Network Engineer (SC Cleared) – ACI Specialist
Hybrid – Newbury (2–3 days per week onsite, remainder remote)
£400 per day (Outside IR35)
SC Clearance Essential
Overview
We are seeking an experienced Network Engineer with strong Cisco ACI expertise to join our team on a contract basis. This role is ideal for someone who has deep hands-on experience with Cisco Nexus 9000 (NX-OS & ACI) environments and can take a lead role in designing, implementing, and supporting modern data centre networks, while also navigating legacy infrastructure where required.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the design, implementation, and support of Cisco ACI-based network environments
* Manage and optimise Cisco Nexus 9000 (NX-OS & ACI) infrastructure within on-prem data centres
* Ensure network security best practices are applied and maintained across ACI and traditional environments
* Work closely with application teams to support connectivity, segmentation, and performance requirements within ACI fabrics
* Plan and deliver data centre migrations, including transitioning workloads into ACI environments
* Troubleshoot and resolve complex network issues across both ACI and legacy architectures
* Provide technical leadership for low-level design and implementation activities
* Organise and manage network allocations (VLANs, IP addressing, subnets, security zones), ensuring accurate documentation
* Support and maintain legacy hardware environments alongside modern ACI deployments
Key Skills & Experience
* Strong, hands-on experience with Cisco ACI (ESSENTIAL)
* Deep knowledge of Cisco Nexus 9000 (NX-OS & ACI) in enterprise data centre environments
* Proven experience designing and supporting ACI fabrics and policies (tenants, VRFs, EPGs, contracts)
* Solid understanding of data centre networking principles and segmentation within ACI
* Experience with data centre migrations, particularly involving ACI adoption or integration
* Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills across complex network environments
* Ability to operate independently in a hybrid working model
Additional Experience (Desirable)
* Firewalls: Fortigate & Juniper
* F5 Load Balancing (LTM & GTM)
* Cisco routing technologies
* Experience working with legacy network hardware and systems
* MPLS/IPVPN (Nokia & Cisco)
* VMware networking
* Avamar backup
* Exposure to cloud networking