3rd Line Support – IP Network Engineer | Aspire Communications | London, UK (Hybrid)

Position Summary

We are seeking two experienced and skilled 3rd Line Support – IP Network Engineers to join a growing managed service provider in London on a hybrid basis. In this senior technical escalation role, you will provide advanced 3rd line technical support across complex enterprise network IP environments, including SD-WAN, LAN, WAN, managed firewalls, and wireless infrastructures. You will leverage your strong hands-on networking background and multi-vendor expertise (Juniper, Cisco, Fortinet, Meraki) to resolve critical incidents, support infrastructure upgrades, and collaborate directly with enterprise customers and third-party vendors. If you possess 5+ years of NOC or service desk experience within an ISP, MSP, or SME environment, we invite you to apply.

Detailed Job Description

As a 3rd Line Support – IP Network Engineer, you will take total ownership of senior technical escalations and network performance across diverse client estates. Your daily responsibilities will span troubleshooting complex routing, switching, and wireless issues, managing managed firewalls and SD-WAN deployments, and executing planned network upgrades and configuration changes. Operating in a collaborative hybrid environment based out of the London office, you will work closely with customers, internal service desks, and external suppliers to diagnose severe network bottlenecks and ensure optimal SLA compliance. Furthermore, you will participate in out-of-hours maintenance rotas when required, maintain resilient network architectures, and contribute to continuous service improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert 3rd line technical support and act as a senior escalation point for complex IP network incidents and service requests.
• Troubleshoot, diagnose, and resolve intricate routing, switching, wireless, and SD-WAN issues across multi-vendor client estates.
• Administer and configure managed firewalls, LAN/WAN topologies, and secure perimeter solutions (Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, Meraki).
• Support planned network infrastructure upgrades, configuration changes, firmware updates, and expansion deployments.
• Coordinate seamlessly with enterprise customers, third-party suppliers, and internal NOC teams to ensure rapid incident resolution.
• Participate in out-of-hours maintenance windows, emergency change implementations, and on-call support rotas as required.
• Maintain comprehensive technical documentation for network topologies, incident root-cause analyses, and change management logs.
• Ensure strict adherence to service level agreements (SLAs), network security baselines, and ITIL operational standards.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Telecommunications, Information Technology, or an equivalent technical discipline.
• Minimum of 5+ years of professional experience working within a Service Desk or Network Operations Center (NOC) in an ISP, MSP, or SME environment.
• Strong hands-on networking background with solid theoretical and operational knowledge of routing, switching, and wireless technologies.
• Proven professional experience working with SD-WAN architectures, managed firewalls, and multi-vendor network environments.
• Hands-on configuration and troubleshooting experience across major vendor platforms including Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, and Meraki.
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities, analytical aptitude, and calm demeanor under high-pressure incident escalation conditions.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills for effective customer-facing technical support.
• Must be UK based and able to commute regularly to the London office for hybrid working arrangements.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Professional networking certifications such as Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Juniper Networks Certified Professional (JNCIP), or Fortinet NSE 4/7.
• ITIL Foundation certification demonstrating mastery of IT service management processes.
• Prior experience supporting cloud networking environments (AWS VPC, Azure VNet, GCP).
• Familiarity with network automation tools and scripting languages (Python, Ansible) for configuration backups and provisioning.
• Experience implementing zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and advanced security architectures.

Application Information

• Salary/Rate: £55,000-£65,000 per annum plus 20% bonus, £2,500 annual training budget, and excellent benefits
• Deadline: Immediate / Urgent Hiring
• Notice Period: Immediate to 30 days preferred
• Contract Duration: Permanent Full-Time (Hybrid / London Office)

Recruitment Pro Tip

When applying for 3rd line network engineering roles in managed services, ensure your CV explicitly highlights your multi-vendor hands-on experience with Cisco, Juniper, and Fortinet platforms, as well as your SD-WAN troubleshooting track record.