Contract Network Engineer / Systems Engineer

• Oxford 3 days PW
• Rate: £500 - £525 PD (Inside IR35)
• 6-12 Month Contract

Overview

We are seeking a skilled Network Engineer / Systems Engineer on a contract basis to join our clients IT Operations team. In this role, you will ensure the reliability, performance, and security of critical network infrastructure across the company, data center, and multi-cloud environments (AWS/GCP). While primarily focused on networking, you will also support occasionally on systems administration tasks as needed, making you a versatile contributor in a fast-paced, collaborative environment supporting cutting-edge technology.

Role and Responsibilities

• Administer, operate, and maintain enterprise network infrastructure, including LAN/WLAN, VPNs, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, firewalls, and cloud networking (AWS, GCP).
• Proactively monitor and troubleshoot performance, availability, and connectivity issues, taking ownership of incident resolution end-to-end.
• Support systems administration tasks when required, including account provisioning, server patching, storage, and backup troubleshooting.
• Strengthen network security through policy enforcement, configuration audits, and adherence to best practices.
• Collaborate with IT Engineering on network design reviews, ensuring smooth handoffs into production.
• Document configurations, standard operating procedures, runbooks, and network diagrams to facilitate knowledge sharing.
• Participate in the UK on-call rotation for critical issues outside regular business hours.

Skills and Experience

• Experience in enterprise network operations and troubleshooting.
• Proven ability to configure and support LAN/WLAN environments, routing/switching, VLANs, and DNS/DHCP.
• Knowledge of routing protocols and networking technologies such as BGP, VRRP/HSRP, TCP/UDP, LACP.
• Strong diagnostic skills using packet capture and other troubleshooting tools.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills, with a proactive problem-solving mindset.
• Willingness to assist with systems administration tasks when required.

Beneficial:

• Experience with Arista EOS, CloudVision, or similar network platforms.
• Familiarity with firewalls (Palo Alto preferred), network access control (802.1x, RADIUS), or zero-trust security concepts.
• Exposure to infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible) and version control systems (Git).
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools (LogicMonitor, Grafana, Prometheus).
• Knowledge of hybrid cloud networking, including AWS Direct Connect or GCP Interconnect.
• Relevant certifications such as CCNP, AWS Advanced Networking Specialty, or Google Cloud Network Engineer.