Principal Network Engineer

As a Principal Network Engineer, you lead the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of resilient WAN/LAN/WLAN/SD-WAN networks. You provide strategic guidance on architecture and technology direction, ensuring security, performance, and reliability across enterprise platforms. You collaborate with technical leads, architects, and engineers to adopt automation and standardisation aligned with roadmaps. You engage senior stakeholders with clear technical leadership and contribute to a mission-driven, cross-functional IT and Digital team. This role offers impact at scale within a hybrid Warwick-based environment, focusing on intelligent network operations and incident resilience.

• Competitive salary
• Annual performance incentive up to 30%
• 28 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays
• Generous pension with double matching up to 6%
• Life insurance 10x salary
• Flexible benefits (cycle scheme, share plan)

• Design, implement, and maintain WAN, LAN, WLAN, and SD-WAN infrastructure with high availability and security
• Provide architecture guidance and lifecycle management for networks and emerging technologies
• Lead network projects and workstreams, delivering on time and within budget
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, MSPs, and vendors to meet requirements
• Create and maintain network documentation including standards, designs, runbooks, and records
• Support major incidents and problem investigations to drive resolution and improvements
• Participate in on-call rota and after-hours maintenance
• Prepare operational readiness with runbooks and handover materials; store artefacts in SharePoint
• Stay current with industry trends and promote automation, AI, and SRE practices
• Mentor a small team (2-6) and operate within a SAFe Agile delivery model

• 10+ years of enterprise network engineering and architecture experience
• Cisco CCNP required; CCIE preferred
• Azure Network Engineer (AZ-700), Cisco DevNet, SAFe Agilist, or similar certifications preferred
• Experience developing technical documentation, network standards, and implementation artifacts
• Experience with network automation tools such as Ansible, NetBrain, and Python
• Strong stakeholder management and vendor engagement skills
• Advanced knowledge of BGP, OSPF, SD-WAN (Cisco Viptela), carrier WAN, and internet services
• Expertise in Cisco LAN technologies (VLANs, STP, EtherChannel, stacking, redundancy, QoS)
• Experience with Cisco and Aruba wireless solutions (WLAN, ISE, ClearPass)
• Strong Layer 2/3 routing and switching, wireless, and troubleshooting skills
• Knowledge of network security, secure connectivity, and Azure networking
• Understanding of cloud networking, resiliency, scalability, and automation
• Proven ability to create detailed designs, runbooks, and operational documentation

• Stakeholder management
• Collaboration and cross-functional teamwork
• Strong communication and ability to convey complex concepts clearly
• WAN/LAN/WLAN/SD-WAN design and implementation
• BGP, OSPF, QoS, VLANs, STP, EtherChannel
• Cisco Viptela SD-WAN, Cisco LAN/WLAN technologies