Network Team Lead

Role / Job Summary

We are looking for a Network Lead to provide senior technical leadership and team management across our networking practice. This is a broad networking leadership role - not limited to any single technology domain - spanning routing and switching, WAN (Wide Area Network) and SD-WAN (Software-Defined WAN), data center networking, network security, wireless, cloud networking, and automation. The Network Lead will head a team of engineers (including automation-focused specialists), own recruitment and technical interviewing, define technical standards and architecture direction, and serve as the senior escalation point and client-facing authority for all networking matters. The ideal candidate combines deep, hands-on networking breadth with proven people leadership and delivery ownership.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide senior technical leadership across the full networking stack: routing and switching, WAN/SD-WAN, data center networking, wireless, network security, and cloud networking (Azure, AWS or equivalent).
• Lead, mentor and manage a multi-skilled networking team, including automation engineers, owning technical growth, workload allocation and delivery quality.
• Drive end-to-end recruitment across networking roles: define role requirements, screen candidates, conduct technical interviews, and make hiring recommendations in partnership with the Practice Head.
• Own network architecture design, review and troubleshooting across enterprise and service-provider environments, including interoperability with OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol).
• Provide senior-level oversight of service-provider routing scenarios covering IP/MPLS (Internet Protocol / Multi-Protocol Label Switching), BNG (Broadband Network Gateway) and L3VPN (Layer 3 Virtual Private Network).
• Set direction for network automation adoption, guiding and reviewing Python-based tooling for configuration, testing and operational workflows across the team.
• Own network security posture in collaboration with security teams: firewalls, network access control, segmentation, and zero-trust architecture principles.
• Oversee test strategy and execution, including traffic validation using industry-standard test and traffic-generation platforms, and sign off on test evidence before client delivery.
• Act as the senior escalation point for issues spanning network configuration, automation code, and virtualised infrastructure (for example VMware ESXi).
• Act as the primary client-facing technical authority for networking: translating client requirements into architecture and delivery plans, managing expectations, and reporting progress and risks.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards for configuration and code quality using Git for version control, and drive delivery tracking through Jira.
• Own technical documentation standards, architecture diagrams, test evidence quality, and knowledge-transfer material for client and internal stakeholders.
• Drive capacity planning, onboarding, and continuous upskilling of the team across networking domains - not limited to any single technology.
• Contribute to practice-level initiatives: technology roadmaps, tooling standardisation, and networking capability building.

Must-Have Skills

• Broad, hands-on expertise across the full networking domain - routing and switching, WAN/SD-WAN, data center networking, wireless, and network security - not limited to any single vendor or technology.
• Strong depth in service-provider and enterprise routing: MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching), BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) and L3VPN (Layer 3 Virtual Private Network).
• Practical experience with software-defined WAN (Wide Area Network) technologies - configuration, optimisation and troubleshooting.
• Working knowledge of network security fundamentals: firewalls, access control, segmentation, and secure network design principles.
• Working proficiency in Python for network automation and test automation, sufficient to set direction and review team output.
• Demonstrated experience leading or mentoring technical teams, including workload management and performance oversight.
• Proven experience recruiting and technically interviewing networking engineers across multiple specialisations.
• Working experience with Git for version control and Jira for collaboration and delivery tracking.
• Industry-recognized networking certifications at associate and professional level as a baseline, with evidence of continued technical currency.
• Excellent client-facing communication skills with professional English proficiency in a multicultural, delivery-focused environment.

Good-to-Have Skills

• Exposure to cloud networking constructs (virtual networks, VPN gateways, cloud-native security groups) on Azure, AWS or equivalent.
• Network Services Orchestrator platforms and YANG (Yet Another Next Generation) model-based service orchestration.
• Test tooling exposure such as industry-standard traffic-generation and network testing platforms.
• SDN/NFV (Software-Defined Networking / Network Functions Virtualisation) virtualisation platforms.
• Expert-level or equivalent advanced-tier networking certification.
• Familiarity with CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment) pipelines and infrastructure-as-code practices for network estates.
• Prior experience in a Managed Services or Staff Augmentation delivery model, ideally across multiple client accounts.
• Exposure to zero-trust architecture and modern network access control frameworks.

Experience Required

12-18 years of overall networking experience across multiple domains (routing/switching, WAN, security, data center or cloud networking), including at least 2 years in Python-based network or test automation, and a minimum of 4 years in a team lead, technical lead or people-management capacity - including direct involvement in hiring and interviewing.