Senior Network Automation Engineer / Technical Lead (Cisco, Python, Ansible)

We are recruiting for an experienced Senior Network Automation Engineer/Technical Lead to join a major enterprise transformation programme with a leading financial services organisation based in London.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a senior engineer who has led enterprise network automation initiatives and is passionate about building scalable automation platforms, engineering standards and governance rather than simply developing individual scripts.

The Role

You will work closely with the network engineering team to design and implement a modern network automation framework that enables engineers to safely automate operational processes through reusable tooling and best practice.

You will take ownership of establishing development standards, governance and automation frameworks while remaining hands-on in the implementation of the solution.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the design of an enterprise network automation framework
• Developing reusable Python and Ansible automation frameworks
• Establishing coding standards, repository structures and Git workflows
• Designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines for network automation
• Introducing secure secrets management using HashiCorp Vault or similar enterprise vault technologies
• Implementing automated testing and validation using pyATS or equivalent frameworks
• Building configuration compliance and desired-state validation processes
• Producing documentation, standards and onboarding material
• Mentoring and enabling network engineers to adopt automation best practices

Essential Skills

• Extensive enterprise Network Automation experience
• Strong Cisco networking background
• Expert Python development
• Advanced Ansible automation
• Git version control
• CI/CD pipeline experience
• Infrastructure as Code principles
• Experience designing technical standards and governance
• Ability to lead technical workstreams and mentor engineering teams

Desirable Skills

• HashiCorp Vault or similar enterprise secrets management solutions (CyberArk, Azure Key Vault, AWS Secrets Manager etc.)
• pyATS, Robot Framework or equivalent network testing frameworks
• DevOps practices within enterprise infrastructure
• Financial Services or other highly regulated environments

What's on Offer

• Hybrid working (2-3 days per week in London)
• High-profile enterprise transformation programme
• Technical leadership position with significant influence
• Initial contract until December 2026 with strong likelihood of extension

If you're an experienced Network Automation Technical Lead with deep Cisco, Python and Ansible expertise and enjoy building enterprise automation platforms that transform network operations, we'd love to hear from you.

If you are a strong fit and command a higher daily rate, we still welcome you to still apply.