Senior Network Engineer

£500 per day, 9-month contract, Reading, Hybrid

We are seeking a Senior Wireless Network Engineer to assist in the Stadium Wi-Fi practice. As a member of the technical delivery team, you will be responsible for working on all aspects of the Stadium's Wi-Fi solution - including, but not limited to – stadium design, Access Point / Controller testing and configuration, documentation, operational support, device certification, technical evaluation, RF surveys, optimisation and tuning and event day testing of Stadium Wi-Fi solution.

As an integral member of the stadium delivery team, you will be working closely with major sports brands, venue owners and venue operators, installation and construction teams. You will need a deep understanding of the latest 802.11 Wi-Fi standards, have existing experience working on complex, large-scale High-Density (HD) Wi-Fi deployments, ideally within a stadium or arena environment. You will work closely alongside the Technical Design Authority and cabling and construction coordinator to ensure accurate access point/antenna placements, and the Principal Network Engineer for network integration throughout the project. You will be responsible for assisting with the design, configuration, testing/verification, and support of the High-Density Stadium Wi-Fi solution.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist with the design and configuration elements of the Stadium Wi-Fi solution, including access point model and placement, controller, resilience and licensing requirements, according to industry or vendor best practice.
• Configuration and installation of Cisco products from their Stadium portfolio.
• Verify that best practices are followed for all Extreme Wi-Fi device configurations (including wireless controllers, wireless access points and antennas) in coordination with the Network Engineer.
• Oversee execution of a complete Wi-Fi signal coverage plan in accordance with the defined acceptance criteria.
• The integration of Wi-Fi and/or network components into a wider Enterprise-grade network, including Layer 2 (Switching), Layer 3 (IP, Routing and SDWAN) and Layer 4-7 (Firewalls, DNS, DHCP, Authentication & Authorisation, management, logging, etc).
• Contribute to the High-Level Design (HLD) and Low-Level Design (LLD) documents, including textual and diagrammatic representation of the design, to support your Wi-Fi and/or LAN design decisions.
• Feed into the Customer requirements, HLD, LLD or implementation documents developed by the Technical Design Authority.
• Support and complete documentation such as Access Requests and Record-of-Change (ROC) to support the implementation of the Wi-Fi or LAN solution at the Customer’s site.
• Install, configure, implement and test Wi-Fi networks according to the LLD and change control documentation.
• Perform and document on-site Wi-Fi Surveys using tools such as Ekahau and Hamina or manage others to do this.
• Carry out AP design validation and produce high-quality AP placement drawings based on best practice guidelines.
• Work with electrical engineering and construction teams to create bespoke mounting solutions, either under seat or overhead.
• Contribute to the overall Project Plan.
• Perform testing and tuning validation, as coordinated with the project implementation plan.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. or B.Eng. degree in Computer Science or related field or work experience equivalent.
• Hands-on experience with one or more Wi-Fi and network vendors' equipment such as Extreme Networks, Cisco, Juniper, Cisco Meraki, Aruba, etc.
• Extensive experience within wireless network engineering, data communications fields, Wireless/Mobility/Cellular networks and Networking/Internetworking devices, protocols and operating systems.
• Demonstrate expertise in network design, ability to lead a Wi-Fi and network design-related discussion with leading questions to fully vet a customer’s requirements.
• Demonstrated expertise in network implementation, including configuration of Wi-Fi controllers, access-points, switches and routers, across a variety of network technologies including VLANS, IP Addressing, Routing Protocols, Security and Management functions.
• Demonstrated expertise with industry survey tools and techniques.
• Ability to troubleshoot technical issues and resolve problems in respect of the Wi-Fi Solution and the legacy Wi-Fi solution.
• Excellent technical capabilities and exceptional communication skills.
• Adept at presenting before internal and external stakeholders and proficient in developing documentation of solution/configuration/operations in Visio and MS Office.

Desired Industry Certifications

• CWNA (Certified Wireless Networking Administrator)
• CWDP (Certified Wireless Design Professional)
• Extreme Certified Expert (Wireless)
• CCNP
• Ekahau Certified Survey Engineer (ECSE)