Network Engineer (LAN & WAN)

NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA); 's-Gravenbrakel; On-site; EUR 73,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

30 days leave

Pension scheme

Expatriate allowances

Education allowances

Job summary

NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) in Belgium is seeking a Network Engineer (LAN & WAN) to design and implement secure network infrastructure supporting on-premises and multi-cloud environments. The role focuses on routers, switches, firewalls, and routing protocols, with on-call duties and collaboration with security and cloud teams.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree with 2+ years in core network design and hands-on experience with Cisco equipment, SD-WAN, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline with 2 years post-related experience.
• Or 6+ years progressive expertise in duties related to the function.
• 2+ years practical experience with core network design for large organisations.
• Experience configuring routers, switches, firewalls and related devices.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken).

Responsibilities

• Design and implement secure network infrastructure for on-premises and multicloud environments.
• Configure routers, switches, firewalls and routing protocols (OSPF/BGP/IS-IS).
• Troubleshoot network faults to maintain reliable connectivity.
• Apply security controls and support investigations into suspected attacks.
• Maintain network diagrams and documentation; participate in on-call rotations.

Skills

Network design

Router config

Firewall config

Troubleshooting

IPv4/IPv6

SD-WAN

Python/Ansible

English fluency

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Cisco equipment

Networking hardware

Job description

Primary Location Belgium-Braine l'Alleud
Schedule Full-time
Application Deadline 22-Oct-2026, 5:59:00 PM
Salary (Pay Basis) 6,713.06
Grade NATO Grade G15

For more than 70 years, NATO’s mission has been to preserve peace and security in the Alliance for nearly one billion citizens. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) and its predecessors have worked tirelessly in providing the means that enable the connectedness and togetherness that keep our Alliance strong. We are the NCIA, a team of 3000 civilian and military staff in 29 locations throughout Europe, North America and Asia.

Our technology and cyber experts allow NATO to conduct critical operations, protect NATO’s airspace, make data-driven decisions, defend against cyber-attacks, secure NATO networks and maintain superiority in space. This is all possible because of our greatest force, our people. In order to keep this edge we aim to hire, train and retain the very best staff.

Our staff members represent both the diversity and unity of our Alliance. When you join the NCIA, you will be part of an organization where you can contribute authentically to the mission and purpose of NATO and help us keep our technological edge.

About the job:

Based in Braine L’Alleud you will join the Agency as we embark on a journey to transform our IT services to support NATO’s Digital Endeavour. You will join the NATO Infrastructure Services Centre (NISC), which is accountable for planning and executing the full lifecycle management activities (design, transition and operations) for the identified area of responsibility. NISC provides generic, domain independent, technical functionality that enables and facilitates the operation and use of Information Technology resources.

• This is a temporary location pending completion of the new SHAPE facility at Camp Casteau in Mons. The Braine L’Alleud site is expected to close by end 2027, with future duty stations shifting to Brussels or Mons, depending on function and business needs.

We are looking for a driven and enthusiastic Network Engineer (LAN & WAN) (internally advertised as Services Engineer) who will take on the following roles and responsibilities:

• Design and implement secure, resilient network infrastructure connecting on-premises and multicloud environments.
• Configure and optimise routers, switches, firewalls and routing protocols, including OSPF, BGP and IS-IS.
• Troubleshoot network faults, latency and congestion to maintain reliable connectivity.
• Apply security controls, assess risks and support investigations into suspected attacks and security breaches.
• Monitor network performance, traffic and capacity to support redundancy, scalability and growth.
• Install, upgrade, patch and remove network hardware and software, testing changes before deployment.
• Collaborate with security, data centre and cloud teams, maintaining clear designs, network diagrams and operational documentation.
• Participate in assigned Enterprise Security Operations Center shifts and scheduled on-call rotations for after-hours support.

For a full list of duties, please review the job description on the NCIA career site.

About you:

• A minimum requirement of a Bachelor’s degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in a related discipline and 2 years post-related experience. Or exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of a candidate’s particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to NCIA, that is, at least 6 years extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to the function of the post.
• At least 2 years practical experience with the designing, implementing, and maintaining the core network architecture for large organizations.
• Good practical experience configuring, troubleshooting and optimizing routers, switches, firewalls, and other hardware/software networking elements.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, strong analytical skills and a problem-solving attitude.
• Desirable: Expertise in dynamic routing and traffic engineering, including OSPF, BGP, IS-IS, IPv4/IPv6, MPLS, Segment Routing and QoS.
• Desirable: Experience with SD-WAN, software-defined networking and network virtualisation, plus advanced troubleshooting and automation using Python or Ansible.
• Desirable: Experience in an international military and civilian environment; knowledge of NATO responsibilities and organisation, including ACO and ACT; Cisco or other network manufacturer certifications.
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken

What we offer:

• Genuinely meaningful work as part of the most successful alliance in history;
• 5 year contract with competitive tax-free salary and household and children’s allowances;
• Privileges for expatriate staff including expatriation and education allowances (where appropriate) and additional home leave;
• Excellent private health insurance scheme;
• Generous annual leave of 30 days plus official holidays;
• NATO Pension Scheme;
• Development programs such as professional training, wellbeing, and more

To learn more about NCIA and our work, please visit our website .

The NCIA prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment of mutual respect and value uniqueness and differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnic or cultural origin, age, religion, sexual orientation and physical or neurocognitive ability.

Additional details on the conditions of application can be found via the NCIA career site.