Network Engineer

Overview

We are looking for an experienced Network Engineer to deliver hands-on engineering support to the OpNET programme, designing, building, and supporting enterprise network infrastructure.

The role focuses on physical and virtual networking technologies forming the backbone of the platform, supporting full lifecycle delivery from design and build through to integration, testing, and operational support within secure or regulated environments

Specific job skills

• Design, build, and support enterprise network infrastructure across physical and virtual environments.
• Implement and manage core networking components including routers, switches, and firewalls.
• Deliver network solutions aligned to modern architectures such as leaf-spine and software-defined networking.
• Support configuration and troubleshooting of routing protocols (e.g. OSPF, BGP).
• Implement network services including IP addressing, subnetting, QoS, and traffic management.
• Deploy and manage overlay and virtual networking technologies (e.g. VXLAN).
• Support secure network implementations including firewall policies, IDS/IPS, and secure communications.
• Produce and review technical artefacts including design documentation, build guides, and operational procedures.
• Support system integration, testing, and validation of network services.
• Work with Service Management to investigate and resolve incidents and service issues. 
• Contribute to continuous improvement and standardisation of network services.

Essential skills and experience

• Strong experience in network engineering, including design, implementation, and troubleshooting.
• Knowledge of IP networking fundamentals including subnetting and addressing schemes.
• Experience with routing protocols (e.g. OSPF, BGP).
• Advanced knowledge of network devices including routers, switches, and firewalls.
• Experience with enterprise network technologies (e.g. Cisco Nexus, IOS XE, leaf-spine architecture, VXLAN).
• Understanding of network security technologies (e.g. firewalls, IDS/IPS, AAA platforms).
• Experience with QoS and traffic management techniques.
• Ability to produce technical documentation (LLDs, build guides, runbooks).
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
• Relevant certification (e.g. CCNP or equivalent).
• Must hold, or be eligible to obtain, UK Security Clearance (SC).

Desired skills and experience

Experience working within Defence or secure public sector environments.

Knowledge of defence networks and secure gateway architectures.

Experience delivering within large-scale or virtualised infrastructure environments.

Familiarity with Agile delivery and Atlassian toolsets (JIRA, Confluence).

Experience developing secure, multi-tenanted network architectures.

Additional certifications (e.g. VCP-NV, CCIE) or Chartered Engineer status.

Eligibility Checks

Candidates must be SC cleared UK nationals.

Please note: We cannot accept any applications from candidates currently working on the Aurora framework unless the contract is due to finish within the next month.

Please note: For security reasons this role is open to sole UK nationals only. A ‘sole UK national’ refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country. We do not offer visa sponsorship.