Network Architect, Packet Transport and IP at WIOCC Nigeria Limited

WIOCC is the leading player in the deployment of carrier-scale, future-proofed network infrastructure into Africa. We have the flexibility and scale to meet the ever-growing demand for reliable, high-speed capacity throughout Africa, driven by end consumers, enterprise users and the ecosystem that supports them. Our policy of continual investment in our network to create Africa’s first, truly hyperscale network infrastructure means ongoing investment for growth, ensuring our readiness to meet the future data volume demands of end users throughout Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Network Architect, Packet Transport and IP

Location: Lagos
Reporting Line: Network Technology Manager

Job Objective

• The 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. 

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 an 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 

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) are advantageous

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 a senior engineer, lead engineer, or architect level 
• Experience designing large-scale carrier-grade or enterprise networks 
• Experience working across engineering, operations and commercial stakeholders.

Attributes:

• Client-focused, relationship builder
• Integrity, honesty, and 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 a strategic perspective
• Comfortable operating as the technical authority.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online