Job Description

We need an Interim Network Architect to provide architectural leadership, design remediation, and technical governance for an in flight SD WAN upgrade, including MPLS migration and cloud connectivity enhancements. Your focus is rapid baseline and gap analysis, tightening governance, and ensuring the remaining rollout is safe, compliant, and executable
As Interim Network Architect, you will act as the single lead technical authority for architecture, design assurance, and governance across the remaining phases of the SD WAN programme. You will assess the current design state, identify systemic weaknesses, drive remediation, and establish controls that prevent further architectural drift.
Core outcomes

• Establish an accurate architectural baseline and a prioritised remediation plan
• Reset technical governance and decision quality through clear standards, controls, and assurance
• Produce updated HLD and LLD artefacts and a coherent end to end SD WAN roadmap
• Provide architectural direction and decision support through rollout, cutover, and transition
• Drive improved performance of 3rd party supplier where relevant

Scope of services

• Architecture review and gap analysis

• Review all SD WAN design artefacts and technical decisions to date
• Produce a documented gap analysis: risks, inconsistencies, compliance issues, and remediation actions
• Present findings to project leadership and technical stakeholders
• Updated architectural documentation

• Update HLD and LLD artefacts for impacted components
• Define patterns, standards, and reference models aligned to enterprise architecture and security principles
• Produce an end to end SD WAN architecture roadmap covering deployment phases, MPLS migration, cloud connectivity, and longer-term alignment
• Architectural direction and decision support

• Provide impact assessments for design changes: business, technical, operational implications
• Shape sequencing, deployment planning, and risk mitigation
• Attend and contribute to design authorities, project boards, and governance forums
• Technical governance and assurance

• Implement a technical governance framework or checklist tailored to this programme
• Conduct design assurance reviews of supplier and internal deliverables, documenting findings and recommendations
• Maintain risk and deviation logs for non compliant design elements
• Produce quality assurance outputs covering documentation standards, change compliance, and lifecycle adherence
• Technical leadership and knowledge transfer

• Deliver workshops and walkthroughs with materials and captured outputs
• Provide SME advisory support for troubleshooting and optimisation, with a clear advisory log
• Embed standards and governance practices to avoid regression post project
• Project delivery support

• Provide architecture input into cutover strategy, testing readiness, and validation
• Produce validation checklists and support artefacts for testing and cutover activities
• Assess programme progress, dependencies, and technical risks
• Stakeholder communication and engagement

• Produce comms packs summarising decisions, risks, and design gaps for senior stakeholders
• Integrate with security, cloud, infrastructure, and application teams
• Manage vendor and service provider technical alignment, documenting outcomes and responsibilities

High-impact interim engagement stabilising a high-risk SD WAN upgradeNetwork Architect: design assurance, governance reset, & stakeholder alignment
You are a senior Technical Architect with strong design governance instincts and the confidence to challenge weak assumptions without creating friction for its own sake.
Experience you will bring

• Proven delivery of an SD WAN or WAN transformation, ideally across a complex multi site estate including Retail sites
• Highly desirable Retail Security & PCI Compliance
• Evidence of stabilising an in flight programme by identifying systemic architecture and governance weaknesses and driving a credible recovery plan
• Experience designing network segmentation in regulated and PCI sensitive environments, including trust zones and Cardholder Data Environment isolation
• Track record operating as a lead technical authority across design, governance, and assurance without performing implementation

Technical credibilityYou can speak fluently to:

• Rapid architecture baseline and gap analysis methods and how to evidence them
• Design remediation sequencing where retail operations, resilience, and compliance risks collide
• Integrating WiFi and IoT into an SD WAN design when they were previously excluded
• Site criticality classification and backup connectivity models
• Identity and authentication simplification across POS, IoT, corporate, and guest networks
• Monitoring architecture, observability, and cross vendor incident ownership and RACI
• Governance reset controls to prevent drift, including standards, checklists, and decision logs
• Deployment and cutover assurance without becoming operationally responsible
• Knowledge transfer models that embed good practice beyond the engagement

Consultancy supporting a client with a distributed network estate supporting retail, frontline services and operational sites. The organisation is mid programme on an SD WAN upgrade and needs senior architectural leadership to address design gaps, strengthen technical governance, and reduce delivery risk across multiple stakeholders and suppliers.

• Outside IR35 day rate engagement
• Interim consulting engagement with a defined Statement of Work and measurable deliverables
• Senior stakeholder visibility through design authority and steering governance
• The mandate to reset technical governance and raise design quality fast
• Architecture-led scope, with clear separation from operational ownership and hands-on configuration

Skills Required