The Senior Network Security Engineer will provide technical leadership across the support, configuration, optimisation and continuous improvement of customer network security environments. The role requires a strong, demonstrable hands-on background in enterprise networking, firewalls and cloud/hybrid infrastructure, including Microsoft Azure networking. The successful candidate must be able to personally investigate, configure, troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues, rather than relying solely on scripts, runbooks or other teams to complete the technical work.
- Support, configure, manage and optimise enterprise network security devices, including Palo Alto, Fortigate, Cisco firewalls and other customer-specific platforms.
- Act as a senior technical escalation point for complex Level 2/3 incidents, service requests, root cause analysis and major technical issues.
- Plan and deliver network and security changes in line with change management policies, ensuring appropriate risk assessment, testing, rollback planning and customer communication.
- Independently diagnose and resolve network and security issues through direct analysis of configurations, logs, packet flows, routing behaviour and platform diagnostics, escalating only when appropriate.
- Maintain, improve and assure technical documentation for customer network environments, including diagrams, configuration standards, operational procedures and support handover material.
- Provide hands-on support and configuration for Azure networking components, including VNets, subnets, network security groups, route tables, VNet peering, hub-and-spoke connectivity, VPN gateways and ExpressRoute-related network integration.
- Implement and improve network security tools, policies, standards and procedures in line with customer requirements, industry good practice and operational governance.
- Provide technical guidance to engineers, support knowledge sharing across the team and contribute to service improvement initiatives.
- Co-ordinate with vendors, customers and internal IT teams to drive issues to resolution and ensure clear ownership of actions.
- Proactively identify risks, recurring issues and opportunities to improve resilience, security posture, monitoring and operational efficiency.
Technical skills and experience
- Minimum 8+ years’ relevant experience directly supporting, configuring and troubleshooting enterprise network and security technologies in hands-on operational roles.
- Strong hands-on experience with firewall platforms such as Palo Alto, Fortigate and Cisco, including policy management, NAT, VPNs, high availability, upgrades and troubleshooting.
- Able to demonstrate real-world hands-on configuration and troubleshooting experience, including situations where the candidate personally completed the technical work rather than only following scripts or coordinating delivery through another team.
- Cisco CCNP, Palo Alto PCNSE, Fortinet NSE or equivalent professional-level certification preferred.
- Strong understanding of routing, switching and enterprise network protocols, including BGP, OSPF, VLANs, STP, IPsec, SSL VPN and DNS/DHCP fundamentals.
- Experience supporting and configuring a range of network devices and technologies, including firewalls, switches, routers, load balancers, VPNs and monitoring tools.
- Experience operating in complex customer environments, including enterprise networking, data centre, cloud and hybrid environments, with practical Microsoft Azure networking experience across VNets, subnets, peering, network security groups, route tables, VPN gateways, ExpressRoute integration and hub-and-spoke designs.
- Ability to troubleshoot Azure and hybrid network connectivity issues using hands-on investigation, including effective routes, firewall policies, NSG rules, UDRs, DNS, VPN/ExpressRoute paths and end-to-end traffic flow analysis.
- Experience conducting network audits, health checks, configuration reviews and technical risk assessments.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues clearly to customers, vendors and internal stakeholders.
Beneficial skills and experience
- IT degree or equivalent combination of professional qualifications and practical experience.
- Experience across multiple network vendors, including Cisco, Palo Alto, Juniper, Fortigate, F5, Aruba or similar technologies.
- Experience with security controls such as IDS/IPS, network segmentation, remote access, vulnerability remediation and secure configuration standards.
- Experience with Azure-native network security and connectivity services such as Azure Firewall, Network Security Groups, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, private endpoints or similar cloud networking controls.
- Experience with automation, scripting or infrastructure-as-code tools to improve operational efficiency.
- ITIL foundation or practical experience working within ITIL-aligned service management processes.
- Ability to learn new technologies quickly and apply them in customer-facing operational environments.
The Candidate:
- A senior, trusted engineer who can personally take ownership of complex technical issues, perform the hands-on investigation and configuration work required, and drive issues through to resolution.
- Decisive, calm under pressure and capable of delivering high-quality outcomes despite operational constraints.
- Conscientious, organised and able to prioritise work effectively with limited direction.
- Strong troubleshooting, analytical thinking and communication skills, with the confidence to engage directly with customers and stakeholders.
- Technically curious and confident working beyond scripted procedures, with the ability to interpret symptoms, validate assumptions, test safely and resolve issues using first-principles troubleshooting.
- Comfortable adapting their approach across varied customer environments, technologies and support models.
- Process-oriented with excellent attention to detail and a strong focus on documentation, governance and service quality.
- Willing to mentor and support other engineers, helping to improve technical standards across the team.
Why Version 1?
At Version 1, we believe in providing our employees with a comprehensive benefits package that prioritises their wellbeing, professional growth, and financial stability.
- Share in our success with our Quarterly Performance-Related Profit Share Scheme, where employees collectively benefit from a share of our company's profits
- Strong Career Progression & mentorship coaching through our Strength in Balance & Leadership schemes with a dedicated quarterly Pathways Career Development programme
- Flexible/remote working, Version 1 is tremendously understanding of life events and people’s individual circumstances and offer flexibility to help achieve a healthy work life balance
- Financial Wellbeing initiatives including; Pension, Private Healthcare Cover, Life Assurance, Financial advice and an Employee Discount scheme
- Employee Wellbeing schemes including Gym Discounts, Bike to Work, Fitness classes, Mindfulness Workshops, Employee Assistance Programme and much more. Generous holiday allowance, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, marriage/civil partnership leave and special leave policies
- Educational assistance, incentivised certifications, and accreditations, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat
- Reward schemes including Version 1’s Annual Excellence Awards & ‘Call-Out’ platform.
- Environment, Social and Community First initiatives allow you to get involved in local fundraising and development opportunities as part of fostering our diversity, inclusion and belonging schemes.
And many more exciting benefits… drop us a note to find out more.
Version 1 is an equal opportunities employer.
We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace where everyone feels valued and able to thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences, and we value the different perspectives people bring including those shaped by disability and neurodiversity.
We want every candidate to have a positive and accessible recruitment experience. If you need reasonable adjustments at any stage of the process, please contact your recruiter at Version 1. We will consider all requests carefully, respectfully and confidentially.
Video links: