Lead Engineer - Network Connectivity

Bupa; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Bupa health insurance

Enhanced pension and life insurance

Onsite gyms or discounts

Other benefits and online discounts

Job summary

Bupa is seeking a Lead Engineer to own and evolve its enterprise network connectivity platforms across WAN, LAN, Wi‑Fi and cloud connectivity. You will provide strategic engineering, platform ownership and lifecycle management for a large multi-site environment, guiding standards and governance.

The role demands strong leadership, deep network expertise and experience with NetDevOps and IaC. It offers hybrid working from London and a competitive package including a 10% bonus.

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification in Computer Science, Networking, Engineering or related discipline.
• Relevant industry certifications desirable (Palo Alto, Cisco, cloud networking, automation or security).
• Experience with enterprise WAN, LAN and Wi‑Fi in large-scale multi-site environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering and lifecycle management of enterprise network connectivity services.
• Provide technical leadership across WAN, LAN, Wi‑Fi, SD‑WAN, SASE, cloud connectivity and security.
• Define engineering standards, deployment patterns and operational procedures.
• Drive NetDevOps, IaC and network automation adoption.
• Ensure secure, scalable and resilient network services aligned to architecture.

Skills

WAN/LAN/Wi-Fi engineering

SD-WAN/SASE

Network security design

NetDevOps/ IaC

APIs & automation

Cloud networking (Azure/GCP)

Observability & telemetry

Engineering governance

Stakeholder management

Technical leadership

Education

Degree in CS/Networking/Engineering

Industry certifications (Palo Alto, Cisco, cloud networking)

Tools

Palo Alto Networks firewalls

Cisco Meraki

Cisco ISE

DDI platforms

Network automation tools

Job description

Job Description: Lead Engineer– Network Connectivity Product Team Angel Court or Willow House Permanent Salary: Up to £112k DOE + 10% bonus + fantastic benefits Hybrid Work Available 37.5 hours per week Due to the nature of the role there will be an element of working outside usual business hours on a rota basis

We make health happen At Bupa, we’re passionate about technology. With colleagues, customers, patients and residents in mind you’ll have the opportunity to work on innovative projects and make a real impact on their lives. Right from the start you’ll become part of our digital strategy, joining us on our journey and developing yourself along the way.

In this role as A Lead Network Connectivity Engineer you are responsible for the strategic engineering, platform ownership, lifecycle management and continuous evolution of Bupa’s enterprise connectivity platforms, including WAN, LAN, Wi‑Fi, SD‑WAN, SASE and cloud connectivity services. The role provides technical leadership across network engineering, automation, observability, operational resilience, standards governance and service lifecycle management for a large‑scale multi‑site enterprise environment. It combines deep technical expertise with platform ownership, service engineering and engineering leadership, ensuring network services are secure, scalable, supportable and aligned to business and architectural strategy.

How you’ll help us make health happen

• Lead the engineering, lifecycle management and continuous improvement of enterprise network connectivity services and platforms.
• Provide technical leadership across WAN, LAN, Wi‑Fi, SD‑WAN, SASE, cloud connectivity and network security services.
• Define and maintain engineering standards, deployment patterns, operational procedures and technical documentation.
• Drive adoption of NetDevOps, Infrastructure-as-Code and network automation practices.
• Ensure network services are secure, scalable, resilient and aligned to enterprise architecture and operational standards.
• Act as a technical lead for root cause analysis and continuous improvement following incidents or service issues.
• Collaborate with Architecture, Security, Cloud, Operations and Product teams to deliver integrated and supportable technology solutions.
• Support governance, design assurance and technical review processes across the Network Connectivity estate.
• Support vendor, partner and managed service relationships including technical governance and solution evaluations.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring and guidance across the wider Network Connectivity engineering function.
• Drive standardisation, simplification and consistency across network connectivity services and platforms.

What you’ll bring

Core Technical Skills & Experience

• Enterprise WAN, LAN and Wi‑Fi engineering within large‑scale multi‑site environments
• Strong understanding of modern network architecture, operational engineering and service lifecycle management
• Experience with SD‑WAN, SASE and cloud connectivity architectures
• Enterprise routing, switching, segmentation and secure access design
• NetDevOps, Infrastructure-as-Code and network automation practices
• Experience with APIs, automation tooling, configuration management and operational telemetry
• Cloud networking and hybrid connectivity across Azure, GCP and enterprise environments
• Experience designing resilient network services for automation, observability and supportability
• Technical governance, standards development and engineering best practice
• Ability to translate business and operational requirements into scalable engineering solutions
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills across technical and non‑technical audiences
• Ability to produce clear technical standards, architecture documentation and operational guidance

Other skills / experience / knowledge

• Strong analytical and structured problem‑solving capability
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong leadership, mentoring and stakeholder engagement capability
• Ability to balance operational, security, commercial and strategic considerations
• Experience working within matrix organisations and alongside vendors, partners and managed service providers
• Maintains awareness of emerging technologies and industry best practice, driving continual improvement across engineering and operational processes

Technologies & Platforms Used Within The Environment

• Experience with some or all of the following would be beneficial: Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Prisma Access
• Cisco Meraki switching and wireless platforms
• Network Access Control (NAC) and identity‑based access technologies such as Cisco ISE
• Enterprise DNS, DHCP and IPAM (DDI) platforms
• SD‑WAN and secure internet breakout architectures
• Network automation and orchestration tooling
• IoT and smart‑building connectivity
• Enterprise observability, logging and SIEM integrations
• Managed service and third‑party connectivity environments
• Experience with policy‑based networking principles

Qualifications

• Degree‑level qualification in Computer Science, Networking, Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent industry experience
• Relevant industry certifications desirable (e.g. Palo Alto, Cisco, cloud networking, automation or security certifications)

Judgement Skills

• Strong analytical and structured problem‑solving capability
• Ability to make pragmatic technical decisions balancing operational, security, commercial and strategic considerations
• Ability to influence technical direction and engineering outcomes across complex stakeholder environments
• Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy and accountability
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and resolve complex technical challenges across organisational boundaries

Freedom to Act

• Operates with a high degree of autonomy within agreed strategic, architectural and governance frameworks
• Make and influences technical decisions affecting solution design, operational services and engineering direction
• Works within regulatory, security, risk and organisational policy constraints appropriate to a regulated enterprise environment

Benefits

• 25 days holiday, increasing through length of service, with option to buy or sell
• Bupa health insurance as a benefit in kind
• An enhanced pension plan and life insurance
• Onsite gyms or local discounts where no onsite gym available
• Various other benefits and online discounts

Why Bupa?

Bupa takes pride in being a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer and will aim to offer an interview/assessment to disabled applicants who best meet the minimum criteria for the role.

We’re committed to ensuring you’re treated fairly during the recruitment process and offer reasonable adjustments to anyone who may benefit from accommodations to the recruitment process.

If you require information regarding this role in an alternative format, please email: [e-mail]

That’s why we especially encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Time Type: Full time Job Area: IT Locations: Angel Court, London

Be at the heart of helping people live longer healthier, happier lives and making a better world.

We employ more than 80,000 people globally who are making this a reality. If you've got the belief, the drive and the talent to help us in our ambition then we’d like to hear from you. Wherever you work, one thing stands out about Bupa people. Our customers are our passion – they’re at the heart of our positively different culture of care. At Bupa you’ll be challenged, you’ll be encouraged to innovate, and collaborate with colleagues who are committed to delivering exceptional experiences. We trust, respect and consider everyone, knowing your difference will make the difference.