Lead Network Design Engineer (L3/3.5)

We are seeking a skilled and experienced Senior Network Design & L3/L3.5 Engineer to act as a technical authority across our global network infrastructure. This role combines architecture, design, engineering, automation and advanced operational support responsibility for enterprise networking, cloud connectivity, security services and application delivery platforms. The successful candidate will operate at the highest levels of technical escalation, leading the design, governance and optimisation of routing, switching, firewalling, load balancing and cloud networking technologies. They will also be expected to drive the adoption of AI and automation to improve network visibility, operational efficiency, proactive capacity management and incident resolution.

Responsibilities

Design and govern enterprise network architectures across datacentres, public cloud and corporate environments; Define standards, patterns and roadmaps for routing, switching, firewall, DNS and load balancing technologies; Lead network design reviews, technical governance and architectural decision-making; Design highly available and resilient network solutions supporting business-critical applications and customer-facing platforms; Develop network standards covering segmentation, availability, performance and security; Act as a senior escalation point for complex network incidents and major service outages; Perform deep root-cause analysis across LAN, WAN, cloud and security platforms; Provide technical leadership during major incidents and high-risk infrastructure changes; Lead troubleshooting activities across routing, switching, firewall, DNS and application delivery environments; Mentor network engineers and support technical capability development across the team; Design and support network architectures within AWS, and some work in Azure environments; Build and maintain secure hybrid connectivity between cloud platforms, datacentres and customer environments; Design and support AWS VPCs, Transit Gateways, Route Tables, Direct Connect, Site-to-Site VPNs, Security Groups and Network ACLs; Support Azure networking including Virtual Networks, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateways, NSGs and Virtual WAN; Design, implement and maintain network security controls; Govern firewall policies and segmentation strategies; Support security initiatives including Zero Trust, segmentation and hybrid-cloud security architectures; Partner with Security Operations teams to ensure secure and compliant networking services; Design and build AI-driven operational solutions; Develop automation frameworks for network discovery, inventory management and topology mapping; Use AI and machine learning techniques to improve incident triage, fault identification, capacity forecasting, configuration validation, performance optimisation and change impact assessment; Build automated network documentation and topology generation capabilities; Develop predictive capacity and utilisation reporting; Implement Infrastructure and Network as Code principles; Leverage APIs, Python, Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell and AI-assisted development tools

Requirements

Cisco Catalyst switching platforms; Cisco Nexus 9000 series; Advanced knowledge of OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, MPLS, VXLAN, STP, HSRP/VRRP, Multicast, QoS; Data Centre network design; Cisco ASA; Cisco Firepower; Fortinet FortiGate firewalls; Firewall policy management; VPN technologies; Site-to-site and remote access VPN design; Network segmentation and Zero Trust principles; F5 BIG-IP; LTM; GTM/DNS; WAF; SSL offload; Application delivery optimisation; Traffic management; SolarWinds; Network monitoring and observability platforms; Capacity management and forecasting; Network performance analysis; NetFlow and telemetry solutions; BIND; Microsoft Active Directory DNS; AWS Route53; Public and private DNS architectures; Domain management and registrar governance; DNS security and resilience; SolarWinds IPAM; Strong AWS networking experience; Experience integrating datacentre and cloud environments; Understanding of Azure networking services would be an advantage

Nice to have

Nutanix AHV, networking & Flow micro-segmentation; VMware vSphere environments; SD-WAN technologies; SASE / ZTNA solutions; Infrastructure as Code; AI Ops platforms; Cloud-native network security products; CCNP Enterprise; CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure and/or Security; AWS Advanced Networking Specialty; AWS Solutions Architect Professional; ITIL Foundation; Fortinet NSE / FCSS certifications; F5 Certified Technology Specialist (F5-CTS) or equivalent; Azure Network Engineer Associate; Strong design and systems-thinking mindset; Able to challenge existing approaches and drive continuous improvement; Passionate about automation and operational excellence; Comfortable influencing technical strategy and governance; Strong written and verbal communication skills; Able to lead technical discussions with engineers, vendors and senior stakeholders; Analytical, data-driven and outcome focused

Benefits

Collaborate and learn from industry experts from all over the globe; Work with game-changing products and services; Get the training and support needed to try new things, adapt to quick changes and explore different paths; Investment in development and career growth; Inclusive work environment; Pay and benefits designed to attract top talent