At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and manage a carrier-grade network while driving operational improvements.
- Company: Dynamic telecoms business with a focus on innovation and growth.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, performance bonuses, hybrid work, and health perks.
- Other info: Clear pathway to CTO role with excellent career development opportunities.
- Why this job: Own a complex network and shape the future of telecom infrastructure.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership in network operations and hands-on technical expertise.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Location: Southampton (Hybrid Role)
Salary: £80,000 - £100,000
We are working with a technically advanced telecoms and communications business that operates its own carrier-grade infrastructure, delivering business-critical unified communications and telephony services across a resilient multi-site environment. As the organization continues to grow, they are looking to appoint an experienced Infrastructure Manager to take ownership of their entire network estate while leading the day-to-day operations of a skilled infrastructure team.
This is a rare opportunity for a senior networking professional who wants to combine hands-on technical ownership with people leadership and operational responsibility. You will be the senior owner of a complex on-prem infrastructure estate spanning multiple interconnected sites, taking responsibility for everything from BGP operations, peering, RIPE resources, routing policy, and network resilience through to incident management, governance, documentation standards, and team development.
Rather than stepping into a purely managerial position, this role offers the chance to remain deeply involved in the technology while shaping the wider infrastructure function. You will work closely with senior technical stakeholders, support carrier-grade network operations, drive operational improvements, and play a key role in network architecture, service continuity, disaster recovery planning, and major customer network projects.
It is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys ownership, leadership, and solving complex networking challenges in a live production telecoms environment. You will be leading from the front in a business where infrastructure sits at the core of service delivery, giving you the chance to influence technical strategy, improve operational maturity, and build a clear pathway toward senior leadership and Chief Technology Officer level progression.
Required Skills:
- Proven experience in a senior Infrastructure / Network / Operations leadership role
- Strong background in carrier-grade or ISP-level networking environments
- Advanced hands-on experience with BGP operations, traffic engineering, redundancy, and live incident recovery
- Strong knowledge of MikroTik RouterOS and Juniper Junos
- Experience managing RIPE resources, IP allocations, and routing policies
- Proven line management experience, including team leadership, mentoring, and performance management
- Strong understanding of change control, incident management, root cause analysis, and operational governance
- Experience managing carrier, supplier, and third-party provider relationships
- Strong documentation standards across network diagrams, SOPs, runbooks, and DR procedures
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to work across operations, DevOps, service teams, and senior leadership
- Telecoms, ISP, or unified communications experience would be highly desirable
Exclusive Benefits:
- £80,000 - £100,000 Salary
- Annual performance bonus linked to uptime and operational KPIs
- Full ownership of a carrier-grade network estate across multiple interconnected production sites
- Hands-on leadership role combining technical ownership, team management, and operational strategy
- Exposure to BGP, peering, RIPE, telecoms platforms, resilience planning, and business-critical network operations
- Opportunity to lead and shape infrastructure standards, processes, and long-term operational maturity
- Clear progression pathway to Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
- Hybrid working with Southampton office and data centre exposure
- Private medical insurance
- Company pension
- 21 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays + Birthday off
- Cycle to work scheme
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Company events, employee discounts, and additional office perks
If you are an Infrastructure Manager looking for a role where you can take full ownership of a carrier-grade network environment, lead from the front, and position yourself for long-term progression into CTO-level leadership, click APPLY NOW, attach your FULL CV and contact details, and I will be in touch ASAP.
Network Infrastructure Manager in Southampton employer: Sterling Bridge Limited
Join a forward-thinking telecoms and communications company in Southampton, where you can take full ownership of a carrier-grade network while leading a skilled infrastructure team. With a strong focus on employee growth, this hybrid role offers clear progression to CTO, competitive salary, and a range of exclusive benefits including private medical insurance and a health & wellbeing programme. Experience a collaborative work culture that values technical expertise and operational excellence, making it an ideal environment for professionals seeking meaningful and rewarding employment.
