AMS PSR

On behalf of AWE we are looking for a Senior Network Engineer (Inside IR35) for a 12 month contract. On site working based in Reading. 

What if you could work on something that you can’t test… but cannot afford to fail? Something that could have spent years on a submarine, is launched into outer space (where the temperature is below -250c), comes hurtling through the atmosphere, being heated up and shaken and then must work? Some challenge. That’s exactly what the team of over 6,500 people at AWE do every day delivering important work, in support of the most important mission – keeping the nation safe.

AWE plays a crucial role in national nuclear security. Their role in nuclear deterrence and their specialist technical assistance to nuclear threat reduction is vital in the defence against the most serious threats faced by the UK. Working to support the defence of our country, AWE has a clear mission to keep everyone, the environment, their products and information, sites, and everything around them, safe and secure.

As a Senior Network Engineer, you will be employed to undertake a defined range of Network engineering design, development, technical documentation & test activities for BAU and project work. You will also assist with the resolution of client-based issues, this will require taking ownership of such cases from the outset all the way through to resolution.

As a Senior Network Engineer your main responsibilities will be:

• Reviewing, on a daily basis, the status of a various networks, logging incidents where appropriate.
• Escalating, in advance, to the Network Manager any likely breaches of agreed deadlines.
• As the technical lead within the team you will be the point of escalation for any technical issues and queries, and assist with prioritisation and tasking to other team members.
• Working with customers, project leads, 3rd parties and other stakeholders to discuss technical service issues assisting with the resolution of said issues.
• Working with project leads to assist with design, development and testing of project-based work such as creating LLD’s.
• Maintaining up-to-date knowledge on network technologies.
• Working to assist with capacity & availability management of various networks.
• Problem Solving: investigate and resolve problems for services within their own area of responsibility.
• Provisioning network services and devices where appropriate.

Essential:

• An active DV Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. (Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.) 
• Experience of support in a large and complex network environment at a Senior network engineering level.
• Strong understanding of network fundamentals and troubleshooting processes.
• Strong Experience with most of the following:
  • Experience working with Juniper Virtual Chassis and Clustering technology
  • Experience with configuring/troubleshooting EVPN/VXLAN on Juniper equipment.
  • Experience of configuring GRE tunnels and Routing Instances/VRFs.
  • Experience of PKI / certificate generation and renewal.
  • Networking: strong routing skills (OSPF, BGP), firewall configuration, WAN/LAN design, device clustering, high availability.
  • Juniper Technologies: EX, QFX, switch configuration, SRX, vSRX firewall and policy config, Junos Space, Security Director, Apstra.
  • Security Platforms: FortiGate, F5 BIG-IP (Load Balancing / AWAF), Pulse Secure / Ivanti, high-grade encryption.
  • Identity & Access Management: Cisco ISE (full lifecycle), Windows NPS (RADIUS / 802.1X).
  • Monitoring & Observability: SolarWinds, Splunk.
  • Core Network Services: IPAM, DHCP, DNS.
• Effective communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable:

• Data Centre experience advantageous.
• Extreme Switch knowledge desirable.

Other requirements:

• Willingness to work flexibly and to occasionally work evenings and weekends where exceptional circumstances require it.
• Travel to remote sites when required which may involve overnight stays.
• Part of on call rota.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

AWE’s ambition is to create workplaces that recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and where people feel able to be themselves at work. They strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, AWE guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

AWE guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".