment.

The successful candidate will play a key role in defining high-level architectures (HLDs), advancing modernization initiatives, and ensuring alignment with regulatory, operational, and enterprise architecture standards.

Architecture & Delivery

• Design and deliver High-Level Architectures (HLDs) across network, compute, storage, or platform domains, ensuring alignment with business and non-functional requirements
• Translate requirements into scalable, resilient, and secure solutions, validated through lab testing and proof-of-concepts
• Lead end-to-end architecture activities, from requirements definition to production-ready designs

Technology Leadership & Innovation

• Drive cross-functional transformation initiatives focused on automation, simplification, resiliency, and cost efficiency
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends, identifying opportunities to enhance platform capabilities
• Promote automation-first approaches, leveraging tools such as Ansible, Python, or equivalent

Stakeholder & Governance Engagement

• Work closely with internal stakeholders, external partners, and vendors to ensure alignment and effective delivery
• Contribute to enterprise architecture governance, regulatory compliance, audit readiness, and risk management activities
• Support and leverage EA frameworks and tooling (e.g., LeanIX, ITIL)

People Leadership

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and architects
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and accountability
• Support delivery planning, prioritization, and team performance management

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent experience
• Minimum 10 years of experience in enterprise IT engineering/architecture roles
• Proven experience delivering complex infrastructure or network architectures in large-scale environments
• Hands-on expertise in:
  • Infrastructure platforms (compute, storage, network)
  • Virtualization technologies (KVM, Hyper-V, VMware ESXi)
  • Containerized and cloud-native environments
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Linux systems administration
  • Automation and scripting (Python, Ansible or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to:
  • Lead proof-of-concepts and technical validations
  • Communicate complex topics clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
  • Manage and motivate teams while driving delivery outcomes

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Enterprise Architecture frameworks (ITIL) and tools such as LeanIX
• Exposure to regulated environments (audit, compliance, risk management)
• Strong orientation toward operational resilience and platform standardization

Profile Summary

• Strategic thinker with hands-on expertise
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance delivery, governance, and innovation in a fast-evolving enterprise landscape