Senior Specialist Engineer - Networks

Job summary

The Senior Specialist Engineer – Networks, is a senior technical role responsible for delivering and maintaining excellence across the network infrastructure estate. The post holder acts as a subject matter expert and network architect, driving the design and evolution of the network environment, providing expert-level technical leadership during major incidents, and working across multi-disciplinary teams to ensure network services underpin the organisation's operational and scientific mission.

Working alongside the Network Manager, the post holder ensures all systems are optimally configured, resilient, secure, and performant. Beyond day-to-day operational responsibilities, the role carries explicit accountability for network architecture, strategic design, and cross-functional incident response.

This role also attracts a market pay supplement of £6650 per annum (to be reviewed in February 2027).

Working for your organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Job description

• Own and maintain a comprehensive and current understanding of the network architecture, acting as an authoritative technical reference for network design decisions.
• Maintain consistent availability and performance across specialist network systems, collaborating with other specialist engineers and ICT colleagues as required.
• Act as a primary network technical authority during major incidents, coordinating resolution activity across multi-disciplinary teams including infrastructure, security, application, and service management functions.
• Act as a technical point of expertise, providing advice, guidance, and training to improve and enhance services for end users.
• Support the Network Team in ensuring hardware, software, and associated technologies are designed, procured, and delivered efficiently and cost-effectively.
• Contribute to and lead the production of network architecture documentation, including High Level Designs (HLD), Low Level Designs (LLD), and As-Built records.

Network Architecture, Design & Delivery

• Act as the senior technical lead for UKHSA network architecture, owning and maintaining High Level Designs (HLD), Low Level Designs (LLD), topology diagrams and As-Built documentation.
• Lead the design, implementation and lifecycle management of resilient, scalable and secure LAN, WAN, WLAN and cloud-connected infrastructure, ensuring alignment with NCSC Secure by Design principles.
• Provide technical assurance across estate modernisation, science campus, data centre and hybrid cloud programmes, while collaborating with infrastructure, security, application and cloud teams.
• Manage routing, switching, wireless, WAN, load balancing, IPAM, DNS and DHCP services, alongside Extreme Networks Fabric Engine, Site Engine and wireless platforms.

Network Security, Resilience & Incident Management

• Provide technical leadership for network security and operational resilience across the UKHSA estate.
• Administer Palo Alto NGFW, Panorama, VPN, micro-segmentation, DMZ and Zero Trust architectures, ensuring compliance with security standards and evolving threat landscapes.
• Act as the senior network authority during Major Incident Response Team (MIRT) activities, leading diagnosis, resolution, communication, Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Post Incident Reviews (PIR).
• Develop incident runbooks, continuity plans and mitigation strategies to reduce risk, improve service resilience and support secure cloud and on-premises environments.

Service Management, Automation & Technical Leadership

• Lead the monitoring, observability, performance and capacity management of network services, integrating operational and security monitoring with ITSM and SIEM platforms.
• Drive network automation and Infrastructure as Code using tools such as Ansible and Python to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Manage vendor relationships, technology lifecycles, procurement planning and proof-of-concept evaluations.
• Produce technical documentation, support ITIL Incident, Problem, Change and Request Management processes, contribute to CAB activities, mentor engineers, provide expert stakeholder advice, maintain compliance with ICT standards and deliver high-quality customer support, including participation in on-call and out-of-hours services.

This is not an exhaustive list.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Formal technical qualification equivalent to CCNP level or above, or substantial experience in a senior network engineering role, with advanced knowledge of enterprise routing and switching, network security, wireless technologies, and large-scale network infrastructure management.
• Proven experience producing and maintaining network architecture artefacts, including High Level Designs (HLDs), Low Level Designs (LLDs), topology diagrams, reference architectures, and As-Built documentation across enterprise LAN, WAN, WLAN, and security environments.
• Demonstrable ability to lead or contribute to network architecture initiatives, provide technical assurance and design reviews, and ensure solutions align with organisational standards, security-by-design principles, and best practice methodologies.
• Significant experience acting as a senior technical authority during major incidents, leading network diagnosis and resolution activities, collaborating within multi-disciplinary Major Incident Response Teams, and managing complex, high-pressure situations.
• Experience producing Root Cause Analysis (RCA) reports, Post-Incident Reviews (PIRs), and maintaining incident runbooks, playbooks, and escalation procedures while driving continuous service improvement and reducing recurrence of critical incidents.
• Skilled in monitoring network infrastructure to optimise performance, support capacity planning, identify risks, and proactively address technical issues to maintain service availability and resilience for large user populations.
• Excellent written, verbal, reporting, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, work effectively across multidisciplinary teams, deliver outstanding customer service, and manage competing priorities under changing timescales.

Desirable criteria

• Experience with network Function Virtualisation (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) architectures, including overlay/underlay design models and virtual network appliance deployment.
• Experience with advanced network automation toolchains including Terraform, Ansible, or Python-based frameworks applied to infrastructure provisioning and compliance enforcement.
• Hands-on experience with SIEM platforms (e.g. Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel) in the context of network security monitoring, alert triage, and threat hunting.
• Experience with Zero Trust technologies such as Zscaler ZIA/ZPA, Illumio, or equivalent ZTNA platforms in an enterprise deployment context.
• Familiarity with network observability tools such as ThousandEyes, NetBrain, or Datadog Network Performance Monitoring for advanced path analysis and synthetic monitoring.
• Experience with ITSM platforms (e.g. ServiceNow or equivalent) including use of the platform for major incident management, problem records, and change advisory workflows.
• Familiarity with HPC or scientific network environments, including high-throughput storage networking or research network interconnect requirements.
• Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence across organisational boundaries.

Please note that for roles where specific qualifications or registrations are required, successful applicants will be asked to provide appropriate evidence. Employment cannot commence until satisfactory documentation has been received and verified.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your behaviours, experience and technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 7 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:

• an application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• a 1000 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000 words.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all essential criteria
• Meets some essential criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

Only those meeting all essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on:

• Formal technical qualification equivalent to CCNP level or above, or substantial experience in a senior network engineering role, with advanced knowledge of enterprise routing and switching, network security, wireless technologies, and large-scale network infrastructure management.

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large amount of successful candidates.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a remote interview via MS Teams.

Behaviours, technical skills and experience will be tested at interview.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Leadership (Lead behaviour)
• Delivering at pace
• Making effective decisions
• Communicating and influencing
• Managing a quality service

Interviews are to be confirmed.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf).

We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, averaged over a month) on-site.

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Eligibility criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Security clearance level requirement

Successful candidates must pass a basic Disclosure and Barring Security check before they can be appointed.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed Security Check vetting.

For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years to obtain Security Check (SC) clearance. UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting at this higher level and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder / Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

Salary information

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary.
Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.

Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.

Grade 7

• £56,185- £66,581 (National)
• £58,340- £68,574 (Outer London)
• £60,494- £70,566 (Inner London)

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.

The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Careers website

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Jon Payne
• Email : jonathan.payne@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

http://www.healthjobsuk.com/vacancy/8245761