Network Engineer - Cisco Catalyst SD WAN Engineer in Reading

A Senior Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Engineer with Cisco vManage dashboards and APIs experience is required.

Understanding of routing protocols (BGP, OSPF), VRF-based segmentation, AAR, QoS design and enforcement, Security services (Firewall, IDS/IPS, URL filtering) etc.

3-6 Month Contract working remote (WFH) and travel on-site Newbury as needed (Hybrid).

Paying £330-£350/day (Outside IR35). Start ASAP ideally May 2026.

Flexibility is needed as you will be required to provide 24/7 Shift Rota.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience designing and operating Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN.
• Excellent understanding of routing protocols (BGP, OSPF), VRF-based segmentation, AAR, QoS design and enforcement, Security services (Firewall, IDS/IPS, URL filtering) etc.
• Hands-on experience with Cisco vManage dashboards and APIs.
• Provide input for simple, medium, complex WAN/LAN changes, Routing and design decisions (underlay/overlay, VRFs, segmentation, etc.) and risk assessment for proposed changes.
• The successful candidate will lead and support complex network changes, incident troubleshooting as needed, assist in operational governance, and act as a technical advisor to both the customer and internal teams.
• Strong governance with experience in regulated or CNI (Critical National Infrastructure or highly regulated environments).
• Change, Governance & Operational Assurance: including Configuration drift detection and remediation, Template governance in vManage, Version, feature and compatibility alignment.
• Help with best practice for security posture, firmware upgrade strategy etc.
• Maintain a strong end-to-end view across WAN, LAN, and Wi-Fi, ensuring seamless handoff between domains.
• Support 3rd Line teams on complex routing scenarios, inter-domain dependencies (WAN->LAN and Security) and support for incidents and problems.
• Proven experience operating as a technical authority and not just a delivery engineer.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to build strong customer relationships and work effectively in a team environment.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Strongly Desirable

• Experience in Critical National Infrastructure or highly regulated environments.
• Familiarity with ServiceNow or equivalent ITSM integration.
• Cisco certifications (e.g. CCNP/CCIE Enterprise).