Network Automation Engineer x 3 (SC Cleared)

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Infrastructure Engineer Network Automation to join a high-performing engineering team responsible for the design, automation, delivery, and support of critical enterprise network services.

This role is ideally suited to an individual who is passionate about Infrastructure as Code (IaC), NetDevOps and cloud networking, and who is committed to driving automation, operational excellence, and continual service improvement.

As a senior technical practitioner, you will act as a role model for engineering best practice, helping to shape the organisation's network automation strategy whilst mentoring engineers and promoting modern engineering principles across the department.

You will work closely with Architecture, Engineering, Security and Operational teams to design, implement and support secure, resilient, and highly available network services across complex hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The successful candidate will have responsibility for the complete life cycle of network services, from solution design through implementation, operational support, and continual improvement.

You will champion automation to reduce manual effort, improve service reliability, and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure changes whilst maintaining the highest standards of security, governance, and operational resilience.

The role requires collaboration with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, balancing operational priorities with strategic delivery, whilst ensuring network services remain secure, available, and aligned to organisational objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Network Automation & Engineering

Design, develop and maintain automated infrastructure solutions using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Configuration as Code (CaC) principles.

Develop reusable automation frameworks to standardise network provisioning, configuration, compliance validation, and operational management.

Lead the adoption of automation technologies to eliminate repetitive operational tasks and improve engineering efficiency.

Develop and maintain automation scripts using Python, PowerShell, Bash, or similar Scripting languages.

Promote engineering standards, coding practices, and automation governance across the network engineering function.

Infrastructure Design

Design secure, resilient, and scalable network architectures supporting both on-premises and multi-cloud environments.

Collaborate with Enterprise and Solution Architects to ensure network services align with architectural principles and organisational standards.

Produce high and low-level technical designs for complex infrastructure solutions.

Ensure designs meet security, compliance, resilience, and operational support requirements.

Cloud Networking

Design, implement, and support network connectivity across cloud platforms including:

Microsoft Azure

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

Responsibilities include:

Virtual networking

Transit networking

VPN connectivity

ExpressRoute/Direct Connect

DNS services

Hybrid cloud networking

Cloud security integration

Network segmentation

High availability and disaster recovery

NetDevOps

Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines supporting automated infrastructure deployment.

Integrate testing and validation into deployment pipelines.

Implement Git-based version control and collaborative development practices.

Support Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment methodologies.

Work within Agile and DevSecOps delivery models.

Operational Excellence

Maintain responsibility for the operational health, availability, and resilience of enterprise network services.

Manage technical incidents and problem investigations.

Perform root cause analysis.

Develop service improvements based upon operational metrics.

Participate in out-of-hours support, change implementation and major incident response.

Service Management

Manage services throughout the complete life cycle including:

Service Design

Service Transition

Service Operation

Continual Service Improvement

Working across:

ITIL practices

Agile delivery

Formal project management

Continuous improvement initiatives

Leadership & Mentoring

Provide technical leadership across multi-disciplinary engineering teams.

Mentor and coach engineers on automation, cloud networking and engineering best practice.

Review technical designs and automation code.

Encourage knowledge sharing and continuous professional development.

Support the evolution of the organisation's Network Automation capability.

Stakeholder Management

Build strong relationships across engineering, architecture, and operational teams.

Work collaboratively with suppliers, customers, and third-party organisations.

Communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Influence engineering direction and continuous improvement initiatives.

Essential Skills & Experience

The successful candidate should demonstrate significant experience in the following areas:

Network Engineering

Enterprise networking

Routing & Switching

TCP/IP

BGP

OSPF

MPLS

VXLAN

EVPN

DNS

DHCP

Load Balancing

Firewalls

Network Security

SD-WAN

Multi-Cloud Networking

Practical experience designing and supporting networking solutions across:

Microsoft Azure

AWS

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

Including:

Virtual networking

Network security

Connectivity

Cloud Firewalls

Hybrid cloud integration

Infrastructure as Code

Strong experience with technologies such as:

Terraform

Ansible

Puppet

Chef

Including:

Infrastructure provisioning

Configuration management

State management

Version control

Automation

Experience developing automation using:

Python

PowerShell

Bash

REST APIs

JSON

YAML

CI/CD

Experience implementing and supporting:

Azure DevOps

GitHub Actions

Jenkins

GitLab CI/CD

Including:

Automated deployments

Testing pipelines

Infrastructure validation

Change automation

Operating Systems

Strong administration experience across:

Linux

Unix

Windows Server

Including Scripting and systems integration.

NetDevOps

Practical experience of:

Agile

Scrum

Kanban

DevOps

DevSecOps

Infrastructure testing

Continuous Integration

Continuous Deployment

Leadership Criteria

Candidates should be able to demonstrate:

Extensive experience designing and supporting cloud-based networking solutions within complex hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Strong expertise in Infrastructure as Code and Configuration as Code methodologies.

Experience implementing enterprise automation frameworks and operational tooling.

Proven capability in developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines supporting infrastructure deployments.

Significant experience working within NetDevOps and Agile engineering environments.

Experience leading engineers across multi-disciplinary technical teams.

Ability to influence engineering standards, technical direction, and organisational best practice.

Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Experience balancing operational support with strategic project delivery.

Desirable Skills

Cisco ACI

Cisco Nexus

Palo Alto Networks

F5

VMware NSX

Kubernetes networking

Docker

Service Mesh

Zero Trust Architecture

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Network Observability

Network Telemetry

AI-assisted Operations (AIOps)

ITIL Foundation or Practitioner

CCNP/CCIE

Azure Network Engineer Associate

AWS Advanced Networking

Terraform Associate

Security Clearance

The successful candidate will be required to obtain and maintain the appropriate UK Government Security Clearance.

This role will involve access to sensitive government systems and information, and appointment is subject to successful completion of the relevant vetting process.

Personal Attributes

The ideal candidate will be:

An excellent communicator with strong stakeholder management skills.

Passionate about automation and continuous improvement.

Highly analytical with excellent problem-solving abilities.

Comfortable working in fast-paced operational environments.

Collaborative, supportive and able to mentor others.

Self-motivated with a strong customer focus.

Committed to engineering excellence, innovation and delivering secure, resilient network services.