Senior Network Engineer

  • DWP
  • Blackpool, Lancashire
  • 05/05/2026
Full time Information Technology Telecommunications

Job Description

Senior Network Engineer

Pay up to £73,305 plus 28.97% employer pension contributions, hybrid working, flexible hours, and great work life balance.

DWP. Digital with Purpose.

We are looking for outstanding Senior Network Engineers to join our community of tech experts in DWP Digital, to assist in the design of Infrastructure services in collaboration with Architecture and Engineering principles.

We're using fresh ideas and leading-edge tech to build and maintain digital solutions that will be used by nearly every person in the UK, every day and at key moments in their lives.

DWP is the UK's largest government department. We help people into work and make payments worth over £195bn a year to support and empower millions of people.

The scale of what we do is extraordinary, and our purpose is unique. We'd love you to join us.

What skills, knowledge and experience will you need?

  • Advanced Network Architectures and Routing: Proficient in VXLAN overlays, EVPN, multi-site fabrics, VRF segmentation and Dynamic routing protocols (OSPF, BGP), particularly using Arista technologies.
  • Traffic Optimization & Load Balancing: Experienced in load balancing solutions including F5 ASM, APM, and DNS.
  • Automation & DevOps Practices: Good background in Infrastructure as Code, Configuration as Code, and CI/CD pipelines for streamlined network operations.
  • Communication skills with the ability to document network designs and procedures effectively. Takes accountability of issues that occur and is proactive in searching for potential problems.
  • Leadership and technical direction: Demonstrates strong technical leadership within Network Engineering, acting as a role model for best practice. Provides clear direction, mentors engineers, supports capability development and leads by example in the delivery of resilient, high quality network services.
  • Next-Generation Firewall Expertise: Skilled in configuring, designing, and maintaining NGFW's with emphasis on Palo Alto Firewalls with centralized management via Panorama.

You and your role

As a Senior Network Engineer, you'll play a key role in leading and supporting a team of infrastructure engineers, helping shape and deliver network and infrastructure solutions that align with wider IT and departmental goals.

You'll work closely with a broad range of people, from engineers and support teams to business users, architects and external suppliers, making sure communication is clear and effective at every level. You'll take ownership of delivering complex technical solutions, managing risks and dependencies along the way, and seeing work through to successful implementation.

You'll also be hands on in designing and running VXLAN overlays to support scalable, modern datacentre networking.

Details. Wages. Perks.

Location: You'll join us in one of our brilliant digital hubs in Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester or Newcastle, whichever is more convenient for you.

Hybrid Working: We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home and some time collaborating face to face in a hub.

Pay: We offer competitive pay of up to £73,205

Pension: You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions worth 28.97%, worth over £16,000 per year.

Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days rising to 31 days over time.

You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexitime. You'll also get all the usual public holidays.

We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

  • An award-winning environment and culture: Employer of the Year 2023 (Women In IT Awards), Founders Award for Outstanding Digital Leadership 2023 (Digital 100)
  • Flexible working including flexible hours and flex-friendly policies
  • Time off volunteering and charitable giving
  • Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'
  • Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
  • Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it's even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
  • Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities.

Process:

We know your time is valuable, so our application and selection process are just two stages:

Apply: complete your application on Civil Service Jobs. There'll be full instructions when you click through.

Interview: a single stage interview online.

CLICK APPLY for more information and to start your application.