Infrastructure Lead Architect – 12 Months Rotation – Iraq
Rotational role 28 x 28
What’s included: - All flights (business class), accommodation, food, healthcare, local Iraqi tax, life insurance plus a good solid day rate.
Advanced Proficiency:
Design and integration of hybrid IT systems across on-prem, cloud, and edge. Secure access solutions (AVD, RDS, Citrix, VPN) and modern profile/endpoint management (Intune). Microsoft Exchange (Hybrid, Online, Migration), SQL (HA clusters, dense deployments). Network performance tuning, cloud cost optimization, and lifecycle management strategies. Automation and Infrastructure-as-Code (e.g. PowerShell, Terraform, Azure Automation). Leading cross-functional teams and influencing enterprise-level decisions with technical clarity
Core Knowledge
Enterprise infrastructure architecture, design patterns, and governance models. Hybrid cloud design and deployment (Azure, Azure Stack HCI, ASR, AFS, ExpressRoute). Data centre, edge, and remote-site architecture including high availability and DR strategies. Network architecture for remote/industrial environments (Microwave, Fibre, LTE, Industrial Wi-Fi, SD-WAN). Networking principles (TCP/IP, routing, segmentation, QoS), cloud networking, and network security design. Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI, vSAN), SAN/NAS storage design, and compute resource planning. Identity, security, and compliance integration (Azure AD, MFA, Conditional Access, Zero Trust). Familiarity with PIN/PCN network zones and industrial control network segregation. Documentation of architectural standards, decisions, and roadmaps
Relevant certifications, including:
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect - Expert (essential). TOGAF, Zachman, or other Enterprise Architecture frameworks (preferred) VMware (VCAP), Cisco (CCNP/CCIE). Experience in infrastructure planning, enterprise design, or solution architecture with a focus on scalability, security, and long-term sustainability. Project and vendor management experience in large-scale or remote site infrastructure environments.
The Infrastructure Lead Architect is responsible for defining the strategic architecture and technical direction of enterprise IT&C infrastructure across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud platforms. This role leads the development of future-ready architecture blueprints, ensuring infrastructure services are aligned with business objectives, scalable to evolving needs, and compliant with regulatory and security standards.
The Infrastructure Lead Architect is also responsible for the controlled introduction and seamless integration of new systems and technologies into the existing infrastructure landscape, ensuring minimal disruption to day-to-day operations while enhancing performance, reliability, and sustainability.
Collaborating with business leaders, IT&C teams, and external partners, the Lead Architect translates strategic goals into technical designs and roadmaps. The role brings deep expertise in enterprise architecture, cloud technologies, and remote oilfield communications design, particularly in challenging operational environments.
With a strong focus on digital transformation, the Infrastructure Lead Architect provides technical leadership and governance across major initiatives, ensuring that all infrastructure systems are architected for performance, interoperability, cost-efficiency, and long-term resilience.
Infrastructure Lead Architect Key Accountabilities
- Define and maintain the enterprise infrastructure architecture strategy and blueprints, ensuring alignment with business goals, IT&C strategy, and future scalability requirements.
- Lead the design of secure, scalable, and high-performance infrastructure and network architectures to support current and future business needs, with emphasis on integration, resilience, and cost-effectiveness.
- Develop multi-year infrastructure roadmaps incorporating digital transformation, hybrid cloud adoption, and support for remote industrial operations.
- Govern the architectural integrity of infrastructure projects from initiation to completion, providing oversight on design, progress tracking, risk management, and alignment with architectural principles.
- Create and maintain enterprise architecture standards, reference designs, and reusable patterns to guide consistent and efficient delivery of infrastructure services.
- Architect hybrid solutions to integrate on-premise, cloud, and edge environments, ensuring seamless interoperability and suitability for industrial sites in remote or bandwidth-constrained regions.
- Collaborate with infrastructure, cybersecurity, applications, and operations teams to ensure cross-domain alignment, performance optimization, and continuous service improvement.
- Evaluate and introduce new technologies into the infrastructure stack, ensuring minimal disruption, architectural alignment, and long-term sustainability.
- Lead the technical aspects of vendor engagements and infrastructure service contracts, influencing solution design, ensuring compliance with architectural standards, and maximizing commercial value.
- Ensure architectural designs adhere to regulatory, compliance, and cybersecurity requirements, proactively identifying and mitigating design-level risks to service delivery.
- Document and communicate architectural decisions, roadmaps, and solution rationale to both technical teams and senior stakeholders.
- Provide subject matter expertise and mentorship on infrastructure architecture to technical leads, engineers, and project teams.
Infrastructure Lead Architect Criteria & Qualifications - Essential Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related IT discipline; Master's degree or MBA is a plus.
- Minimum 10-12 years in IT infrastructure, including 5+ years in architecture, design, or senior technical leadership roles.
With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.
