Senior Network Hosting Architect freelance hybrid, London, UK

Reports to Head of Data Centre and Network Services.

• deep expertise across traditional networking multi-cloud connectivity low-latency market data platforms payment systems and SaaS-integrated infrastructure.
  
• strong architectural leadership stakeholder engagement and structured delivery capabilities are essential with the ability to influence both technical teams and senior business leadership.
  

Requirements

Hosting Network Architecture & Strategy

• Lead the architecture of secure scalable and resilient network hosting platforms across:
  

• On-premise data centres and colocation
  

• Internet-facing hosting environments
  

• Hybrid and multicloud platforms (AWS Azure GCP/GSP Oracle Cloud)
  

• SaaS-integrated services (e.g. Microsoft 365 infrastructure SaaS platforms)
  

• Define hosting strategies supporting market data platforms payment systems enterprise applications and customer-facing internet services.
  

• Develop multi-year network hosting roadmaps aligned to business growth regulatory expectations and technology evolution.
  

Technical Governance & Engineering Leadership

• Act as the senior technical authority for complex hosting connectivity and L2L7 network challenges across enterprise internet and SaaS-integrated environments.
  

• Own architectural governance for market data payment platform and cloud hosting designs ensuring compliance with internal standards and external regulation.
  

• Provide design assurance for secure inbound/outbound internet connectivity DDoS-protected architectures and Zero Trust access models.
  

Cloud SaaS & Internet Connectivity

• Architect and operate cloud networking across:
  

• AWS Azure Google Cloud / GSP and Oracle Cloud
  

• Hybrid connectivity using ExpressRoute Direct Connect Partner Interconnect and equivalent services
  

• Design resilient connectivity models for Microsoft 365 and key infrastructure SaaS services including identity-aware routing secure egress and performance optimisation.
  

• Define internet hosting patterns covering DMZs ingress/egress load balancing DNS CDN integration and secure access.
  

Market Data & Low-Latency Platforms

• Architect optimise and support market data hosting environments including:
  

• Bloomberg Reuters and other exchange / data-vendor platforms
  

• Low-latency multicast and unicast distribution
  

• Cross-connects within colocation and exchange venues
  

• Design deterministic high-availability network paths for latency-sensitive trading and analytics workloads.
  

• Partner with vendors and internal platform teams to ensure performance resilience and change control for market data services.
  

Payment Systems & Regulated Hosting

• Design hosting network architectures for payment systems and transactional platforms ensuring:
  

• High availability and fault tolerance
  

• Secure segmentation and encryption
  

• Compliance with financial and regulatory requirements
  

• Support connectivity to payment gateways clearing systems and third-party providers including resilience testing and failure scenarios.
  

Project & Transformation Delivery

• Lead major hosting and network transformation initiatives including:
  

• Data centre and ACI modernisation
  

• Cloud and SaaS adoption
  

• Internet hosting and perimeter redesign
  

• Market data and payment platform migrations
  

• Drive structured planning risk management stakeholder coordination and controlled delivery.
  

Operations Excellence & Automation

• Champion continuous optimisation across performance capacity routing efficiency internet ingress/egress and cloud cost efficiency.
  

• Lead resolution of high-severity incidents across enterprise market data payment and internet-facing platforms.
  

• Implement automation observability and tooling using Infrastructure-as-Code and API-driven platforms.
  

Stakeholder Vendor & Service Provider Management

• Act as the technical interface with:
  

• Cloud providers (AWS Azure GCP/GSP Oracle)
  

• SaaS providers (e.g. Microsoft 365)
  

• Telcos ISPs exchanges and market data vendors (Bloomberg Reuters)
  

• Review and influence technical solutions SLAs contracts and support models.
  

• Provide clear architectural updates and risk assessments to senior stakeholders.
  

Security Resilience & Compliance

• Embed Zero Trust segmentation encryption and secure connectivity across hosting platforms.
  

• Ensure internet-facing cloud market data and payment environments meet regulatory audit and operational resilience standards.
  

• Maintain high-quality architecture artefacts runbooks and audit evidence.
  

Qualifications Skills and Experience

• 812 years in network engineering and hosting architecture with senior or lead responsibility.
  

• Deep knowledge across L2L7 enterprise internet and cloud networking.
  

• Strong experience designing hosting for:
  

• Market data platforms (Bloomberg Reuters exchanges)
  

• Payment systems and regulated transactional environments
  

• Internet-facing services and SaaS integration
  

• Proven multicloud expertise across AWS Azure GCP/GSP and Oracle Cloud.
  

• Experience supporting Microsoft 365 and infrastructure SaaS connectivity models
  

• Advanced routing (BGP OSPF) low-latency design multicast and high-availability patterns.
  

• Strong automation mindset (Python Ansible IaC).
  

• Comfortable operating in regulated financial services environments with audit-ready practices.
  

Competencies

• Architectural rigor: Ensures all designs follow structured governance secure patterns and best practice frameworks.
  

• Cross-Team influence: Communicates technical concepts clearly to cybersecurity infrastructure and business stakeholders.
  

• Operational excellence: Drives stability repeatability and continuous improvement in security operations.
  

• Innovation & forward thinking: Identifies emerging threats technologies and solutions relevant to enterprise environments.