Lead Network Engineer - Media & Advertising

Join one of the UK's most established and respected media and content production organisations, delivering live broadcasting, award-winning journalism, and streaming content to audiences around the world. The organisation relies on highly resilient network infrastructure to support mission-critical broadcast and production environments.

This opportunity is ideal for an experienced Lead Network Engineer looking to take technical ownership of a complex network estate supporting live broadcast operations. You'll lead a small team, own the network architecture, and deliver resilient connectivity for high-profile live events, bridging the gap between enterprise networking and real-time IP broadcast infrastructure.

Responsibilities:

• Provide architectural oversight and technical leadership for corporate and broadcast network infrastructure across all sites
• Design, implement, and operate mission-critical IP networks supporting live broadcast, streaming, and corporate services
• Lead multicast routing design and optimisation, PIM, SSM, IGMPv2/v3, Rendezvous Points for streaming and broadcast workflows
• Plan and deliver network services for large-scale live events, elections, major outside broadcasts, high-profile transmission where zero downtime is essential
• Own network performance, capacity, resilience, and security across broadcast and corporate environments
• Collaborate with broadcast engineering and production teams to integrate new systems into the IP production environment
• Line manage and mentor a small team of network engineers
• Act as senior escalation point for complex network incidents and high-risk project delivery
• Manage external suppliers and carriers on circuit provisioning, SLA management, and connectivity projects
• Arista core broadcast and data centre fabric
• Cisco, corporate and campus networking
• Palo Alto, firewalls and security
• BGP / OSPF, EVPN / VXLAN
• Multicast: PIM / SSM / IGMPv2 / IGMPv3
• SMPTE ST 2110, PTP / IEEE 1588, NMOS IS-04/IS-05

Skills/Must Have:

• Broadcast networking background, this is essential, not a nice-to-have
• Deep multicast expertise, specifically in broadcast or streaming environments, not just general enterprise multicast
• Strong BGP and OSPF routing experience, Cisco and Arista in a production environment
• Solid EVPN/VXLAN overlay architecture experience
• Proven track record delivering networks for live, high-pressure events where availability is non-negotiable
• Experience leading or mentoring a small technical team
• Familiarity with SMPTE ST 2110, PTP (IEEE 1588), and NMOS is a significant advantage
• Arista ACE or Cisco CCNP certification preferred
• Confident communicator, able to bridge IT and broadcast engineering teams clearly

Location & Working Pattern:

• Central London
• Primarily onsite with some flexibility
• Standard hours: 9am–5:30pm
• No on-call requirement

Benefits:

• Work for one of the UK's most recognisable media organisations, supporting infrastructure with genuine national significance
• Gain experience delivering broadcast networking for high-profile live events, including elections, royal events, and major outside broadcasts
• Combine technical leadership with team management, taking ownership of architecture, project delivery, and people development
• Work across a best-of-breed, multi-vendor environment including Arista, Cisco, and Palo Alto technologies
• Enjoy a role with no on-call requirement and a healthy work-life balance
• Collaborate closely with broadcast engineering, production, and cybersecurity teams across the organisation

Salary:

• £75,000 base salary