Network Architect– Packet Transport and IP at WIOCC Nigeria Limited

he Network Architect – Packet Transport and IP is responsible for defining, designing and governing the end-to-end architecture of the organisation’s IP and packet transport networks. This role ensures that network solutions are scalable, resilient, cost-effective and aligned to business strategy, customer requirements and industry best practices.

The role acts as the technical authority for IP/MPLS, packet transport technologies, and related control and management systems, providing architectural direction across engineering, operations and project delivery. 

Reporting Line: Network Technology Manager

Key Responsibilities

Architecture and Design  

• Define and own the target architecture for IP/MPLS and packet transport networks across backbone, metro, access and data centre domains
• Develop and maintain High-Level Designs (HLDs) and Low-Level Designs (LLDs) for new builds, expansions, migrations and technology refresh initiatives
• Translate business and service requirements into scalable, resilient and secure technical architectures
• Design for scalability, resilience, performance, security and operational efficiency
• Produce architecture standards, design guidelines, reference architectures and technical blueprints
• Ensure technology choices align with long-term roadmap, total cost of ownership (TCO) and vendor strategy

Technology Domains (Core Focus)  

• IP/MPLS (ISIS, OSPF, BGP, LDP, RSVP-TE, Segment Routing)
• Traffic engineering and QoS architectures
• EVPN/VXLAN and modern data centre fabrics
• Carrier Ethernet (L2/L3 VPNs, E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree)
• Packet transport platforms (PTN, IP over DWDM, router-based transport)
• Network timing and synchronisation (SyncE, PTP)
• IPv6 architecture and migration strategies
• Network security principles in IP networks (ACLs, DDoS protection, segmentation)

Strategy and Roadmap

• Define the multi-year technology roadmap for packet and IP network evolution
• Evaluate emerging technologies and trends (e.g. SRv6, network automation, disaggregation, open networking)
• Lead technology selection and contribute to vendor evaluations and RFP processes
• Provide architectural input into business cases and investment planning

Governance and Technical Authority

• Act as design authority for complex or high-risk network initiatives
• Review and approve solution designs produced by engineering teams and vendors.
• Ensure alignment with internal standards, security requirements and operational models
• Define non-functional requirements (availability, latency, scalability, observability)

Project and Delivery Support

• Provide architectural support throughout the project lifecycle, from concept and business case through design, implementation and handover to operations
• Support project teams with technical input during planning, build, test and acceptance phases
• Participate in solution reviews, technical workshops and design assurance for critical projects
• Act as escalation point for complex technical challenges during delivery.
• Ensure that delivered solutions align with approved architecture, standards and operational models
• Contribute to operational readiness, including documentation, monitoring requirements and support models prior to go-live

Automation, Monitoring and Assurance

• Define architectural principles for network observability, monitoring and assurance across IP and packet transport domains
• Drive the adoption of automation and programmability to improve visibility, reduce manual effort and enhance network reliability
• Identify opportunities to automate network validation, configuration compliance, performance monitoring, fault detection, root cause analysis and capacity reporting
• Collaborate with IT, tooling and operations teams on the design of monitoring platforms, telemetry architectures and assurance systems
• Promote the use of APIs, model-driven management and modern tooling (e.g. streaming telemetry, controllers, analytics platforms)

Documentation and Standards

• Maintain architecture documentation, standards and design repositories
• Define best practices for configuration models, naming conventions and design consistency
• Contribute to operational models, handover standards and lifecycle management

Key Deliverables

• Network architecture blueprints (current state, target state, transition state) 
• Technology roadmaps (1–3 year horizon) 
• Design standards and engineering guidelines 
• High-level and detailed design documents (HLDs and LLDs) 
• Vendor evaluation and technical recommendation reports 
• Architecture review approvals for major initiatives 

Required Experience and Skills 

Technical Expertise 

• Strong expertise in service provider IP/MPLS networks 
• Deep knowledge of routing protocols: BGP, IS-IS/OSPF, MPLS, Segment Routing 
• Experience with large-scale backbone and metro architectures 
• Strong understanding of traffic engineering, QoS and performance engineering 
• Experience with major vendor platforms (e.g. Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, Huawei, Arista) 
• Solid understanding of network resiliency models and high-availability design 
• Experience producing clear, structured HLDs and LLDs for complex environments 
• Understanding of network observability architectures (telemetry, SNMP, flow data, logs) 
• Experience with monitoring and assurance platforms (NMS, performance management, analytics tools) 
• Exposure to network automation frameworks (Python, Ansible, Netmiko, Nornir, vendor APIs) 
• Understanding of closed-loop assurance concepts 
• Familiarity with automation and programmability is advantageous 

General Experience 

• 8–12+ years in IP / packet transport networking roles 
• Proven experience at senior engineer, lead engineer, or architect level 
• Experience designing large-scale carrier-grade or enterprise networks 
• Experience working across engineering, operations and commercial stakeholders 

Minimum Qualifications and Certifications (Preferred)

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field
• CCNP / CCIE, JNCIP / JNCIE, or equivalent certifications
• Industry certifications (MEF, IPv6 Forum, ITIL) advantageous

Attributes

• Client focused, relationship builder
• Integrity, honest with high ethical standards
• Boundless, passionate and flexible
• Personal excellence, accuracy and attention to detail
• Collaborative, achieve results through teamwork and partnerships
• Strong systems thinking and end-to-end design capability
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Ability to influence without authority
• Commercial awareness and cost-conscious design thinking
• High attention to detail with strategic perspective
• Comfortable operating as the technical authority