Solution Architect - Networking

About Kerv and KCC

Kerv is a purpose-led UK cloud and digital services organisation supporting mid-market and enterprise customers to design, deliver and operate technology platforms that enable meaningful business change. Through its specialist practices, Kerv brings expertise across cloud, digital transformation, networking, security and compliance.

Kerv Connected Cloud (KCC) brings together end-user services, networking, security and cloud managed services to deliver secure, resilient and scalable digital foundations. We design, implement and operate connected cloud environments that underpin modern workplaces and business-critical services.

The Role

The Solution Architect leads complex customer architecture and transformation engagements and acts as a senior technical authority for network and security solutions. The role is responsible for shaping solution designs, assuring technical quality and developing reference architectures, standards and technology roadmaps.

Alongside customer delivery, the Solution Architect supports complex pre-sales opportunities, service development, technical governance, escalations and the development of the wider consulting community.

Key Accountabilities

• Complex customer architecture and delivery
• Lead complex network and security transformation engagements, cross-domain architecture and Architecture-as-a-Service assignments.
• Provide architectural leadership throughout the engagement, maintaining the coherence and integrity of the overall solution.
• Own material technical decisions and clearly communicate their implications to customers, delivery teams and other stakeholders.
• Apply strong delivery discipline, operational awareness and commercial judgement to support successful and profitable project outcomes.
• Develop reusable approaches, frameworks and methods that improve the delivery of complex transformation programmes.

Design authority

• Define and maintain reference architectures, technical standards, integration patterns and processes for managing design exceptions.
• Lead design assurance for complex, high-risk or non-standard solutions.
• Make and clearly justify cross-domain architectural decisions, balancing customer requirements, technical quality, security, supportability and commercial considerations.
• Apply deep expertise across SD-WAN, cloud networking, SASE and SSE, WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, data-centre networking and application delivery technologies.
• Apply Zero Trust principles and modern security frameworks, including routing, segmentation, cloud connectivity across Azure, AWS and GCP, and network security controls.
• Use broad vendor knowledge, including Juniper, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, F5, Fortinet, Zscaler and Arista, to develop coherent, secure and supportable solutions.

Technology roadmap and service development

• Work with Product and Commercial Managers to shape service roadmaps, technology lifecycle plans and service-development priorities.
• Use vendor roadmaps, customer requirements and operational insight to inform the evolution of KCC services.
• Identify opportunities to improve service quality, supportability, delivery efficiency and customer value.
• Contribute technical leadership to the development and introduction of new or enhanced services.

Complex pre-sales, governance and escalation

• Support strategic and technically complex opportunities that require senior architectural leadership.
• Work with Pre-Sales, Commercial and Delivery teams to ensure proposed solutions are viable, supportable and aligned with customer outcomes.
• Act as a senior escalation point for significant technical risks, design concerns and recurring service issues.
• Communicate complex architectural choices clearly to customers and senior stakeholders, building understanding and alignment.
• Apply appropriate governance and risk management to architectural, delivery, security and commercial decisions.

Coaching and technical capability

• Coach and support Consultants and other members of the technical community, improving the quality and consistency of solution design.
• Share knowledge, experience and reusable good practice across KCC.
• Provide clear, constructive feedback that helps colleagues develop their technical judgement and architectural capability.
• Contribute to technical communities, learning initiatives and capability-development plans.

Experience and Qualifications

• 10+ years of network and security professional-services experience, including significant responsibility for complex enterprise architecture and transformation engagements.
• Deep technical knoweldge across enterprise networking, cloud connectivity and network security, with the ability to operate credibly across multiple technology domains.
• Strong experience of architecture governance, design assurance and translating business and customer requirements into practical, supportable solutions.
• Experience supporting complex pre-sales opportunities and communicating technical decisions to senior customer and internal stakeholders.
• Relevant advanced vendor or industry certifications are desirable, but demonstrable depth of experience and architectural capability are equally important.

Skills and Behaviours

• Strong architectural judgement and the confidence to make, explain and defend material technical decisions.
• Excellent customer communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to simplify complex technical choices for senior audiences.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how architecture, delivery choices and technical risk affect customer value and project outcomes.
• A collaborative approach that builds alignment across Product, Commercial, Pre-Sales, Delivery and Operations.
• A coaching mindset and commitment to developing technical capability across the wider community.
• Pragmatic, risk-aware decision-making with a strong focus on security, supportability, quality and operational outcomes.

Measures of Success

• Complex solutions meet customer requirements and are secure, coherent, supportable and aligned with agreed standards.
• Architecture assurance, pre-sales support, roadmap development and service-development activities produce clear and measurable outcomes.
• Design exceptions, avoidable rework and recurring technical issues are reduced.
• Product, Commercial, Pre-Sales, Delivery and Operations teams receive timely and effective architectural support.
• Reference architectures, standards and design guidance remain relevant, usable and widely adopted.
• Consultants and the wider technical community demonstrate improved design quality and technical decision-making.

How This Role Fits Within KCC

The Solution Architect reports to the Head of Network Professional Services and provides senior architectural leadership across complex customer engagements, strategic opportunities and the development of KCC services.

The role works closely with Consulting, Sales, Pre-Sales, Product, Commercial, Delivery and Operations teams. It provides technical leadership and assurance while maintaining clear accountability for people management, commercial ownership, delivery management, product management and operational service ownership.

Scope of Authority

The Solution Architect owns architectural decisions within agreed standards and engagement governance, and provides design assurance for complex, high-risk and non-standard solutions. The role is expected to make and document technical decisions where it has delegated authority, challenge designs that introduce unacceptable risk or supportability concerns, and escalate decisions that require broader commercial, security, product, operational or executive approval.

Governance and Risk Management

The Solution Architect works within Kerv's change, security, commercial and service-governance frameworks. The role is responsible for:

• Identifying, assessing and escalating significant architectural, delivery, operational, security and commercial risks.
• Following approved service patterns, technical standards, systems and decision-making processes.
• Maintaining clear architectural decisions, design documentation and supporting evidence.
• Supporting effective assurance, audit, handover and continual improvement.
• Working collaboratively across KCC and the wider Kerv group while preserving clear accountability for decisions and outcomes.

Our Values

At Kerv, we’re building something special and building it to last. Our values shape how we work, how we treat each other and how we deliver for our customers:

• Think Customer First – we put our customers at the heart of every decision
• Team is Everything – we collaborate, support each other, and win together
• Spread Good Vibes – we bring positivity, energy and respect into everything we do
• Build Future – we look ahead, innovate and create lasting impact
• Do the Right Thing – we act with integrity and always do what’s fair and honest

We’re looking for people who bring these values to life in how they work every day. We want everybody to feel valued, included and love working together. With an uncompromising pursuit of amazing employee experience, we always strive to do the right thing. We believe and will relentlessly promote and support the power of diversity, equality and belonging, through collaboration and creating exceptional solutions together.

Use of AI in Kerv’s Recruitment Process

We recognise that AI tools can be helpful when preparing applications, improving CV presentation, researching our business, or supporting accessibility needs. However, all information submitted must accurately reflect your own skills, experience, and achievements. During assessments and interviews, unless prompted otherwise candidates must be prepared to discuss their application and demonstrate their knowledge and capabilities without help of AI. The use of AI in a way that misrepresents experience, generates responses presented as your own work, or creates an unfair advantage may result in withdrawal from the recruitment process.