Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for Network Architect
A Network Architect is a professional who designs and oversees the implementation of a company's computer network systems. They are responsible for creating the overall design of the network infrastructure, including hardware, software, and security systems and performing network upgrades and expansions. In this blog post we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Network Architects.
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Main Responsibilities of Network Architect
The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Network Architect:
Advise
Advise and recommend architecture strategies, processes, and methodologies.
Advise on risk assumptions for any variances granted.
Advise the management team on the technological orientations that should be adopted.
Analyze
Analyze business requirements to develop technical network solutions and their framework.
Analyze needs and define requirements for new services.
Analyze the use and ensure the optimization of our investments.
Assess
Assess vendor development / test strategies.
Automate
Automate solutions for permanently fix to prevent outages / downtimes.
Challenge
Challenge the Process and come up with out of Box Solution.
Change
Change the way we operate.
Coach
Coach / educate others within the team and other departments.
Co-chair
Co-chair the Architecture Review board.
Collaborate with
Collaborate with risk partners on info security critical priorities.
Collect
Collect market inputs and contribute to the Roadmap evolution.
Complete
Complete, coordinate and manage complex provisioning of equipment and / or the network.
Conduct
Conduct and / or actively participate in meetings related to designated programs.
Consult
Consult directly with customers to document their Networking requirements.
Contribute to
Contribute to the development of technology roadmaps.
Control
Control, orchestration and automation platforms.
Coordinate
Coordinate the implementation of new software features and releases.
Coordinate the various daily operational activities of the network team.
Create
Create and maintain standards, processes, protocols, and compliance activities.
Define
Define and document on-prem and cloud networking standards.
Define and evolve network infrastructures according to business needs.
Define and maintain network standards aligned with the industry.
Define and monitor access.
Define life-cycle management for infrastructure technologies.
Define the architecture and product standards for the enterprise network solutions.
Design
Design and implement solid Network and Security infrastructures.
Design and optimize low latency / high performance, reliable wireless networks.
Design and support VPN solutions including IPsec and MPLS.
Determine
Determine budget requirement.
Determine production direction.
Develop
Develop architectural patterns to simplify solutions and deliver high quality business outcomes.
Develop conceptual network design, architecture and framework for engineering team to build on.
Develop technology roadmaps.
Develop test plans, implementation plans and project timelines for various projects.
Document
Document design solutions and conduct project training and information sharing sessions.
Document network related topologies and workflows via tools such as Visio, Excel and Word.
Drive
Drive the end-to-end delivery of world-class security solutions.
Engage
Engage in the day-to-day activities of the customer as related to products and services.
Engage vendors to drive feature enhancements that are necessary to meet business needs.
Ensure
Ensure architectural compliance of solutions to enterprise architecture standards and principles.
Ensure compliance with policies and laws.
Ensure implemented projects reflect documentation.
Ensure migrations off legacy systems and platforms are executed without any service interruptions.
Ensure redundancy and stability for all critical network components.
Ensure the availability and performance of our environments.
Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed.
Establish
Establish and maintain effective relationships with cross-functional product teams and vendors.
Establish and maintains the baseline for enterprise network design.
Establish global corporate networking environment by designing system configuration.
Establish ownership of and manage projects critical to the organization.
Establish principles for network design and deployment.
Evaluate
Evaluate and design computer networks.
Evaluate cost savings technical alternatives and recommendations.
Generate
Generate or update existing user and technical documentation.
Guide
Guide management on technical direction and participates in the analysis of emerging technologies.
Handle
Handle other duties and responsibilities as defined by management.
Identify
Identify opportunities for follow-on business and assists in creating change orders.
Identify, evaluate and recommend new technology as required, such as 5G.
Identify opportunities spanning technical disciplines across product line and / or services.
Identify opportunities to improve global standardization and organizational efficiencies.
Identify potential improvements to our various environments.
Identify potential sources of application security risk, prioritizing them based on risk impact.
Identify solution non-functional requirements.
Implement
Implement network security policies and standards.
Incorporate
Incorporate CSfC (commercial encryption) data, voice, and video into existing and new networks.
Install
Install hardware such as cables, switches, routers and wireless access points.
Interact with
Interact with industry experts, partners, internal staff and auditors.
Interface with
Interface with vendors to implement and troubleshoot network related vendor supplied solutions.
Interface with vendors to verify the accuracy of their technical deliverables.
Lead
Lead and participate in the design, implementation, and enhancement of global infrastructure.
Lead Cisco routing and switching architect with strong data center experience.
Lead in activities related to the design, development, and maintenance of the Network Architecture.
Lead new design discussion and service catalog standards and instructions.
Lead or supports design peer reviews and internal project reviews.
Lead the customer architectures target design for both custom and standard implementations.
Lead the way to top-level performance by meeting deadlines and reaching quality objectives.
Liaise with
Liaise with clients to drive operational best practices.
Maintain
Maintain applicable written procedures and documentation.
Maintain knowledge of technologies, industry trends, standards and design techniques.
Manage
Manage and perform redundancy testing across all services.
Manage quality control and reporting.
Manage several projects concurrently for new customers, new business, and / or applications.
Manage technology vendors.
Manage the technology lifecycle of network technologies.
Manage Web services and load balancing.
Maximize
Maximize and ensure stable network performance through monitoring and proactive maintenance.
Maximize network efficiencies.
Maximize the business value from Sanofi's Information Technology and Solutions investments.
Mentor
Mentor and coach technical talent to develop deep technical expertise at an organizational level.
Mentor and lead other architects on team to ensure consistent architecture practice.
Mentor junior architects on advisory services delivery.
Monitor
Monitor and test network performance and provide network performance statistics and reports.
Monitor utilization trends, manages network performance, and assures maximum uptime.
Obtain
Obtain and maintain required technical training and certification.
Oversee
Oversee the service delivery of our Telecom providers including BT, AT&T, and local ISPs.
Participate
Participate in group and project meetings and discussions.
Participate in open source and open standard industry activities.
Participate in selection of networking technologies and products for implementation.
Participate in solution design.
Participate in the development efforts to bring automation into the network environment.
Participate in the development of the Network infrastructure architecture and strategy.
Participate in the global infrastructure and operations technical governance process.
Perform
Perform analysis and diagnosis of complex data and voice network issues.
Perform data architecture, adhering to engineering standards.
Perform modeling and planning of networks.
Perform network modeling, analysis, and planning.
Perform network troubleshooting to isolate and diagnose network problems.
Plan
Plan and design network upgrades, site installation projects and cloud deployments.
Plan and perform network upgrades, expansions and new implementation projects.
Plan, design, and configure networking into our Cloud infrastructure.
Plan, design, configure networking.
Plan for fibres underlying right renewals, joint fibre builds, fibre swaps and POP sites.
Prepare
Prepare, review and complete study reports and protocols / SOPs.
Present
Present and explain proposals, reports, and findings to clients.
Present HLDs and LLDs to the Global Network Services team members.
Produce
Produce architecture documents based on tenant custom requirements.
Produce documentation, artifacts and designs, for technical and non-technical audiences.
Produce documents on various processes, customer files, and work instructions.
Promote
Promote the use of Unisys standard SDF methods, tools and processes for the client engagement.
Provide
Provide after-hours second level support for critical issues.
Provide alternatives as needed to achieve desired end results.
Provide designs for network changes to optimize the network.
Provide design strategies to LAN and WAN network architecture.
Provide escalation support for issues addressed by the Lead Network Engineer or IT managers.
Provide expertise in automation and orchestration of network deliverables.
Provide fourth level support to the Operations Command Center.
Provide guidance and work leadership to less-experienced network personnel.
Provide input on implementation status and changes to risks, estimates or schedule.
Provide insight into how technology can impact our business and drive competitive advantages.
Provide on call support for technology outages and changes due to peak times, holidays, etc..
Provide performance analysis and optimization.
Provide technical analysis in data center network planning, engineering, and design.
Provide technical consultation to the business at all levels.
Provide technical leadership for the engineering and operations organizations.
Provide troubleshooting guidance and runbooks for Tier 1 and Tier 2 IT support.
Recommend
Recommend improvements to equipment (routers, switches, network devices, etc.) to leadership team.
Recommend the most suitable technical architecture and defines the solution at a high level.
Research
Research and develop innovative solutions that support cloud connect strategies.
Review
Review network security, access control, and data safeguards.
Review performance metrics and recommend tuning strategies.
Review the architectural artifacts and / or technology plans produced by junior architects.
Simplify
Simplify and standardize the network topology to improve the integration of new services.
Solve
Solve problems quickly and accurately to ensure minimal impact to our customers.
Stay abreast of
Stay abreast of how technology infrastructure are currently impacting and driving competitors.
Support
Support implementation and operation activities as needed.
Support supplier and vendor management including potential evaluation and selection of new products.
Support the integration team to ensure delivery.
Support vendor management including evaluation and selection of new products.
Test
Test and document system behavior, performance, and security.
Troubleshoot
Troubleshoot and diagnose network problems.
Understand
Understand client requirements and develop innovative solutions to address them.
Understand datacenter operations and infrastructure implementation methodologies.
Upgrade
Upgrade network hardware and software components as required.
Use
Use Cisco-based LAN / WAN technologies including switching, routing and wireless protocols.
Work with
Work effectively as part of a geographically distributed team.
Work on Creating Design for Cloud Integration after gathering requirement from Tenants.
Work on defining delay budget for various components of the simulator.
Work with Product offering team and customers to converge on offering requirements.
Work with senior business and technical personnel to design scalable architecture.
Work with technology vendors.
Write
Write functional requirements / specifications documents.
Most In-demand Hard Skills
The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Network Architect:
Security
Design
Cisco
SDN
Ansible
Firewalls
Ospf
Switches
Ccnp
LAN
Dhcp
WAN
Wireless
DNS
GCP
Networking
Switching
Ipsec
TCP / IP
Juniper
Network
Routing
QOS
Most In-demand Soft Skills
The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Network Architect:
Written and oral communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Problem-solving attitude
Analytical ability
Leadership
Organizational capacity
Attention to detail
Team player
Troubleshooting skills
Presentation
Self-motivated
Self-starter
Initiative
Listening
Decision-making
