Senior Network Consultant

Location: Cardiff / Hybrid Salary: Competitive Salary + up to 20% annual bonus + Benefits Net Consulting are looking for an experienced, “hands on” Senior Network Engineer to work with network solutions based around the latest technologies. We are looking for consultants who can help customers through the full lifecycle journey of understanding, scoping, deploying and tuning their secure communications needs. The ideal candidate should have a strong grasp of the fundamentals of network architectures and be able to provide consultancy on how our solutions can be deployed into customer environments to help meet their business goals. The technologies involved include AI-driven Wi-Fi, Cloud-managed LAN & Firewalls and Secure Access Service Edge/SD-WAN. The candidate will also help manage NCL’s internal network, and act as an escalation point for support to our Operations team providing managed services to customers. Ideally, candidates should have experience of Juniper, Mist or Palo Alto network infrastructure, but training and hands-on experience will be provided for candidates with the appropriate experience with other vendor solutions. The role is primarily based in the Cardiff head-office. There will be reasonably regular travel required to take part in on-site customer workshops and implement equipment at client sites which may be during out of hours or weekend periods. Key Accountabilities Providing subject matter expertise in the field of advanced network communications technologies (AI-driven Wi-Fi, Cloud-controlled LAN/WAN, Net Gen Firewalls, Secure Access Service Edge, Software Defined WAN) Pre-sales Communicating information around specific technologies to customers at both a technical and non-technical level Technical review of proposals & bids Business Development Assistance in defining new service offerings Supporting the bid process e.g. bid writing, bill of materials, technical feasibility etc. Assistance in providing content for Marketing literature Deployment Undertake network design and configuration of LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi/SASE/SD-WAN deployments Help facilitate the integration of our solutions into existing customer networks Consulting projects: Providing Professional Services to cover the complete deployment lifecycle of a solution Determining customer requirements & scoping the project Preparing requirements documentation for the project and communicating progress to the customer Technical implementation of specific solution elements Preparation of technology-specific documentation & assistance with knowledge sharing of information to internal & customer staff Validating the correct functionality of the implemented solution Helping the customer realise the value propositions the solution service offers Transition to Managed Services: Assisting the Operations Team in the provisioning and support of secure communications solutions Performing customer & technology handover from implementation into managed service Acting as a point of escalation when Operations team knowledge has been exhausted Assisting with the preparation of requirements for major changes and communicating progress to line management and the customer Knowledge sharing and coaching of secure communications technologies for Operations staff Providing analysis input into quarterly customer service reviews Peer reviewing of technical documentation * Maintaining knowledge of and applying industry best practise and standards, specifically related to subject matter expertise * Maintaining existing relevant accreditations and certifications * Completing assigned activities to agreed timelines * Maintaining awareness and compliance with NCLs security standards, policies and processes as referenced within the Information Management System. * Ensuring that security standards are always maintained when handling or accessing data * Proactive identification and communication of risks and issues affecting service or project delivery and supporting continuous service improvement * Identifying opportunities for personal and professional growth, working with Line Manager to develop a Personal Development Plan Responsibilities and Duties * Scope, Implement and document network-based solutions for customers * Undertake technical requirements gathering and investigation of technical options for customer requirements * Support pre-sales proposal creation activities by producing technical content tailored to customer information requests * Assist the operations team with the more complex network-related managed services escalations * Assist in enhancing NCL’s secure communications service portfolio * Carry out technical peer review to support quality assurance of deliverables by Team members * Maintain skills and relevant certifications * Support recruitment of technical roles by devising technical tests and determining a candidate’s level of knowledge in the secure communications field * Maintain a weekly record of time spent against each project or cost code * Liaise with relevant technology vendors to manage support cases or understand product updates / roadmaps Person Specification A strong drive to help customers towards their goal of providing robust, secure network communications for their staff Strong written, verbal and presentation skills and Strong attention to detail Ability to build customer rapport and convey difficult technical concepts to senior staff Academic record to degree level, or equivalent industry experience Willingness to share information with peers and junior team members Customer focussed attitude Self-starter able to research and experiment to find a solution with minimal guidance Strong Enterprise-level technical skills & experience in some of the following technology areas: * Device configuration (e.g. Juniper / Palo Alto / Cisco / HP) * Network design principles (e.g. routing / VLANs / firewalls / leaf-spine) * Managed Wi-Fi deployment and configuration (e.g. Juniper MIST / Meraki / Aruba) * Firewall devices (e.g. Juniper SRX / Palo Alto / Cisco / Fortinet / Checkpoint) * Routing and resiliency (e.g. VXLAN, MPLS, VRRP) * Appreciation of SASE/SD-WAN technologies (e.g. Palo Alto Prisma Access, Prisma, Zscaler, Cato * Patching (e.g. Firmware updates) * Load Balancers (e.g. F5 / Brocade) * Device management tooling (e.g. CiscoWorks / SolarWinds / OpenView) * Network connectivity troubleshooting * Strong understanding of IP addressing * Some experience with scripting languages (e.g. Powershell, Python, SQL) * Some experience of API usage to configure and report on systems Keen interest in finding ways to make technologies produce a required output Company Benefits Competitive Salary Workplace Benefits: Contributory Pension Scheme, Private Medical Insurance, Life Assurance, Critical Illness Cover, Health & Wellbeing 25 Days’ Annual Leave (in addition to Bank Holidays) Performance Bonuses (Personal & Company) Excellent Career Progression Opportunities