Platform Engineer

DLA Piper International; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

DLA Piper International is seeking an Advanced Network Engineer to enhance and operate an enterprise Zero Trust network using Zscaler (ZIA/ZPA) and Aruba technologies. London and Leeds locations, primary focus on uptime, automation, and service quality.

The role evolves the network into a resilient, intelligent, low-touch service with strong observability, self-healing capabilities, and data-driven performance improvements.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience with enterprise-scale, multi-site networks.
• Deep understanding of network resilience, failover design and identity-based access.
• Experience with automation to reduce manual workload.

Responsibilities

• Own and improve network service availability across global sites.
• Lead root cause analysis and implement permanent fixes.
• Automate configuration changes and onboarding workflows.
• Design end-to-end observability and proactive monitoring.

Skills

Zscaler ZIA/ZPA

Aruba ClearPass

802.1X NAC

Python scripting

REST APIs

Git/version control

Automation tools (Ansible, Terraform)

Monitoring/observability (Grafana, Spl

Tools

Zscaler

Aruba Networking

Job description

We are seeking an Advanced Network Engineer to enhance and operate an enterprise Zero Trust network environment built on Zscaler (ZIA/ZPA) and Aruba (ClearPass, switching, wireless) technologies.

With the core architecture already in place, this role focuses on:

• Maximising uptime and service reliability
• Driving automation and operational efficiency
• Improving customer experience and network performance
• Building observability and self-healing capabilities

You will be responsible for evolving the network from a functional platform into a highly resilient, intelligent, and low-touch service.

Main duties and responsibilities

Service Reliability & Uptime

• Own and improve network service availability across global sites
• Proactively identify and eliminate single points of failure
• ISP performance and failover behaviour
• Zscaler traffic paths and resilience
• LAN/WLAN stability (Aruba)
• Lead root cause analysis for recurring issues and implement permanent fixes
• Operate and continuously improve existing ZIA/ZPA deployments
• Tune and maintain:
  • Access policies
  • Traffic forwarding (Client Connector, Branch Connector)
  • Application segmentation (ZPA)
• Improve user experience and performance through data-driven optimisation
• Act as escalation point for complex Zscaler-related issues

Aruba & ClearPass Operations

• Manage and optimise Aruba ClearPass NAC environment:
  • 802.1X authentication (wired/wireless)
  • Device onboarding and profiling
  • Policy enforcement improvements
• Enhance reliability of:
  • Campus switching and wireless networks
  • Office network standard builds
• Drive consistency and reduce operational complexity across locations

Automation & Engineering Efficiency

• Reduce manual effort by developing automation using:
  • Python
  • REST APIs (Zscaler, Aruba, Azure, monitoring tools)
• Automate:
  • Configuration changes
  • Policy updates
  • User/device onboarding workflows
  • Incident response actions
• Introduce Infrastructure as Code principles where applicable

Observability & Insight

• Design and improve end-to-end observability of network services
• Integrate telemetry from:
  • Zscaler platforms
  • Aruba infrastructure
  • ISP and branch connectivity
• Enhance monitoring platforms to provide:
  • Actionable alerts (reduce noise)
  • Service-level dashboards
  • User experience visibility
  • Use data to drive proactive improvements rather than reactive fixes

Self-Healing & Proactive Operations

• Implement self-healing capabilities, including:
  • Automated failover validation
  • Scripted remediation of common faults
  • Event-driven automation workflows
• Build closed-loop processes:
  • Detect → Diagnose → Resolve → Validate
• Reduce MTTR and incident volumes through automation

Customer Experience & Service Improvement

• Focus on end-user experience as a primary success metric
• Partner with Service Desk and L2 teams to:
  • Improve first-time fix rates
  • Reduce escalations
  • Simplify support models
• Translate technical improvements into measurable user outcomes

About you

Technical Expertise

• Strong operational experience with:
  • Zscaler ZIA & ZPA
  • Aruba networking (ClearPass, switching, wireless)
• Experience supporting enterprise-scale, multi-site networks
• Deep understanding of:
  • Network resilience and failover design
  • Identity-based access (802.1X, NAC)
  • End-user connectivity troubleshooting

Automation & Development

• Proficiency in Python scripting
• Hands‑on experience with REST API integrations
• Experience improving operational efficiency through automation
• Familiarity with:
  • Git / version control
  • Automation tooling (Desirable: Ansible, Terraform)

Observability & Monitoring

• Strong experience with monitoring/observability tools (e.g., Zabbix, Grafana, Splunk)
• Ability to define meaningful SLIs/SLOs and alerting strategies
• Data‑driven approach to performance and reliability improvement

Soft Skills

• Strong focus on customer experience and service quality
• Analytical, problem‑solving mindset
• Ability to simplify complex issues for non‑technical stakeholders
• Structured, documentation‑led approach
• Continuous improvement and ownership mentality
• Experience with:
  • Zscaler Branch Connector
  • Azure networking and identity integration
  • SASE / SSE environments
• Understanding of ITIL service management frameworks
• Exposure to self‑healing or AIOps concepts
• Foundational understanding of Agile methodologies

Why Join

• Drive the evolution from operational network to intelligent service platform
• Deliver measurable improvements in user experience and reliability
• Work with modern SASE, NAC, and automation technologies
• Influence global service standards and operational practices

London, United Kingdom
Leeds, United Kingdom