Network Engineer at Pension Protection Fund, Croydon, 6 Months, £Contract Rate

The Pension Protection Fund is seeking a hands-on Network Engineer to support the operational management, optimisation and strategic improvement of the organisation's network estate.

The successful candidate will work closely with Architecture, Infrastructure, Security and Service Delivery teams to reduce a growing operational backlog, address network technical debt, improve documentation, remediate security findings, and support delivery of upcoming WAN and network infrastructure projects.

The role is focused on engineering delivery and practical implementation rather than high-level architecture. The successful candidate will be expected to work across Cisco & Meraki networking, Azure networking, WAN connectivity, firewall management, monitoring platforms and network operational improvement activities.

The network estate currently includes Cisco switching and routing infrastructure, Cisco Firepower firewalls, BT IP Connect WAN services, ExpressRoute connectivity into Azure, Azure networking and multi-site connectivity.

As a Network Engineer, your main responsibilities will be:

• Conduct communications room audits and infrastructure reviews.
• Perform switchport-to-patch-panel audits and update network documentation.
• Support rationalisation and cleanup of network estate assets.
• Decommission legacy network equipment and services.
• Review and rationalise VLANs, subnets and associated configurations.
• Review and optimise Cisco FTD firewall policies and rules.
• Review and optimise Azure Firewall policies and rules.
• Support remediation of outstanding security and SOC-related findings and investigate and improve Azure network routing and connectivity.
• Review backup traffic routing and recommend improvements.
• Support migration from WhatsUp Gold monitoring to Meraki monitoring and produce accurate network diagrams and technical documentation.
• Assist with WAN expansion activities for new premises and support circuit onboarding, testing and operational handover.
• Assist with WAN architecture review activities and identify opportunities to improve resilience, supportability and operational efficiency.
• Work alongside internal engineers and architects to transfer knowledge and improve operational readiness.

Essential:

• Demonstrable experience supporting enterprise network environments.
• Strong Cisco switching and routing experience.
• Experience managing VLANs, subnets and routing infrastructure.
• Experience supporting Cisco Firepower (FTD) firewalls.
• Experience implementing and maintaining WAN connectivity services.
• Experience troubleshooting complex network issues.
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF and network fundamentals.
• Experience with network monitoring and alerting platforms.
• Experience producing technical documentation and network diagrams.
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.

Desirable:

• Experience in Azure.