Senior Network Connectivity Lead

At UK Telecoms Lab (UKTL), we're helping to strengthen the security, resilience and innovation of the UK's telecommunications ecosystem. As a Senior Network Connectivity Lead, you'll play a critical role in designing, building and maintaining the network platforms and connectivity services that underpin our research, testing and operational environments.

This is an opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies across on-premises and cloud environments, lead technical direction, drive automation and observability, and support the delivery of nationally significant programmes.

As a technical lead within the Connectivity Engineering team, you will:

• Design, build and maintain secure, resilient network infrastructure across on-premises and cloud platforms.
• Lead the lifecycle management of networking technologies, including switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs, LAN and WAN services.
• Act as a senior technical escalation point, providing 3rd line support and resolving complex infrastructure issues.
• Work closely with project teams and stakeholders to design and implement technology solutions that meet business and operational requirements.
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automation tooling and CI/CD pipelines to improve efficiency and consistency.
• Implement and enhance security controls, including RBAC, secrets management, compliance automation and platform hardening.
• Deliver observability and monitoring solutions to improve service reliability, performance and proactive issue detection.
• Collaborate with security, operations, research and delivery teams to identify opportunities for continual improvement through automation and modern engineering practices.
• Create and maintain high-quality technical and operational documentation.
• Mentor and coach engineers, helping to develop technical capability across the team.
• Engage with suppliers and technology partners to resolve issues and support service improvements.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of network and connectivity services across UKTL.

• Significant experience designing, implementing and supporting enterprise networking environments.
• Expert knowledge of networking technologies including:
  • Switching and routing
  • Firewalls
  • VPN technologies
  • LAN and WAN infrastructure
  • Network security principles
• Strong experience managing cloud networking and infrastructure services.
• Proven expertise in Infrastructure as Code, automation and configuration management.
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex technical issues and communicate solutions effectively.
• Experience working within secure, highly available and mission-critical environments.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholder groups.
• Experience mentoring, coaching or leading engineers.

• Experience or knowledge of telecommunications technologies and architectures, including:
  • 4G and 5G networks
  • Radio Access Networks (RAN)
  • Fixed Line Broadband technologies
• Knowledge of research, testing or laboratory-based technical environments.

Experience working within cybersecurity, government, defence or critical national infrastructure sectors.

Successful applicants will be expected to attend our Birmingham office a minimum of two days per week. Our state-of-the-art facilities provide an excellent environment for collaboration, and we encourage colleagues to make the most of our on-site workspace.

We are committed to fostering a positive work-life balance and welcome applications from candidates seeking full-time, part-time, or flexible working arrangements, subject to business needs.

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