Principal Network Engineer - remote across UK or Ireland in Lisburn

Principal Network Engineer - remote across UK or Ireland in Lisburn

Lisburn Full-Time 60000 - 68231 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Ocho

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design and optimise a global network while leading advanced enterprise solutions.
  • Company: Join a world-class engineering team with a collaborative culture.
  • Benefits: Up to £115k salary, unlimited PTO, private health, and remote work options.
  • Other info: Flexible working environment with excellent career growth opportunities.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on cutting-edge network architecture and drive innovation.
  • Qualifications: 10+ years in network design, hands-on experience with Palo Alto and Juniper.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 68231 £ per year.

We are seeking a Principal Network Engineer to join a world-class engineering team responsible for designing, securing, and optimising a large-scale global network. You will play a key role in evolving a high-performance infrastructure that supports complex routing, automation, and next-generation security. This is a deeply technical, hands-on position, ideal for engineers who want to work on challenging architecture and drive best practice across the business. We're looking for someone who can own problems end to end and work autonomously in a fully remote, globally distributed team, with minimal day-to-day oversight. If you are a technologist who thrives on solving problems, takes genuine ownership of your area, enjoys working in a collaborative global team, and brings a passion for networking excellence, we would like to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

  • Architect, design, and deploy advanced enterprise and data centre network solutions
  • Lead implementation and troubleshooting across Palo Alto and Juniper environments
  • Deliver robust routing and segmentation using EVPN, VXLAN, and BGP
  • Optimise firewall and security services including Threat Prevention, Wildfire, URL Filtering, and Panorama
  • Build and maintain network automation and Infrastructure as Code to reduce manual operational overhead
  • Contribute to disaster recovery planning, testing, and monitoring/forensics capability across the network estate
  • Work closely with global peers to ensure scalability, security, and high availability
  • Act as a technical mentor and thought leader within the network engineering function
  • Contribute to continuous improvement and adoption of new technologies

Required Experience

  • 10+ years in enterprise-level network design and support, including 5+ years operating as a technical lead or architect
  • Proven, hands-on expertise with Palo Alto firewalls (advanced CLI configuration essential)
  • Experience with Juniper routing and switching, particularly QFX and MX platforms (Apstra a plus)
  • Deep understanding of EVPN, VXLAN, BGP, and related routing protocols
  • Scripting and Infrastructure as Code experience (e.g. Ansible, Terraform)
  • Experience with network access control (NAC), 802.1x, and authentication technologies (LDAP, RADIUS)
  • Experience with disaster recovery planning and implementation, and with monitoring tools for failure detection and forensic investigation
  • Strong troubleshooting skills and a track record of delivering production-ready solutions
  • Comfortable explaining design decisions and architectural trade-offs
  • A genuine self-starter, able to work independently and take ownership without close supervision
  • Excellent communicator, able to collaborate across time zones and teams

Preferred / Nice to Have

  • Relevant certifications (PCNSA, PCNSE, JNCIA, JNCIS, JNCIP, JNCIE, CCSP, ITIL or similar)
  • Familiarity with Prisma Access, Cortex XSOAR, or Prisma Cloud
  • Experience working in multi-site or multi-cloud enterprise environments (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Working Environment

  • Global team distributed across the UK, Ireland, and North America
  • Collaborative culture with an emphasis on innovation, autonomy, and continuous learning
  • Flexible hybrid or remote working options

Package

  • Up to £115k salary + bonus
  • Fully remote
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Pension, 5% matched
  • Private health

Please apply now if you are matching the above criteria, or contact Andrew Harrison directly.

Principal Network Engineer - remote across UK or Ireland in Lisburn employer: Ocho

Join a dynamic and innovative digital consultancy that champions a remote-first work culture, offering exceptional benefits such as a competitive salary, generous annual leave, and a commitment to professional development. With a focus on quality and collaboration, you'll thrive in an environment that values your expertise and provides the autonomy to shape QA processes while working on complex, multi-component systems alongside a talented team in Northern Ireland.

Ocho

Contact Details:

Ocho Recruitment Team

We think you need these skills to ace Principal Network Engineer - remote across UK or Ireland in Lisburn

Network Design
Palo Alto Firewalls
Juniper Routing and Switching
EVPN
VXLAN
BGP
Infrastructure as Code