Network Engineer Hybrid; Remote​/South West; lw

Network Engineer (Contract) – Defence Infrastructure Programme

Location:

South West (2-3 days on site per week)
Contract role:
Inside IR35
Rate: £500-£600 per day (subject to experience)
Long-term Defence programme with strong technical depth
Clearance:
High level of clearance required

A major Defence-focused programme is looking for an experienced Network Engineer to support the delivery of a secure, large-scale networking platform forming part of a critical national capability. This contract is ideal for engineers who enjoy working in structured, security-conscious environments and want to apply their networking expertise to meaningful, mission-driven infrastructure. Ex-military professionals and service leavers – particularly those from Signals, CIS, Network Infrastructure or secure communications backgrounds – are strongly encouraged to apply.

You’ll join a specialist engineering team responsible for designing, building and validating the core physical and virtual networking components underpinning a complex Defence platform. This is a hands‑on engineering role combining technical delivery, design input, and problem‑solving within a highly collaborative environment.

• Design and implement secure networking solutions
• Support the build and validation of core network infrastructure
• Produce and review technical design documentation
• Assist with system integration and platform testing
• Work closely with service management to troubleshoot and resolve issues
• Contribute ideas to improve resilience, performance and operational efficiency

• Advanced routing and switching (OSPF, BGP)
• Hierarchical IP subnetting
• Cisco network infrastructure (Nexus / IOS XE)
• Leaf & Spine architecture
• VXLAN and overlay networking
• Enterprise firewalls and IPS/IDS
• AAA management platforms (e.g. ISE)
• QoS design and traffic management
• Secure crypto device configuration and key management

• 3+ years’ experience in complex network engineering environments
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical mindset
• Experience designing and supporting enterprise networks at scale
• Professional networking certification (CCNP or equivalent)
• Clear communication skills and ability to produce documentation
• Comfortable working within secure or regulated environments

• Defence or wider public‑sector technical environments
• Secure gateways and accredited infrastructure
• Agile / Waterfall delivery exposure
• Large‑scale virtualised infrastructure environments
• Knowledge of tools such as JIRA and Confluence
• Multi‑tenant or secure architecture environments

Confidential contract opportunity – early applications recommended (deadline is Mon 23rd Feb).

To apply , please send a copy of your CV with a note outlining why this would be the ideal opportunity for you, by email to .