lead network engineer (active bpss clearance).

About the Role We are partnering with a highly secure, enterprise-level organization to find a Network Security Lead to take ownership of their complex infrastructure.

In this role, you will act as the ultimate technical escalation point (L3/SME) for a large-scale campus and cloud networking environment. You will bridge the gap between network operations and security, driving incident resolution, lifecycle management, and infrastructure automation while ensuring strict adherence to BPSS and organizational security standards.

What You Will Do

• Lead Operations: Direct network and security operations across enterprise LAN, WAN, WLAN, SD-WAN, and Cloud environments.
• Act as the L3 SME: Serve as the primary escalation point for critical outages, complex troubleshooting, and major incident response (including 24x7 on-call escalations).
• Secure the Perimeter: Administer, harden, and upgrade heavy-duty security platforms including Palo Alto, FortiGate, Cisco FTD, and Meraki.
• Manage Infrastructure: Oversee routing, switching, and wireless environments using Cisco Nexus, Aruba, Dell, HP, and Meraki hardware.
• Drive Automation: Identify operational bottlenecks and build Python or PowerShell scripts to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
• Govern & Mentor: Lead technical governance, participate in CAB meetings, and mentor a team of network and security engineers.

• Clearance: Active BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) Clearance is absolutely mandatory.
• Experience: A minimum of 8 years in complex enterprise networking and security operations.
• Mandatory Tech Skill: Deep, proven expertise in Cisco SDN (Software-Defined Networking) Administration.
• Security & Identity: Hands-on experience with Network Access Control (Cisco ISE, 802.1X) and MFA integrations.
• Advanced Routing: Deep knowledge of networking protocols and overlays including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VXLAN, EVPN, and IPsec VPNs.
• Automation: Practical experience utilizing Python or PowerShell for network automation.

Randstad Technologies Ltd is a leading specialist recruitment business for the IT & Engineering industries. Please note that due to a high level of applications, we can only respond to applicants whose skills & qualifications are suitable for this position. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business.