Network Architect

About The Company Charter is an award‑winning Canadian IT Solutions and Managed Services Provider founded in 1997. With offices across Canada, Charter delivers innovative IT solutions, managed services, project delivery, consulting, and staff augmentation expertise to organizations nationwide. Our mission is to align people, processes, and technologies to help clients enhance communication, optimize performance, and modernize their operations. Using business architecture methodology and human‑centered design, we guide clients through successful digital transformations, uncover new opportunities, and accelerate growth.

Summary The Network Architect is responsible for designing, implementing, and governing enterprise network solutions that support business objectives while ensuring security, scalability, performance, and reliability. This role provides technical leadership across delivery and operations teams, serves as a trusted advisor to clients, and leads complex networking initiatives from strategy through implementation.

Key Responsibilities

Network Architecture & Strategy

• Design and develop enterprise network solutions across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, data center, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Create architecture standards, technical roadmaps, and best practices.
• Evaluate and recommend networking technologies to support business and operational goals.
• Develop secure, scalable, and highly available network designs.

Project Delivery & Technical Leadership

• Provide senior technical leadership and delivery support for complex client engagements and internal projects.
• Collaborate with Project Managers, Delivery Managers, Operations teams, and technical leads to ensure successful project execution.
• Lead architecture reviews, implementation planning, risk assessments, and technical governance activities.
• Act as Project Lead for strategic and complex network initiatives as required.

Client Consulting & Business Development

• Serve as a trusted advisor to clients, providing strategic and tactical network architecture guidance.
• Participate in billable consulting engagements and support pre-sales activities, solution development, and architecture workshops.
• Identify opportunities to expand networking, cloud, security, and infrastructure services within client accounts.
• Present technical recommendations to both technical and executive stakeholders.

Network Operations, Security & Optimization

• Optimize network performance, availability, reliability, and resiliency.
• Lead modernization initiatives including SD-WAN, cloud networking, automation, and Zero Trust architectures.
• Develop disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
• Ensure network solutions meet security, regulatory, and compliance requirements.

Continuous Improvement

• Stay current with emerging networking technologies and industry trends.
• Develop architecture standards, templates, and reusable design frameworks.
• Mentor Network Engineers and contribute to technical capability development across the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Expert knowledge of Cisco and/or Juniper networking solutions spanning routing, switching, wireless, SD-WAN, network security, and data center technologies.
• 8+ years of experience in enterprise networking, infrastructure delivery, or network engineering.
• 3+ years of experience in a Network Architect or senior networking role.
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise-scale network solutions.
• Strong consulting, stakeholder management, and client-facing experience.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and leadership skills.
• Proven ability to design and support secure, scalable, and highly available enterprise network infrastructures.

Preferred Certifications

• CCIE or CCNP Enterprise
• JNCIE or JNCIP
• Azure Network Engineer Associate
• AWS Advanced Networking Specialty
• CISSP (asset)