Principal Network Engineer

Eden Scott; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote in UK

Senior leadership role

Influence enterprise networking

AI-assisted engineering

Job summary

Eden Scott is seeking a Principal Network Engineer for a fully remote UK-based role. You will shape enterprise networking strategy, design scalable hybrid-cloud networks, and lead automation initiatives across Terraform, Ansible, APIs and IaC.

You will mentor engineers, influence architecture, and collaborate with Platform Engineering, Cloud, Security and SRE teams. Advanced expertise in BGP/OSPF, VXLAN/EVPN, firewall strategy, and cloud networking (AWS/Azure) is required, with a track record of

Qualifications

• Extensive enterprise networking experience and influence on architecture.
• Strong background in BGP/OSPF, VLANs, VXLAN/EVPN and modern network design.
• Experience designing and supporting AWS/Azure networking.
• Hands-on automation using IaC tools like Terraform and Ansible.

Responsibilities

• Define network architecture, standards, and best practices.
• Design scalable hybrid-cloud networking solutions.
• Build automated infrastructure using Terraform, Ansible, APIs, and IaC.
• Develop self-service networking capabilities and improve observability.
• Mentor engineers and lead multiple teams on networking initiatives.

Skills

Network architecture

Infrastructure leadership

Automation leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

APIs

Python

Go

PowerShell

Bash

Job description

UK Remote | Permanent | Must Have Permanent Right to Work in the UK

Are you a networking expert who thrives on solving complex infrastructure challenges through automation, innovation, and technical leadership?

We are partnering with an organisation undergoing significant technology transformation and are seeking a Principal Network Engineer to help shape and evolve a modern, highly automated networking estate. This is an opportunity to influence strategy, architecture, and engineering standards while remaining hands-on with cutting-edge technologies across cloud and hybrid environments.

The Role

As a senior technical leader, you will play a pivotal role in designing, building, and evolving highly resilient network platforms that support large-scale business operations. You'll work closely with Platform Engineering, Cloud, Reliability, Security, and Software Engineering teams to drive automation, scalability, and operational excellence.

This is far more than a traditional networking role. You'll be helping drive Infrastructure as Code adoption, self-service capabilities, observability, AI-assisted engineering, and next-generation platform engineering practices.

The role

• Defining network architecture, standards, and engineering best practices
• Designing and implementing scalable hybrid-cloud networking solutions
• Building automated infrastructure using Terraform, Ansible, APIs, and Infrastructure as Code
• Developing self-service capabilities for networking and connectivity services
• Leading network segmentation, security, and firewall strategy
• Optimising resilience, performance, and scalability across critical infrastructure
• Driving observability, telemetry, monitoring, and compliance initiatives
• Collaborating with engineering teams to improve platform reliability and developer experience
• Mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership across multiple teams
• Championing automation and AI-assisted engineering practices
• Extensive experience in Principal, Lead, Staff or Senior Network Engineering roles
• Deep expertise in enterprise networking, routing and switching technologies
• Strong knowledge of BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VXLAN/EVPN, and modern network architectures
• Experience designing and supporting AWS and/or Azure networking solutions
• Advanced firewall, segmentation, and network security expertise
• Strong automation experience using Terraform, Ansible, APIs, and scripting languages
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and platform engineering principles
• Strong programming skills in Python, Go, PowerShell, Bash, or similar
• Proven experience influencing architecture and technical strategy
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills

Preferred Experience

• Juniper and Cisco networking technologies
• Palo Alto Firewalls and Panorama
• HAProxy Enterprise
• NetBox
• Splunk
• HashiCorp Consul
• Experience leveraging AI tools and automation within engineering environments

Why Apply?

• Fully Remote UK-Based Role
• Opportunity to shape enterprise-scale networking strategy
• Significant influence across cloud, platform, infrastructure and security teams
• Work with modern automation and Infrastructure as Code technologies
• Help drive AI-assisted engineering and operational excellence
• Senior technical leadership role with high visibility and impact

This position is fully remote within the UK, however applicants must already have permanent eligibility to work in the UK. Unfortunately, visa sponsorship is not available.