Data Centre Network Engineer – Fabric, Automation & Network AI

Design, build and evolve high-availability data centre networks, including leaf-spine fabrics, switching, routing, firewalls, load balancers, segmentation and inter-data-centre connectivity.

Engineer and operate scalable underlay and overlay networks using Ethernet, VLAN, MLAG/vPC, OSPF, BGP, VXLAN and EVPN.

Personally operate mission-critical network services in-house, with responsibility for availability, capacity, performance and reliability.

Perform hands-on troubleshooting across physical, switching, routing, security and application-delivery layers.

Restore services and drive permanent fixes.

Build and maintain Network-as-Code automation for provisioning, validation, compliance checks, testing, deployment and drift detection.

Use telemetry and observability data to identify risks, optimise performance and support future growth.

Explore and apply automation, AI and AIOps techniques, including anomaly detection, predictive insights and AI-assisted troubleshooting.

Work with cloud, compute, storage, cybersecurity and application teams to deliver secure, reliable connectivity.

Evaluate new technologies and challenge vendor proposals, adopting solutions that can be automated and operated in-house.

Requirements

At least three years of hands-on network engineering experience, with a strong focus on data centre or other mission-critical environments.

Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, Ethernet, VLANs, Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, routing and switching, high availability and network segmentation.

Practical experience with data centre fabric concepts and technologies such as leaf-spine architecture, BGP, OSPF, VXLAN, EVPN, MLAG or vPC.

Experience designing, configuring and troubleshooting data centre switches, firewalls and load balancers from Cisco, Check Point, Palo Alto or equivalent vendors.

Good understanding of north-south and east-west traffic flows, application dependencies, capacity management and resilient connectivity patterns.

Experience with network monitoring, streaming telemetry, packet analysis, performance metrics and disciplined incident and problem management.

Experience or strong interest in Python, Ansible, Terraform, APIs, data models, Git, CI/CD pipelines or automated testing.

Ability to translate network standards and intended state into version-controlled, reusable and testable code or configuration artefacts.

Curiosity about Network AI and AIOps, with the ability to identify, prototype and safely evaluate use cases.

Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, attention to detail and confidence during high-impact incidents and changes.

Clear communication and collaboration skills across engineering disciplines.

Cisco CCNA, CCNP Data Center or equivalent networking, security or automation certifications are advantageous.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in designing and operating high-availability data centre networks, with a strong focus on automation, network performance optimization, and troubleshooting. Proficient in translating network standards into reusable code and configurations while collaborating effectively across engineering teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Network Engineering Experience

Data Centre Fabric Technologies

Network Automation with Python and Ansible

Troubleshooting and Incident Management

Cisco CCNA or CCNP Data Center Certification

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

TCP/IP

Ethernet

VLAN

BGP

OSPF

VXLAN

EVPN

MLAG

Network Monitoring

Performance Metrics

Soft Skills

Analytical Skills

Attention to Detail

Clear Communication

Collaboration Skills

Certifications & Qualifications

Cisco CCNA

Cisco CCNP Data Center

Industry Keywords

High Availability

Network Segmentation

Leaf-Spine Architecture

Application Dependencies

Resilient Connectivity

Tools & Technologies

Cisco

Check Point

Palo Alto

Ansible

Terraform

APIs

Git

CI/CD Pipelines

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