Principal Networks Systems Engineer in Southampton

Job Description: Do you want to grow your career in network engineering and work on projects that safeguard the UK’s national interests? At Leonardo, our Network Systems Engineers are at the heart of designing, configuring, and supporting secure networks that keep our customers connected and protected.

Your work at Leonardo UK will see you take the lead in meeting customer requirements. The role will involve a mixture of working from home and on site to ensure close collaboration with the wider team. When on site, this is an office- and integration laboratory-based role using network test equipment and a mix of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and military-off-the-shelf (MOTS) IP network and virtual environment technologies.

Your Impact The successful candidate would provide technical expertise within the Land and Naval domain of Leonardo UK with a focus on IP network and virtual environment technologies for, predominantly, communications systems on naval platforms. The successful candidate will be working within an Integrated Project Team and be responsible to the Project System Design Authority for the design, configuration, implementation, documentation, test and verification of resilient network and server data architectures within some of the most demanding naval environments across the whole product lifecycle. The successful candidate would be expected to work towards Design Authority status for IP networks and virtual environments, providing technical governance over a system’s design, ensuring it is fit for purpose, compliant, architecturally coherent and controlled throughout its lifecycle. Once deployed, the day-to-day support of the networks is generally performed by the customer, with Leonardo UK providing spare equipment and design authority support (such as obsolescence management and approval of configuration changes).

Key Responsibility Areas:

• Architecting, designing and governing current and future naval communication network solutions and their implementation.
• Leading on network design including: production of high- and low-level network designs, development of logical and physical network architectures, definition of layer 2 and layer 3 architectures, production of routing, switching and segmentation strategies, allocation of communication services across network infrastructure.
• All assigned systems engineering aspects of new and existing networks and network applications embodied on naval platforms working at all phases of the development lifecycle.
• Defining network interfaces between communication systems, mission systems and other consumers.
• Support to the capture of design and test artefacts as appropriate for all stages in the engineering lifecycle appropriate for managing existing systems and for taking concepts through to development.
• Test definition, test execution and fault finding across IP networks and hosted systems.
• Development of system installation and setting to work guidance.
• Working closely with customers through the verification and validation stages of projects to ensure systems meet their requirements and needs.

Skills, Qualifications & Knowledge Required:

What you’ll bring

• Solid understanding of core networking concepts and protocols.
• Experience with configuring and supporting network devices in enterprise environments.
• Ability to work independently on defined work packages while collaborating effectively with wider teams.
• A proactive approach and willingness to learn new tools and technologies.
• Technical leadership within the scope of the system and its technology.

Core areas (must have):

• Practical experience of network implementation, setting to work and verification including interfacing communication systems, fault finding, fault resolution, electrical safety and safe working practices.
• Demonstrable experience in the design and implementation of network management architectures including monitoring, fault, configuration, performance management, capacity planning and integration of network management systems.
• Experience of writing documentation in support of the design, configuration, implementation and verification of a network, for user information and interface control.
• Hands on experience in COTS IP network equipment, particularly Cisco.
• Hands on experience in COTS virtual environment software.
• Hands on experience in COTS server software, for example Windows server and Active Directory, DNS, DHCP.
• Demonstrable experience as a COTS IP networks practitioner, equivalent to or higher than Cisco CCNA qualification.
• Experience of all engineering lifecycle phases.
• Knowledge of tools and processes used in the design, development and acceptance of products and systems.
• Knowledge of TCP/IP, OSPF, Multicast, the OSI model, and common networking protocols.
• Understanding of network security concepts and secure configurations with experience in designing secure network architectures and implementation of security controls to meet information assurance and cyber security requirements.

Desirable:

• Use of DOORS in requirements management.
• Experience in the use of Model Based Systems Engineering methodology.
• Experience in COTS virtual environment backup, network management and diagnostic software.
• Experience of communication system integration.
• Experience with user Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server software.
• Experience with Product Lifecycle Management tools, particularly Siemens Teamcenter.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options.
• For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.
• For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity. Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety. At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Primary Location:

GB - Southampton Contract Type: Permanent Hybrid Working: Hybrid International, multicultural, innovative, technological: this is Leonardo. The company’s passionate and talented team is strongly influenced by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) expertise, with a diverse range of experience that enables colleagues to share knowledge and know-how across the generations. Leonardo always wants to expand its talent pool, here you can find the right opportunity for you!