Network Engineer

About VIRTUS

VIRTUS Data Centres is the UK’s fastest-growing data centre provider. We own, design, build, and operate some of the most energy-efficient, flexible, and secure data centres in Europe.

In 2023, we announced our expansion into continental Europe, starting with Berlin and Milan, with plans to grow further across the region.

At VIRTUS, we aim to be a positive force in the fourth industrial revolution—delivering innovative solutions while staying firmly rooted in our core values: Clarity & Quality, Accountability, Customer Commitment, Purposeful Innovation, and Capability & Growth.

Job Summary

VIRTUS is seeking an experienced Network Engineer with strong Cisco, switching, routing, firewall, segmentation, and data centre networking experience to support the design, deployment, operation, and continuous improvement of secure enterprise and production network infrastructure across multiple sites.

The engineer will operate in a fast paced, critical infrastructure environment and must be capable of working independently, on site, and across multiple technology domains, collaborating with internal teams and third party vendors to deliver reliable and secure network services.

Duties and Responsibilities

The role includes but is not limited to the following:

Network Infrastructure Management

• Build, configure, and maintain enterprise and data centre network infrastructure, including switches, routers, and firewalls.

• Support lifecycle management activities including upgrades, patching, and hardware replacement, ensuring alignment with supported standards and vendor best practices.

• Strong troubleshooting capability across switching, routing and connectivity issues in complex, multi-site environments.

Network Security & Segmentation

• Implement and maintain secure network configurations, including VLANs, segmentation between corporate and production environments, and access control policies.

• Support the application of cyber security controls across the network estate, including firewall rules, secure remote access, and monitoring integration.

Network Operations

• Perform day‑to‑day network activities including switch configuration, routing updates, VLAN provisioning, and network integrity checks.

• Troubleshoot complex network issues across multiple sites, coordinating with internal teams and third‑party providers where required.

Physical & Virtual Server Management

• Support the maintenance of physical and virtual server infrastructure, including routine health checks, capacity monitoring, firmware updates, operating system patching, and lifecycle management activities.

• Undertake planned maintenance activities in line with change control processes, ensuring appropriate testing, backup validation, rollback planning, and post-maintenance verification are completed.

Backup & Restore

• Configure, monitor, and maintain backup schedules for relevant physical and virtual server infrastructure, ensuring backup policies are aligned to agreed recovery point objectives (RPOs), recovery time objectives (RTOs), retention requirements, and operational risk priorities.

• Perform and evidence regular backup and restore testing, including validation of backup integrity, restoration procedures, recovery sequencing, and post-restore checks to confirm services can be recovered within agreed RPO and RTO targets.

Monitoring & Performance Management

• Support network & server monitoring platforms to ensure visibility of performance, availability, and capacity across the estate.

• Analyse network & server performance trends and implement improvements to optimise reliability and resilience.

Change & Project Delivery

• Work with internal stakeholders to deliver network changes required for infrastructure upgrades, new site deployments, and system integrations.

• Participate in change management processes, ensuring all changes are planned, tested, and documented appropriately.

Collaboration with Vendors & Service Providers

• Engage with network vendors and service providers to support delivery, troubleshooting, and escalation of issues.

• Validate external works and ensure alignment with VIRTUS standards and operational requirements.

Documentation & Compliance

• Produce and maintain accurate technical documentation, including network diagrams, configurations, and operational procedures.

• Ensure all activities align with VIRTUS policies, security standards, and regulatory compliance requirements for critical infrastructure

Person Specification

Essential

· A self‑motivated and resourceful individual, with the ability to build effective working relationships quickly across internal and third‑party teams.

· Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders and communicate effectively across technical and non‑technical audiences.

· Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex network and infrastructure issues in a clear, structured, and methodical way.

· Pro‑active and responsive, able to prioritise workloads and operate effectively during periods of high activity, using strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.

· Comfortable working through ambiguity, bringing structure, clarity, and control within a growing and evolving IT Operations environment.

· Experience operating within critical infrastructure or multi‑site environments, with an understanding of availability, resilience, and security requirements.

· Strong understanding of networking principles, including switching, routing, segmentation, and secure connectivity across enterprise environments.

Desirable

· Educated to degree level or equivalent, with membership of a recognised professional body and relevant industry certifications.

· Experience working within a data centre or other critical infrastructure environment, with an understanding of high availability and resilience requirements.

· Professional certifications such as CCNP or CCIE, with additional certifications in cloud or virtualisation technologies (specifically Azure, VMware) considered advantageous.

· Exposure to enterprise architecture concepts or frameworks (e.g. TOGAF), with an understanding of how network design supports wider IT strategy.

· Experience supporting hybrid environments, including integration with cloud platforms (e.g. Microsoft Azure) and enterprise services such as Microsoft 365, VMware, ServiceNow, and network monitoring tools.

Additional Information

· This is a hybrid role, with regular travel to data centres based around London, and occasional travel into central London required.

· This role comes with an on-call element, which will require the post holder to participate in an out-of-hours on-call escalation rota.

In line with VIRTUS’ Vetting Policy, the successful applicant must be willing to undergo a BS7858 screening process.

VIRTUS is an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to fight for equality, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.

We reserve the right to close this post for applications should sufficient applications be received.

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully

VIRTUS Data Centres does not accept unsolicited support from search firms for employment openings. CVs/resumes submitted by search firms to any VIRTUS employee without an active, written search agreement for a specified role will become the property of VIRTUS. No fees will be paid for candidates hired from agency submissions made without such an agreement. Existing agency partnerships must adhere to position-specific terms outlined in their agreements. Please refrain from calling or emailing regarding this matter.