Junior Network Support (NOC) Engineer in Cardiff

Location: Cardiff (hybrid with travel)

Salary: £26,300

Contract type: Permanent

About the role

Ready to turn your networking knowledge into real-world experience? Whether you've recently graduated with a Network or Security-focused degree or earned your CCNA, this is an exciting opportunity to start your career with a team that will support your professional growth from day one.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Junior Network Support Engineer to join our dynamic team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone at the start of their networking career who is eager to learn, develop technical expertise, and gain hands-on experience supporting a wide range of customer network infrastructures.

The role will initially involve a period of training and onboarding in Cardiff, working alongside experienced engineers to build your technical knowledge and confidence. Once fully trained and up to speed, you will join our 24/7 support rota, attracting a competitive shift allowance in addition to your salary. The role will also involve regular travel to a customer site in Cambridge, providing valuable exposure to networking environments and direct customer engagement.

As a Junior Network Support Engineer, you will assist with the day-to-day monitoring, maintenance, troubleshooting, and support of our customers' corporate network infrastructures, helping to ensure reliability, performance, and security across critical business systems.

Please note that this is a Hybrid role with onsite requirement 3 days a week. A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle is required due to the nature of the role.

What you’ll do

• Installation & Configuration – Assist with the installation, configuration, testing, and commissioning of networking hardware and services, including routers, switches, wireless access points, and firewalls.
• Monitoring & Maintenance – Proactively monitor network performance and availability using industry-standard monitoring tools, carrying out routine maintenance and supporting planned upgrades to ensure optimal reliability.
• Troubleshooting & Support – Provide first and second-line support for network-related incidents, diagnosing and resolving connectivity, performance, and infrastructure issues in a timely manner.
• Documentation – Create and maintain accurate technical documentation, including network diagrams, configuration records, procedures, and support knowledge articles.
• Network Security – Support the implementation and maintenance of network security controls, policies, and best practices to protect customer environments from threats and unauthorised access.
• Collaboration & Learning – Work closely with senior network engineers and colleagues across the Cloud, Cyber and IT teams, contributing to projects while developing your technical knowledge and practical experience.
• Customer Engagement – Support customer environments remotely and through regular visits to customer sites, building strong working relationships and delivering a high standard of service.
• 24/7 Operational Support – Following successful completion of your training programme, participate in the team's 24/7 support rota, providing out-of-hours support as required and receiving the associated shift allowance.

Requirements

What we are looking for?

Essential

• A foundation in networking gained through a degree, apprenticeship, certification, employment, or practical hands-on experience.
• A willingness to learn, develop technical skills, and build a career within a customer-focused network support environment.
• A solid understanding of fundamental networking concepts, including the OSI model, TCP/IP protocol suite, LAN/WAN technologies, IP addressing, and subnetting.
• Basic knowledge of routing and switching concepts, including routing protocols such as OSPF and technologies such as VLANs and Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).
• Familiarity with enterprise network hardware and technologies from vendors such as Cisco, Extreme Networks, or Aruba.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the ability to approach technical issues logically and methodically.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a professional and customer-focused attitude.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, customers, and senior engineers in a fast-paced technical environment.
• A proactive approach to learning and developing knowledge of emerging networking technologies and industry best practices.

Desirable

• Industry certifications such as Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), CompTIA Network+, or equivalent.
• An understanding and appreciation of Windows Server, virtualisation, and storage technologies.
• Knowledge of network automation concepts, with basic scripting skills in languages such as Python or Bash.
• Familiarity with network security principles and technologies, including firewalls, VPNs, access controls, and security best practices.
• Understanding of cloud networking concepts and platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
• Experience using network monitoring and management tools.
• Practical networking experience gained through personal labs, university projects, apprenticeships, internships, or technical support roles.

Benefits

Who are we?

ARO has 25 years’ experience in Collaboration, Connectivity, Cloud and Infrastructure and Cyber Security services both in the UK and Internationally and has a nationwide presence with offices across the UK.

As one of the UK’s leading independent IT and communication experts our mission is to deliver a seamless technology experience to all end users. To make that vision a reality, we need bright, tenacious and inspiring talent to help drive our performance, growth and achieve this mission.

To make us successful we focus on strong communication, a culture based on fun, trust and collaboration. We have created a modern workplace environment, which is full of engaged, energetic, positive and curious people whose productivity, resilience and wellbeing allow them to thrive.

In 2021 we were awarded the People Insight’s Outstanding Workplace Award, which celebrates organisations building positive workplace cultures and acting on employee feedback to spark positive change.

Why Work for ARO?

At ARO we are committed to creating an excellent employee experience. Our employees, culture and additional benefits all make ARO a great place to work. Come join us! We offer a wide range of benefits and incentives to our employees including:

• Company Pension Scheme and matching contributions
• Company Perks portal
• Private Medical insurance
• Life assurance
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays plus holiday trading
• Your Birthday off, on us
• Health Club and Wellbeing Scheme
• ARO Shares after 12 months employment
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Technical Training Academy and E-learning
• Hybrid working

If even 80% of this matches your experience and attributes, we would be delighted to hear from you.