Salary: £50,400 - 54,000 per year Requirements: 8 years in network engineering, with 3 years in a Network Principal, Architect, or Lead role designing enterprise-scale or global networks Proven ability to design holistic architectures balancing performance, security, cost, and automation Expert-level knowledge of routing & switching (BGP, OSPF, VXLAN, MPLS) Core networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, UDP Familiarity with enterprise technologies: Cisco (routing, switching, Wi-Fi), firewalls, load balancers (F5 or similar), SD-WAN Proficiency in cloud networking: AWS & Azure (VPCs, Transit Gateway, PrivateLink, Direct Connect, NAT, Security Groups, Cloud WAN) Experience in network monitoring, observability, and IPAM at scale Strong experience architecting Infrastructure as Code for networking (Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible) Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines, Git, and automated testing of network configurations Ability to design scalable, well-documented, standards-driven automation frameworks Desirable certifications: TOGAF, SABSA, CISSP-ISSAP, CCNP/CCDE/CCIE, PCNSE, NSE 7/8, AWS or Azure Professional, HashiCorp Responsibilities: Define and govern the overarching enterprise network architecture, covering LAN, WAN (SD-WAN), cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), and data centres Translate business objectives into clear architectural standards, roadmaps, and best practices Design scalable, automated, and secure network solutions aligned to long-term strategic goals Partner closely with cloud, infrastructure, application teams, and external providers to ensure seamless integration across hybrid environments Act as the senior technical authority on network architecture, emerging technologies, and industry best practice Own the end-to-end network security architecture across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments Design and govern secure network segmentation, including Zero Trust models and next-generation firewalls Define, publish, and enforce enterprise network security standards, conducting regular architectural reviews Develop and maintain a 12–24 month network security technology roadmap with a focus on automation and orchestration Act as the highest escalation point for complex network security incidents, performing root-cause analysis and designing permanent solutions Monitor emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and trends, proactively evolving the security architecture Drive adoption of Network DevOps and Infrastructure as Code principles at an architectural level Promote programmability, resilience, and operational efficiency through automation Provide technical mentorship and leadership to engineering and operations teams Foster a culture of continuous improvement, learning, and architectural excellence Technologies: AWS Ansible Architect Azure CI/CD Cloud Cisco DevOps Git LAN MPLS NAT Network Security TCP/IP TOGAF Terraform More: We are seeking a visionary, highly technical Network Service Delivery Principal to lead the strategic design, evolution, and governance of a complex enterprise network estate. This is a senior, hands-off architecture and leadership role where you will bridge business strategy and technical execution across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments. Our ideal candidate will architect scalable, automated, and secure network solutions while driving the adoption of Network DevOps and Infrastructure as Code. Located in Wokingham, this is a 6-month contract position with an immediate start. We offer a competitive rate of £420 per day, inside IR35. last updated 17 week of 2026