Senior Network Security Engineer

DEFEND Limited; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

3.5% KiwiSaver on top of base salary

Southern Cross Health Insurance

Mobile and Broadband discounts

Flexible, hybrid work environment

Home office setup allowance

Employee assistance program (EAP)

Job summary

DEFEND Limited is seeking a Senior Network Security Operations Engineer to be a hands-on technical leader, guiding the team through complex faults and critical incidents while maintaining secure and resilient customer network services.

You will lead response efforts, mentor junior engineers, and drive improvements in security practices, documentation, and change management. A 24/7 on-call rotation is part of the role to ensure rapid service delivery.

Qualifications

• Comprehensive knowledge of networking and network security principles and their application to complex environments.
• Experience in incident response, troubleshooting and fault resolution.
• Experience in network operations and support with ability to provide technical leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead, deliver, and support technical solutions to customers.
• Mentor and guide junior team members; act as first escalation point.
• Perform incident investigation and analysis to assess severity and impact.
• Diagnose complex faults and drive effective resolution.
• Identify risks and suggest improvements to maintain security and resilience.
• Ensure changes comply with change management practices.
• Provide technical leadership for secure, reliable network service delivery.
• Participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation; ensure rapid response.
• Maintain and update technical documentation.

Skills

Networking

Security concepts

Incident response

Team leadership

Documentation

On-call readiness

Job description

At DEFEND, we deliver world-class cyber resilience through engineered solutions and expert frontline defense. Our Senior Network Security Operations Engineer is a hands-on technical leader who keeps our customers' network security services secure, resilient and performing, and who the wider team looks to when problems get hard. You'll lead the response to complex faults and critical incidents, spot risks before they become outages, and be the first port of call for junior engineers as you help build the team's capability. It suits someone with deep networking and security expertise, sound judgement, and the ownership mindset to take a problem through to resolution, including as part of a 24/7 on‑call rotation.

In this role you’ll…

• Lead, deliver, and support technical solutions to customers.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to junior team members, acting as first point of escalation for issues and challenges.
• Perform incident, investigation, and analysis to assess severity and impact.
• Diagnose complex faults and lead the development and implementation of effective resolution.
• Proactively identify risks and opportunities for improvement, recommending changes to maintain security, resilience, and alignment with best practice.
• Ensure compliance with established change management practices when implementing changes.
• Provide technical leadership to ensure the effective, secure, reliable delivery of network security services.
• Participate in a 24/7 on‑call rotation, ensuring rapid response and service delivery during critical incidents.
• Maintain and promote accurate technical documentation.

You’ll bring…

• Comprehensive knowledge of networking and network security principals, with the ability to apply this knowledge to complex customer environments.
• Experience in incident response, troubleshooting and fault resolution.
• Experience in network operations and support, with the ability to provide technical leadership and guidance.
• A collaborative mindset with a passion for teamwork, mentoring, and contributing to the development of team capability.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills with the ability to communicate technical concepts effectively.
• Time management and prioritization, with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent Documentation Skills including the creation of technical procedures and network diagrams.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound technical judgement and take ownership of outcomes.

About DEFEND:

Our dream at DEFEND is to improve everyday life by creating a cyber resilient world. Over the last few years, we've experienced phenomenal growth, working with a wide variety of customers and winning several industry awards, including Microsoft's Global Partner of theYear for 2025!

Why DEFEND?

We believe in investing in our employees’ growth and providing them with opportunities to advance their skills and careers. We offer a collaborative workplace culture, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where innovative thinking is encouraged.

By joining our innovative and creative team you will have the opportunity to contribute a variety of cybersecurity outcomes, from culture & awareness of cyber resilience, through to offensive & defensive security. No matter what your role, everyone at DEFEND contributes towards our dream ofcreating a cyber resilient world.

The benefits of working at DEFEND

In addition to workingfor a growing, dynamic NZcompany, DEFEND offers the following benefits to all ourDEFENDers

• 3.5%Kiwisaveron top of your base salary
• Southern Cross Health Insurance coverage
• Mobile and Broadband discounts for yourself and family
• Flexible, hybrid work environment
• An allowance to contribute to your home office setup
• Access to EAP services to support youacross a range of wellbeing needs

Diversity & Inclusion:

At DEFEND, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We know from experience that people from underrepresented groups often don’t apply for roles they don’t feel they meet all the criteria for. We’re committed to creating an environment that enables all our team to thrive. If you think you have what it takes, but don’t check every single box, please consider applying. We’d love to hear how you might contribute to the team and being our next DEFENDer.