Principal Network Engineer

We are looking for a Principal Network Engineer to take full ownership of our enterprise networking estate across Private Cloud, AWS, and Azure and to lead the design and rollout of our next-generation global network architecture. This includes introducing Google Cloud across all environments and unifying a historically fragmented network landscape into a single, coherent, scalable network fabric.

This role is suited to a high-calibre technical leader who can operate at strategic, architectural and hands-on levels. You understand complex hybrid networks at scale, and you can transform that understanding into a secure, resilient, performant, and fully observable network platform.

You will be accountable for defining, governing, automating, and evolving how our products, services, and platform connect… globally and securely. This is not a hands-off role; you will own the domain end-to-end, setting direction while staying close to design, implementation, incident response, and the coaching of internal teams.

Network Ownership & Strategy

• Own the full networking estate across Private Cloud data centres, AWS, and Azure.
• Define and lead the network transformation roadmap, introducing Google Cloud as the global edge.
• Unify cloud and on-prem networks into a consistent, scalable network fabric ("zones").
• Establish standards and patterns that ensure consistent connectivity across products and platform.

Architecture & Engineering

• Design and implement a unified network architecture supporting hybrid workloads and modern application patterns.
• Optimise multi-cloud connectivity (Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, Cloud Interconnect).
• Standardise network patterns including VPCs/VNets, routing, segmentation, NAT, DNS, firewalls, and load balancing.
• Define and enforce a robust network security posture (zero-trust, DDoS protection, VPNs, policy automation).

Reliability, Operations & Incident Response

• Lead complex incident response and root cause analysis, driving improvements in reliability and MTTR.
• Build platform-wide observability into network services.
• Ensure performance, scalability, and resilience across all environments.

Automation & Governance

• Champion Infrastructure-as-Code for all network deployments (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi).
• Embed automation and policy compliance into CI/CD pipelines.
• Own vendor and partner relationships with ISPs, cloud providers, and hardware suppliers.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Work closely with Platform Engineering, SRE, and Security teams to align design and architecture.
• Provide deep technical mentorship to engineers across the organisation.
• Govern standards, ensure adoption, and elevate network engineering capability across teams.

Essential Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of experience in enterprise and cloud networking within hybrid or multi-cloud environments.
• Proven experience designing and operating large-scale, highly available networks across AWS, Azure, and on-prem.
• Deep expertise in routing, switching, BGP, MPLS, DNS, NAT, VPNs, SD-WAN, and load balancing.
• Strong understanding of cloud networking constructs (Transit Gateway, VPC Peering, Virtual WAN, Private Link, etc.).
• Hands-on experience with Google Cloud networking and global edge configurations (highly desirable).
• Strong grounding in network security, including firewall design, zero-trust, WAF, TLS, identity-aware proxies.
• Solid experience automating network infrastructure using IaC and CI/CD pipelines.
• Exceptional diagnostic and troubleshooting skills across distributed systems.
• Strong communication skills and stakeholder management, able to explain complex technical concepts clearly.
• Certifications such as CCNP/CCIE, AWS Advanced Networking, or Azure Network Engineer Expert are advantageous.

Wellbeing focused – Our people are our greatest assets, and ensuring everyone feels their best self to come to work is integral

• Annual Leave – 25 days of annual leave, plus public holidays and the ability to buy additional days
• Employee Assistance Programme – Free advice, support, and confidential counselling available 24/7 through Care First
• Endometriosis Friendly Employer - We are proud to confirm our commitment to developing an environment and culture that allows those with endometriosis to thrive in the workplace

Personal Growth - Regardless of where you are at in your career, we're committed to enabling your growth personally and professionally

• Development Programmes – From Future Managers to Leadership Training, our development programmes help you get where you need to go
• Performance Bonus – Our Group-wide bonus scheme enables you to reap the rewards of your success

Financial wellbeing - We understand as well as your mental wellbeing, your financial wellbeing is really important

• Pension Scheme – Our plan with Scottish Widows offers 5% matched contribution by the company
• Income protection insurance – Providing you with support and assistance when you need it most

Recognition – Highlighting and rewarding the great work our people do

• Performance & Talent – Our own technology platform that allows you to get real-time feedback, conversations and goals to help you become your best self

Making a Difference – we provide opportunities to help our people make a difference to the causes they care about

• MatchIt – Fundraise for a cause close to your heart and Advanced will match part of the funding
• Volunteering Time – Our volunteering leave scheme allows you to use your time to help those who need it
• Pennies from Heaven – donate the pennies from your pay check to help make a difference without lifting a finger

OneAdvanced is one of the UK's largest providers of business software and services serving 20,000+ global customers with an annual turnover of £330M+. We manage 1.5 million 111 calls per month, support over 2 million Further Education learners across the UK, handle over 10 million wills, and so much more. Our mission is to power the world of work and, as you can see, our software underpins some of the UK's most critical sectors.

We invest in our brilliant people. They are at the heart of our success as we strive to be a diverse, inclusive and engaging place to work that not only powers the world of work, but empowers the growth, ambitions and talent of our people.

To learn more about working at OneAdvanced please click here