Senior ISP Core Network Engineer

Recruit-It; Centurion; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Recruit-It seeks a highly experienced Senior ISP Core Network Engineer in Centurion to own and optimize core routing, peering, and BNG management for a large service provider. You will drive performance and reliability across public peering, IXPs, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities include monitoring IPT/IXP traffic, handling Tier-3/4 escalations, and ensuring AFRINIC/ISPA compliance with robust routing hygiene. Familiarity with Linux-based OSS tools and scripting is essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of direct ISP/Large Enterprise experience.
• Master-level understanding of BGP, MP-BGP, ISIS, MPLS/SRv6 and traffic engineering.
• Hands-on AFRINIC portal management, ISPA compliance, IRR objects, and RPKI implementations.
• BNG platforms experience (Juniper MX, Nokia, MikroTik) and subscriber protocols (PPPoE, IPoE, RADIUS/TACACS+).
• Proven Linux-based OSS support, scripting and automation.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end public peering at IXPs and bilateral private peering agreements.
• Monitor, engineer and optimize traffic paths across IPT and IXP sessions to minimize latency and costs.
• Handle Tier-3/4 customer, peering and upstream capacity escalations promptly.

Skills

BGP

MP-BGP

ISIS

MPLS/SRv6

Traffic engineering

BNG management

Linux OSS

Automation scripts

Tools

Juniper MX

Nokia

MikroTik

Job description

Department: Network Engineering / Technology

Reporting structure: GM: Network Systems

Job purpose:

Our client is seeking a highly experienced Senior ISP Core Network Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of hands-on technical expertise to manage and optimize their core routing architecture. You will be responsible for public and private peering operations, regional regulatory/registry compliance, Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) management, capacity planning across IP Transit (IPT) and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), and complex escalation handling. Additionally, strong operational expertise in Linux-based Open-Source Support Systems (OSS) is required to support core automation and network monitoring infrastructure.

Critical outputs:

Peering and transit operations:

• Manage end-to-end public peering at major IXPs and establish bilateral private peering agreements.
• Monitor, engineer, and optimize traffic paths across IP Transit (IPT) and IXP sessions to minimize latency and transit costs.
• Handle Tier-3/4 customer, peering, and upstream capacity escalations promptly.

Regulatory, registry and routing security:

• Maintain and update regional internet registry data (AFRINIC) including IP allocation, ASN management, and WHOIS records.
• Ensure full compliance with ISPA guidelines and local regulatory frameworks.
• Manage Internet Routing Registry (IRR) objects, maintain accurate RPSL, and implement RPKI ROAs to maintain strict routing hygiene.

Core infrastructure and BNG management:

• Configure, scale, and maintain Broadband Network Gateways (BNGs/BRAS) for subscriber management and session termination.
• Conduct continuous capacity management, forecasting bandwidth requirements, and upgrading IPT/IXP interconnects before saturation occurs.

OSS and Linux infrastructure support:

• Maintain, support, and customize Linux-based OSS tools (e.g., netflow collectors, syslog servers, monitoring stacks like Prometheus/Grafana, or custom network automation scripts).
• Develop lightweight Linux/Python tools and scripts to automate registry updates, session monitoring, and operational workflows.

Minimum requirements:

• Experience: Minimum 10 years of direct experience working in an ISP or Large Enterprise Service Provider environment.
• Routing and Peering Depth: Master-level understanding of BGP, MP-BGP, ISIS, MPLS/SRv6 (L2VPN/L3VPN), and traffic engineering.
• Registry & security expertise: Hands-on experience with AFRINIC portal management, ISPA operational compliance, IRR object creation, and RPKI implementation.
• BNG operations: Solid experience managing BNG platforms (e.g., Juniper MX, Nokia and MikroTik) and subscriber protocols (PPPoE, IPoE, RADIUS/TACACS+).
• Linux / OSS systems: Proven track record supporting Linux-based OSS platforms, system administration, and shell scripting/automation.

Preferred certifications:

• CCNP / CCIE (Service Provider)
• JNCIP / JNCIS-SP
• Linux Professional Institute (LPIC) or RHCE