Network Operations Engineer

We are currently seeking a Network Operations Engineer , to join our Network Practice ; within one of our Financial Services clients working in an elite Operations Team. This is an initial 6 month contract opportunity Inside IR35 with the prospect of extension. You will be required to be on site 3 days a week, based in Central London

Opticore IT is a rapidly expanding specialist N etwork Engineer and Project Management consultancy offering a wide variety of opportunities to work within challenging and exciting environments across our client base spanning multiple sectors including Finance, Broadcast Media, Telecommunications and more.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an elite Operations team focusing on BAU operational support with a strong emphasis on network security technologies , particularly firewalls .

What you'll be doing:

• Work as part of the Network Operations Team to deliver BAU support and operational excellence.
• Manage and resolve tickets from the ITSM system, ensuring timely updates and completion in line with SLAs.
• Implement and maintain firewall rules across Fortigate, Check Point, and Palo Alto firewalls.
• Perform firewall software upgrades, configuration backups, and post-upgrade validation.
• Support network security policy enforcement and ensure compliance with security standards.
• Collaborate with other teams to troubleshoot connectivity or access issues related to firewall configurations or security controls.
• Maintain accurate configuration and change documentation for all managed devices.

What you'll bring:

• Strong hands-on experience with enterprise firewalls — particularly Fortigate, Check Point, and Palo Alto.
• Good understanding of network security principles and firewall rule management.
• Experience working within an ITSM ticketing environment, handling incidents and service requests through to resolution.
• Familiarity with TACACS and Cisco ISE for authentication and access control.
• Good Routing & Switching knowledge (Layer 2/3 fundamentals, VLANs, routing protocols, etc.).
• Relevant vendor certification such as CCNA (or equivalent)

Diversity:

At Opticore IT we embrace diversity and are committed to equal opportunities. We actively recruit for an inclusive and diverse workforce and as such, want to ensure we do everything we can to support your application.

We want you to feel empowered to let us know if you require any adjustments to be made with your application or interview process so please speak to our recruitment team.