Principal Network Engineer

Eden Scott; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 75,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Eden Scott is partnering with a global payments technology organisation to redefine Platform Engineering. The role focuses on designing automated network platforms, not manual administration, and expanding self-service capabilities for engineering teams to provision infrastructure.

You will work across Platform Engineering, SRE, Security and Software Engineering, helping shape the future of AI-assisted engineering and automation within a fast-growing company.

Qualifications

• Proficient Python development beyond scripting.
• Experience building automation using APIs and REST services.
• IaC experience with Terraform, Ansible or similar tools.
• Experience with Git and CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong understanding of network automation and Network-as-Code.
• Enterprise networking knowledge including routing, switching, security and cloud connectivity.
• Experience operating in AWS, Azure, GCP or hybrid clouds.
• Thinks like a software engineer, not a traditional infra operator.
• Familiar with AI-assisted engineering tools.

Responsibilities

• Design automated network platforms instead of manual admin.
• Develop network services via code, APIs, IaC and automation frameworks.
• Create self-service capabilities for provisioning and managing infrastructure.
• Champion Network-as-Code and automation-first practices.
• Collaborate with Platform Engineering, SRE, Security and Software teams.
• Contribute to AI-assisted engineering and automation strategies.
• Act as a senior technical authority across networking and platform architecture.

Skills

Python

APIs/REST

Network-as-Code

Cloud connectivity

Software engineering mindset

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Git

CI/CD

AWS/Azure/GCP

Job description

We are partnering with a global payments technology organisation that is transforming the way engineering teams consume infrastructure.

This isn't a traditional network engineering role.

You will join a Platform Engineering function responsible for building highly automated, self-service platforms that enable engineering teams to move faster, operate more reliably, and increasingly leverage AI-driven capabilities.

If you're a network engineer who enjoys building automation, developing tooling, working with APIs, and solving infrastructure challenges through software rather than manual configuration.

What You will Be Doing

• Designing and building automated network platforms rather than performing manual administration.
• Developing network services through code, APIs, Infrastructure-as-Code and automation frameworks.
• Creating self-service capabilities that enable engineering teams to provision and manage infrastructure independently.
• Driving Network-as-Code and automation-first engineering practices.
• Working closely with Platform Engineering, SRE, Security and Software Engineering teams.
• Helping shape the future adoption of AI-assisted engineering and automation.
• Acting as a senior technical authority across networking, automation and platform architecture.

What We are Looking For

• Strong Python development skills beyond basic scripting
• Experience building automation solutions using APIs and REST services
• Infrastructure-as-Code experience using Terraform, Ansible or similar technologies
• Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines and modern engineering workflows
• Strong understanding of network automation, network development or Network-as-Code principles
• Enterprise networking knowledge including routing, switching, security and cloud connectivity
• Experience operating within AWS, Azure, GCP or hybrid cloud environments
• Ability to think like a software engineer rather than a traditional infrastructure operator
• AI-assisted engineering tools such as Claude Code, Cursor or Codex
• Understanding of MCP servers, agentic workflows and advanced AI prompting techniques

Highly Desirable

• SRE or DevOps exposure
• NetBox, HAProxy, Cloudflare or observability tooling
• Experience building developer self-service solutions
• AI-assisted engineering tools such as Claude Code, Cursor or Codex
• Understanding of MCP servers, agentic workflows and advanced AI prompting techniques

Why Join?

• Fully remote UK opportunity.
• Influence the future direction of Platform Engineering within a global technology business.
• Work at the intersection of networking, software engineering, automation and AI.
• Build internal platforms rather than manage tickets.
• Join a business investing heavily in Platform Engineering, automation and developer experience.
• Opportunity to help create a true self-service engineering environment.

Important

This role is best suited to candidates from backgrounds such as:

• Network Automation
• Infrastructure Software Engineering
• SRE
• DevOps Engineering (with strong coding capability)

Traditional network engineering experience alone is unlikely to be sufficient without demonstrable experience in automation, software development, Infrastructure-as-Code and modern platform engineering practices.

Candidates must have permanent eligibility to work in the UK.