Solutions Architect (Data Centre Migration)
Summary
Contract Senior Solutions Architect (inside IR35, £700/day) leading a multi-year data centre separation and migration for a major UK financial services and wealth management firm: designing target hosting (hybrid/private cloud, HPE GreenLake), migration cutovers with Zerto and VMware HCX, and TSA-driven network segregation. Hybrid role based around Edinburgh.
⚡ SENIOR SOLUTION ARCHITECT – DATA CENTRE SEPARATION & MIGRATION ⚡
Location: Hybrid – Edinburgh (1 day/week on-site, with expanded geographic flexibility across Northern England & the Midlands)
Contract Type: Contract inside IR35 - £700 per day
Start Date: Target First Week of October 2026
THE MISSION
A major UK financial services and wealth management titan are together executing a massive corporate divestiture. Key data centre facilities are being sold off, triggering a complete, multi-year infrastructure disentanglement.
We are seeking a high-calibre Senior Solution Architect to own the physical separation, define the target-state hosting environments, and lead multi-workload migration strategies across critical financial platforms.
🛠️ KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- ️ Separation Architecture: Lead physical and logical data centre separation (compute, storage, network, and shared services) across designated landing zones.
- ☁️ Target-State Design: Architect next-generation hosting platforms leveraging hybrid cloud, private cloud, and consumption-based models (e.g. HPE GreenLake).
- Workload Migration: Formulate robust migration patterns and cutover strategies using enterprise tooling such as Zerto and VMware HCX.
- Boundary & TSA Management: Navigate Transitional Service Agreement (TSA) parameters to enforce strict network segregation as access is cut off.
- Artefact Delivery: Produce high-impact High-Level Designs (HLDs), transition-state patterns, network topologies, and operational migration runbooks.
- 🤝 Governance & Leadership: Secure architectural approvals, refine disentanglement playbooks, and steer cross-functional delivery teams.
🧠 REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- Proven Track Record: Senior-level architecture experience on complex enterprise infrastructure transformations.
- ✂️ Carve-Out Expertise: Demonstrable experience in data centre migrations, corporate carve-outs, M&A disentanglements, or TSA transitions.
- ️ Tech Stack Master: Deep architectural domain knowledge across compute, enterprise storage, network security, and virtualisation.
- Modern Tooling: Direct familiarity with HPE GreenLake (or equivalent hyperconverged/consumption models) and Zerto (or similar replication platforms).
- Regulated Sector Context: Background in UK Financial Services, Pensions, Wealth, or Asset Management highly preferred.
🚀 WHY THIS ENGAGEMENT?
- 🛡️ Outcome-Backed Security: Work within a structured, outcome-backed project model with dedicated delivery support—no client micro-management.
- ⚡ Fast-Track Selection: Direct hire via a single, streamlined 45–60 minute technical and cultural panel interview.