Akamai Security Engineer (L3 SME) - 6 Month Contract - Hybrid (Farringdon) - Inside IR35
This role sits within the Cyber Security function and is responsible for managing, optimising and securing enterprise-scale Akamai environments. The successful candidate will operate as a Level 3 SME within a high-pressure Cyber Defence environment, ensuring performance, resilience and security across critical digital platforms.
You will play a key role in protecting large-scale systems from advanced threats, optimising CDN performance, and ensuring compliance across both cloud and on-prem environments.
Key Responsibilities
* Manage and optimise Akamai security suites including:
* WAF
* L7 Anti-DDoS
* Bot Manager Premier
* API Security
* Site Shield
* API Acceleration
* Implement advanced blocking measures and bot-attack prevention strategies to secure large-scale production systems.
* Ensure PCI compliance and maintain secure configurations across hybrid cloud and on-prem infrastructure.
* Configure and optimise Akamai CDN for performance, scalability and reliability.
* Set up application and web transaction monitoring, including customised reporting and alerting.
* Integrate automation tooling such as Terraform and CI/CD pipelines into Akamai deployments.
* Act as L3 SME for Akamai-related incidents within Cyber Defence Centres (CDCs).
* Lead service recovery during outages and ensure SLA/OLA adherence in high-stakes environments.
* Conduct deep technical troubleshooting, root cause analysis (RCA), and performance tuning across Akamai CDN services.
* Support transition of Akamai services from incumbent providers where required.
* Produce clear documentation, reporting and knowledge transfer materials.
What You Will Ideally Bring
* 7+ years of Cybersecurity experience.
* 3+ years operating as an Akamai SME/L3 Engineer.
* Strong background in:
* Network Security
* Content Delivery Networks (CDN)
* Anti-DDoS
* Web Application Firewalls (WAF)
* Bot Management
* Hands-on experience managing and optimising enterprise Akamai environments.
* Akamai certifications (WAF, DDoS, Bot Manager, API Protector, Site Shield) highly desirable.
* Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision in high-pressure environments.
* Strong stakeholder communication and collaboration skills.
* Experience working within structured incident and governance frameworks.
Contract Details
* Duration: 6 Months
* Rate: £500 per day
* IR35 Status: Inside IR35
* Location: Hybrid - Farringdon
* Start Date: ASAP