Network Engineer in Guildford

Are you a network specialist who wants genuine ownership rather than a ticket queue? This is a hands-on role with a live project attached: a migration of the edge switching estate from Cisco to Arista across multiple buildings, with a firewall replacement following close behind. A globally recognised company based in Sunbury-on-Thames is looking for a Network Engineer to join its MIS function. You'll own the day-to-day availability, performance and security of the network across the UK and Europe, working to an architecture and security standard set by the global US head office and within a well-established ISO 27001 framework.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Project Delivery: Play a central role in migrating the edge switching estate from Cisco to Arista, and in the firewall replacement programme that follows.
• Multi-Site Network Operations: Administer and support LAN, WAN and site-to-site connectivity across the UK, Paris and Munich, ensuring consistent availability and performance.
• Enterprise Infrastructure: Configure, manage and maintain switches, routers, firewalls, SD-WAN and wireless across all European locations.
• Security & Compliance: Maintain network security controls in line with ISO 27001, managing firewalls, VPNs, VLANs and access control policies.
• Proactive Monitoring & Resolution: Monitor performance, availability and capacity, resolving issues before they reach users.
• Lifecycle & Resilience: Own firmware upgrades, patching and device lifecycle management, and support disaster recovery and business continuity including global DR site connectivity.
• Improvement: Identify and deliver improvements to the existing network rather than simply maintaining it.
• Documentation & Collaboration: Maintain accurate network documentation and diagrams, and work alongside internal MIS colleagues and third-party vendors.

Your Skills & Experience

• Core Networking: Solid hands-on Cisco experience across routing and switching, LAN/WAN, VPNs, VLANs, firewalls and wireless in a business-critical environment.
• Arista: Any commercial exposure to Arista is a significant advantage given the migration ahead. You don't need to be a specialist, and Arista certification is a bonus rather than a requirement.
• Multi-Site Exposure: Experience supporting connectivity across more than one site, ideally internationally, with SD-WAN experience a strong advantage.
• Security Mindset: Working knowledge of network security principles and best practice, ideally within a formally accredited environment.
• Desirable Extras: Aruba, VMware vSphere, Zscaler or cloud networking experience.

Approach: This is a hands-on role for someone who wants to do the work rather than direct it. Strong troubleshooting, clear communication and the judgement to prioritise independently. Experience counts for more here than certifications.

Practicalities: Occasional travel to European sites, typically around once a year for hardware work, plus visits to the global head office in the US. Participation in an on-call rota, which in practice is called on infrequently. You'll need to live within a sensible commute of Sunbury-on-Thames.

Benefits: Discretionary bonus, 24 days holiday (on top of bank holidays) rising to 30 over time, 7.5% employer pension contribution, with options up to 10%, permanent health cover, private dental, worldwide travel insurance, £250 p/a towards gym membership and more.

If you've held any of these roles or used these technologies, this role could be a great fit: Network Engineer, Network Administrator, Network Security Administrator, Network Support Engineer, 3rd Line Network Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Cisco, Arista, Aruba, SD-WAN, CCNA, CCNP, Fortinet, Zscaler, ISO 27001.