Network Operations Engineer

DWP Digital; Manchester; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

DWP Digital is recruiting a Network Operations Engineer in the UK to join a 24/7 Network Operations Centre in Manchester, ensuring the stability, performance and security of a large-scale multi-vendor network estate used by millions of citizens.

You will own live service operations, proactive monitoring, incident and problem management, and drive improvements through automation and DevOps practices while collaborating with engineering, architecture and security teams to modernise legacy

Qualifications

• Experience operating within a Network Operations Centre (NOC).
• Strong incident and problem management capabilities.
• Familiarity with ITIL-based service management practices.

Responsibilities

• Maintain live service operations and monitor network performance.
• Resolve network incidents and problems to minimise downtime.
• Collaborate with engineering, architecture and security teams to deliver secure, scalable infrastructure.

Job description

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. For further information, please see 'Selection process details'.

Do you want to operate and optimise one of the UK's largest mission-critical network estates, supporting services used by millions of citizens every day?

If so, come and join us as a Network Operations Engineer within DWP Digital.

You will be a skilled practitioner operating within a high-performing Network Operations Centre (NOC), responsible for the stability, performance and security of a large-scale, multi-vendor network estate. You will take ownership of live service operations, including proactive network monitoring, incident management, problem management and service optimisation, ensuring high availability and resilience for critical national services.

Working at the heart of Network Services, you will collaborate with engineering, architecture and security teams to deliver secure, scalable infrastructure aligned to DWP strategy. You will support the evolution of legacy platforms into modern, cloud-enabled and internet-first architectures, with exposure to technologies including data centre networking (leaf-spine fabrics, VXLAN/EVPN), network segmentation (VRF), load balancing (F5), next-generation firewalls, and hybrid cloud networking (AWS/Azure).

The role requires strong technical leadership, effective stakeholder engagement and a focus on delivering measurable outcomes. You will drive continuous improvement through network automation, observability, performance tuning and DevOps practices, reducing operational toil and improving service reliability.

This role has a direct impact on the delivery of secure, resilient and scalable digital services, supporting millions of UK citizens and enabling DWP's ongoing digital transformation.

In this role, you will operate as part of a 24/7 Network Operations function responsible for maintaining the stability, performance and security of DWP's large-scale, multi-vendor network estate. You will play a key role in supporting live services that underpin critical digital platforms, ensuring high availability and rapid restoration of service where incidents occur.

You will be responsible for managing and resolving network incidents and problems, working across a range of technologies including data centre networking, hybrid cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/OCI), next-generation firewalls, load balancing and PKI services. This includes proactive monitoring and analysis of network performance using enterprise tooling such as BMC Entuity, NetScout and packet analysis tools (e.g. Wireshark), enabling early identification of issues and continuous service improvement.

Working collaboratively with engineering, architecture, security teams and third-party suppliers, you will contribute to the delivery of business-as-usual (BAU) changes, Acceptance into Service activities, and the ongoing modernisation of network services. You will apply ITIL-based service management practices, with a strong focus on Incident, Problem and Acceptance into Service Management, ensuring services meet operational and supportability standards.

You will have the autonomy to investigate and resolve complex technical issues, contribute to reliability and performance improvements, and support the transition from legacy infrastructure to modern, cloud-enabled architectures. This role provides significant opportunity to influence service quality and user experience across services used by millions of citizens.

While not essential, experience in Infrastructure as Code and network automation (e.g. Terraform, Ansible, Python), as well as relevant industry certifications (Aruba, Arista, AWS or Azure), would be beneficial when starting the role.