Network Security Architect

Job title: Network Security Architect
Location: Manchester
Salary: £70K plus up to 6% bonus
Candidates must be willing and eligible for SC and DV security clearance for this role

Build secure networks. Strengthen cyber resilience. Make an impact.

I'm working with an UK technology and engineering business that operate in the defence and government space. They're looking to appoint a Network Security Architect to strengthen its growing infrastructure and cybersecurity capability.

This is an opportunity for a technically hands-on professional who understands how secure networks should be designed, monitored and protected. You'll have the opportunity to influence architectural decisions, improve security visibility and help shape the resilience of complex infrastructure environments.

Responsibilities:

• Designing and reviewing secure network architectures across LAN/WAN, cloud environments and perimeter infrastructure.
• Strengthening network security through segmentation, access controls and secure connectivity.
• Developing centralised logging and telemetry capabilities, ensuring critical infrastructure and security devices provide meaningful visibility.
• Improving asset discovery and management across physical, virtual and cloud environments.
• Identifying vulnerabilities, infrastructure risks and potential security blind spots.
• Conducting architectural risk assessments and threat modelling, translating technical findings into practical recommendations.
• Working closely with infrastructure, operations and security teams to ensure security is built into technical design decisions.

Required Expereince:

You'll ideally bring 3-5 years' experience across network engineering, network security or infrastructure security, with some exposure to architectural design.

You'll also have experience with:

• Core networking technologies including TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, IPsec, TLS/SSL, DNS and VLAN segmentation.
• Network perimeter security, firewalls and secure connectivity.
• SIEM, centralised logging or telemetry platforms such as Splunk, Elastic/ELK or Cribl.
• Log ingestion technologies including Syslog, Logstash or agent-based collection.
• Asset management, CMDB platforms or infrastructure discovery tools such as ServiceNow and Lansweeper.
• Security frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001 or CIS Controls.

We're particularly interested in people who can combine strong technical knowledge with the ability to understand wider security risks and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Relevant certifications such as SSCP, CRISC, CISSP or SecurityX would be advantageous, but practical experience and technical capability are more important.

What's on offer?

• Competitive salary and performance-related bonus.
• 30 days' annual leave, with the option to buy or sell additional days.
• Hybrid working and flexible hours.
• Private medical cover through Bupa.
• Pension scheme and life assurance.
• Healthcare cash plan and employee assistance programme.
• Excellent training and development opportunities through a dedicated technical academy.

If you're looking for an opportunity to influence secure infrastructure design, develop your architectural capability and work on technically interesting challenges, I'd be keen to hear from you.