Infrastructure Architect (Modernization)

Strategic Growth Partners provides both operations and strategic support to commercial organizations. Our client is a leading global professional services firm dedicated to helping organizations tackle their most complex business issues, maximize stakeholder value, and deliver sustainable change.

Their Corporate Performance Improvement practice is looking for an Infrastructure Architect to lead large-scale infrastructure and network modernization, hosting and cloud readiness assessment, and architecture transformation. This role requires someone who has redesigned enterprise infrastructure architecture at scale — not just optimized existing environments. The candidate should be well versed in the latest market trends in infrastructure technology transformation.

Workplace Type: 80% travel. Hybrid.

Employment Type: Full-Time

Clearance: Active Top Secret Clearance required; SCI eligibility preferred where required by the engagement.

Compensation: Hourly rate is DOE.

Experience Should Include

• Data center architecture, infrastructure consolidation, and legacy system modernization at enterprise scale, including consolidation of government or defense computing centers.
• Cloud readiness assessment, migration planning, and hybrid/multi-cloud architecture design (AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle), including DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (SRG).
• Enterprise network and transport architecture, including MPLS, SD-WAN/SASE, satellite and cloud-provider transport, and retirement of legacy TDM circuits across NIPR, SIPR, and other classified networks.
• Virtualization strategy and optimization, including compute, storage, and hyperconverged infrastructure.
• Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), automation frameworks, and CI/CD pipeline architecture within accredited government environments.
• Legacy application assessment, refactoring strategies, and containerization/Kubernetes readiness.
• Storage modernization, database migration, and data architecture consolidation.
• Infrastructure security modernization and compliance mapping, including Zero Trust Architecture (DoD Zero Trust Reference Architecture), Risk Management Framework (RMF), NIST SP 800-53 controls, DISA STIGs, and cross-domain considerations.
• Capacity planning, performance baseline analysis, and cost modeling across the infrastructure footprint.
• AI-driven infrastructure monitoring, predictive analytics, and optimization tooling. Baseline competency with AI-assisted tools is expected; candidates should articulate how AI accelerates infrastructure analysis and optimization.
• DoD and federal environments, including direct experience with DoD infrastructure standards and mission partner environments (military departments, combatant commands, and defense agencies). This experience is a strong advantage and preferred for this role.
• Vendor evaluation, negotiation, and optimization of infrastructure contracts and commercial agreements.
• Federal contracting, including working knowledge of FAR and DFARS requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead infrastructure assessment and baseline analysis, including topology mapping, capacity utilization, performance bottleneck identification, and cost analysis.
• Design modernized target infrastructure architectures (cloud-native, hybrid, or optimized on-premises) aligned with mission requirements, security accreditation constraints, and cloud migration roadmaps.
• Assess cloud readiness, identify gaps in skills, tooling, and governance, and develop a phased migration strategy with sequencing logic, including representative customer testing and exception handling before cutover.
• Develop infrastructure automation and IaC implementation roadmaps to reduce manual toil and improve deployment velocity.
• Evaluate dependencies between infrastructure modernization, application refactoring, enterprise service migrations, and broader digital transformation initiatives.
• Define and integrate infrastructure findings into our client's broader engagement scope and deliverables, partnering with A&M's Digital and Technology Services business and other practices.
• Support Digital and Technology Services practice development through internal training, content creation, and people development.

Qualifications’

• 12+ years of professional experience in infrastructure architecture for complex, large enterprises, with consulting or advisory delivery experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading infrastructure modernization, cloud migration, or large-scale transformation programs.
• DoD or federal infrastructure environment experience is strongly preferred. Deep modernization experience in other regulated industries, such as financial services or healthcare, may substitute.
• Bachelor's degree required. Cloud certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator), infrastructure and security certifications (CISSP, CCNP, ITIL Master), or equivalent certifications are strongly preferred. Certifications that satisfy DoD 8140 workforce requirements are a plus.
• Comfortable with travel up to 80%, including on-site work as required.
• Full-time, contract, and project-based engagements are available.
• Active Top Secret Clearance required; SCI eligibility preferred where required by the engagement.
• United States citizenship required.
• Must physically reside in the United States.
• Ability to meet DoD information system access and training requirements, including annual cyber awareness training and, where applicable, DoD 8140 workforce qualification requirements.

What Distinguishes a Great Candidate

Has designed and led large-scale infrastructure and network modernization programs — not just operated existing systems. Understands the dependency between infrastructure readiness and application modernization success, and the security accreditation steps that gate both. Can work across infrastructure, security, operations, and partner teams. Brings AI-assisted infrastructure analysis into the delivery toolkit as standard practice. Comfortable designing for hybrid and multi-cloud environments without being prescriptive about platform choice, and defining required outcomes and open standards rather than mandating individual products. Collaborates effectively across our client's Digital and Technology Services and Corporate Performance Improvement teams, bringing technology advisory and delivery capability into client engagements.