Network Engineer

We are currently seeking a Network Engineer , to join our Network Practice ; within one of our Financial Services clients working in an elite Operations Team. This is a hybrid position but you will be required to attend the office up to 3 days a week, based in the 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.

Exciting opportunity for a Network Engineer to take responsibility for maintaining and supporting complex Data Centre network environments, specifically built on Leaf & Spine topologies with VXLAN overlays using Cisco and Arista infrastructure.

What you'll be doing:

• Operate, support, and maintain network infrastructure in enterprise-grade Data Centres (Leaf-Spine topologies with VXLAN)

• Perform deep packet inspection and analysis using Wireshark and other network analysis tools

• Troubleshoot complex Layer 2 and Layer 3 network issues in real time

• Configure and manage Cisco and Arista network devices

• Operate and manage Fortigate and Palo Alto firewalls within the Data Centre environment

• Participate in network automation initiatives; write and maintain Python scripts for routine tasks and monitoring

• Support BGP and OSPF routing configurations and perform ongoing optimization and issue resolution

• Document network infrastructure, changes, and procedures

What you'll bring:

• Minimum 5+ years of experience in Network Engineering roles

• CCNP or equivalent experience level (CCIE beneficial but not required)

• Solid hands-on experience with Cisco and Arista Data Centre environments

• In-depth understanding of Leaf & Spine architectures and VXLAN

• Strong protocol knowledge and practical experience with BGP and OSPF

• Proficiency with Wireshark for packet-level diagnostics and analysis

• Some Firewall experience (Fortigate and Palo Alto preferred)

• Ability to script in Python for basic automation tasks and data parsing

• Some understanding of infrastructure automation concepts (e.g., Ansible, Git desirable)