Network Infrastructure Engineer in Exeter

We’re looking for an exceptional Network Infrastructure Engineer to help us make a difference to our planet. As our Network Infrastructure Engineer, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work. Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we’ll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

World changing work: From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive.

Your world of expertise:

• Best-in-class technology expertise: As a Network Infrastructure Engineer, you will work with cutting edge technology, helping to keep Met Office employees and contractors connected both internally and to the outside world and supporting our world-leading scientific capabilities.
• High calibre teamwork: As a key member of a vibrant team of circa 20 high skilled Network engineers, you will foster knowledge share, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Exciting projects: You will get involved with a mix of complex, technical issues, and large-scale life cycle projects. There are opportunities for experience in data centre networking, next generation firewalls, cloud-based security solutions and SD-WAN.

Implement network designs and changes as required by the organisation to meet the demands of systems delivery. The maintenance of the Met Office network includes administering and installing devices from industry leaders such as Cisco and Fortinet, DNS, and load balancing for Met Office services and products. Respond to and take ownership of challenging problems. Investigating and diagnosing complex technical issues, working with colleagues, users, and suppliers as appropriate. Assist in the supervision of network engineering works at Exeter HQ and remote sites. Maintaining technical documentation and mentoring team members on technical issues. Monitoring network performance, security, and integrity. Work closely with technology experts and direct network specialists within the Met Office to deliver and improve services. Coach and mentor more junior colleagues.

We operate an on-call roster in Technology to provide 24/7/365 support to respond to operational service requirements. This post may be part of an on-call roster and the postholder would be required to participate in an on-call roster where in operation.

As our Network Infrastructure Engineer, your total reward package will be up to £51,648 annually, which includes:

• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) you will be paid £2,200 per annum as a market supplement to reflect the demand for your skills.
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave.

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

• Current formal qualifications in networking (e.g., CCNA, CCNP) or equivalent knowledge and experience.
• Proven enterprise networking technical ability.
• An understanding of network security best practices and technologies with a demonstrable knowledge of firewalls, secure access, and secure configuration.
• Proven analytical ability and problem-solving skills.
• Experience of working in an ITIL-based (or similar) support environment.
• Effective mentoring, planning, and experience communicating technical concepts, problems and solutions to colleagues and customer stakeholders.

How to apply: If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills.

Closing date 01/02/2026 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 23/02/2026. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

Using AI in your application: We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they accurately reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions at the Met Office are made by people, not AI.

How we can help: If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us. If you’re considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK – please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.