Network Support Engineer

Job Description Job Title: Network Support Engineer (Intermediate) Location: Dublin 1, Ireland (Hybrid working Model – 2-3 days per week onsite) Start Date: Mid-October Contract Duration: This is a full-time contract position for an initial period of 35 weeks (approximately 173 working days) . Subject to business requirements and contract extension, the engagement may be extended to 46 weeks (approximately 230 working days) . Role Overview: The organisation is seeking an experienced Infrastructure, Network & Azure Consultant to provide specialist technical capability and operational resilience within the ICT Infrastructure & Networks function. The primary purpose of the role is to reduce the organisation's current dependency on a limited number of infrastructure specialists and provide additional capability across Azure, VMware, Windows Server, networking, infrastructure security, backup/recovery and hybrid infrastructure . The consultant will work alongside existing ICT staff to: Provide operational cover and technical support for critical infrastructure services. Reduce key-person and single-point-of-failure risks. Support the operation and development of the organisation's Azure and hybrid infrastructure. Provide specialist technical expertise for complex incidents and infrastructure changes. Improve infrastructure documentation and operational procedures. Transfer knowledge and capability to ICT staff. Identify infrastructure risks, dependencies and opportunities for improvement. Support the transition towards the organisation's future ICT Target Operating Model. The role is therefore both operational and developmental , with a strong emphasis on resilience, knowledge transfer and sustainable capability Scope of Services The successful consultant will be expected to provide services across the following areas. A. Azure Infrastructure Provide technical support and advice covering: Azure Virtual Machines. Azure networking. Azure storage. Azure Backup and recovery. Azure monitoring. Azure security configuration. Azure resource management. Azure identity and access dependencies. Azure hybrid connectivity. Infrastructure performance and optimisation. Azure architecture and resilience. Azure cost and resource optimisation where appropriate. The consultant should be capable of diagnosing complex Azure infrastructure issues and recommending appropriate solutions. B. VMware and On-Premises Infrastructure Provide specialist support for the existing on-premises infrastructure environment, including: VMware infrastructure. Windows Server. Virtual machines. Active Directory and related infrastructure services. DNS/DHCP and core infrastructure services. Server performance and capacity. Storage infrastructure. Backup and recovery. Infrastructure monitoring. The consultant will be expected to support the transition and appropriate integration between on-premises and Azure environments. C. Network Infrastructure Provide technical support and expertise covering: LAN/WAN infrastructure. Routing and switching. Firewalls and network security. VPN and remote connectivity. Network segmentation. Wireless infrastructure where applicable. Network monitoring and troubleshooting. Network resilience and redundancy. Performance and capacity analysis. The consultant should be capable of investigating complex network incidents and working with third-party network/service providers where required. 3. Operational Support The consultant will provide additional technical capacity for the operation of ICT infrastructure services. This may include: Investigating and resolving complex infrastructure incidents. Supporting service restoration. Troubleshooting infrastructure failures. Supporting planned maintenance. Supporting patching and infrastructure upgrades. Monitoring infrastructure health. Supporting backup and recovery activities. Assisting with infrastructure changes. Providing technical escalation support. Supporting major incidents where infrastructure expertise is required. The consultant will work within the organisation's existing IT service management, change management, incident management and security processes . 4. Infrastructure Resilience and Risk Reduction A key objective of the engagement is to reduce infrastructure operational risk. The consultant will: Identify critical infrastructure dependencies. Identify single points of failure. Assess infrastructure resilience. Identify undocumented or poorly documented infrastructure components. Review operational processes. Identify areas of technical debt. Recommend improvements to resilience and recoverability. Support implementation of agreed improvements where appropriate. Particular attention should be given to reducing the organisation's reliance on individual staff members for critical technical knowledge. 5. Documentation and Knowledge Transfer Knowledge transfer is a mandatory requirement of the engagement . The consultant will be expected to work collaboratively with ICT staff and not operate as an isolated technical resource. The consultant will: Review existing infrastructure documentation. Update inaccurate or incomplete documentation. Create missing documentation for critical infrastructure. Document infrastructure architecture and dependencies. Develop operational runbooks. Document key administrative procedures. Document troubleshooting and recovery procedures. Conduct structured knowledge-transfer sessions. Demonstrate critical procedures to relevant ICT staff. Ensure knowledge is transferred before completion of the engagement. Documentation should be maintained in the organisation's approved documentation repositories and in formats that can be maintained by ICT staff after the consultancy ends. 6. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity The consultant will support the review and improvement of infrastructure recovery capability, including: Identification of critical infrastructure services. Review of backup arrangements. Review of recovery procedures. Identification of recovery dependencies. Support for disaster recovery testing. Identification of gaps in recovery capability. Recommendations for improving infrastructure resilience. Documentation of recovery procedures. 7. Cyber Security The consultant will work closely with the ICT cyber-security function and relevant managed service providers to ensure infrastructure is operated securely. Activities may include: Infrastructure security hardening. Patch management support. Vulnerability remediation. Secure configuration. Privileged access considerations. Network security. Azure security configuration. Support for cyber-security remediation activities. Support for investigation of infrastructure-related security events. The consultant will be expected to operate in accordance with the organisation's security policies and applicable regulatory requirements. 8. Project and Change Support The consultant may be required to provide infrastructure expertise to ICT projects and programmes. This may include: Infrastructure design. Technical assessment. Solution implementation. Migration activities. Azure deployments. Network changes. Server migrations. System upgrades. Production deployment support. Technical testing. Troubleshooting during implementation. Post-implementation support. The consultant will coordinate changes through the organisation's established change-management processes. 9. Future ICT Operating Model The consultant may also be required to provide technical input into the development of the future ICT operating model. This could include providing an assessment of: Current infrastructure capability. Technical skills and capacity. Infrastructure support requirements. Azure capability requirements. Network capability requirements. Opportunities for automation. Opportunities for managed services. Internal versus external capability. Future skills requirements. Infrastructure service management requirements. The consultant will not determine the future organisational structure but will provide objective technical evidence and recommendations to inform the ICT Review and Target Operating Model Requirements Mandatory Requirements (Pass / Fail): Candidates MUST meet ALL of the following: Experience: It is a mandatory requirement, that the resources proposed has the equivalent of grade level 2 (Intermediate) Availability: Must be available to start from Mid-October 2026. Qualifications: It is a mandatory requirement, that the Resources proposed hold the following qualifications or equivalents: Essential Azure infrastructure administration and architecture. VMware administration. Windows Server administration. Enterprise networking. LAN/WAN technologies. Firewalls and network security. Active Directory. Virtualisation. Backup and disaster recovery. Infrastructure monitoring. Troubleshooting complex infrastructure incidents. Hybrid cloud environments. Infrastructure security. Change and incident management. Technical documentation. Knowledge transfer. Desirable Experience with: Azure Arc. Azure Site Recovery. Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft Intune. Microsoft Defender. PowerShell. Infrastructure automation. Azure Monitor. Microsoft 365. Enterprise backup platforms. Network monitoring platforms. ITIL/service management environments. English Language Proficiency (MANDATORY): Native English speaker OR CEFR C2 Proficiency/Mastery (or equivalent) If there is no certificate, fluency will be assessed at presentation stage Key Deliverable: The following non-exhaustive list of Key Deliverables, are applicable to this Role. 1. Infrastructure current-state assessment. 2. Infrastructure risk and dependency assessment. 3. Azure environment documentation. 4. Network infrastructure documentation. 5. VMware/on-premises infrastructure documentation. 6. Infrastructure architecture and dependency maps. 7. Operational runbooks and procedures. 8. Backup and recovery documentation. 9. Disaster recovery recommendations. 10. Knowledge-transfer programme. 11. Infrastructure resilience improvement plan. 12. Identification of technical debt and improvement opportunities. 13. Recommendations for future infrastructure capability. 14. End-of-engagement handover and transition report. The precise deliverables and priorities will be agreed at mobilisation based on the organisation's existing environment and immediate operational requirements. Expected Outcomes At the conclusion of the engagement, the organisation should have: Reduced operational risk The dependency on a single infrastructure resource should be materially reduced. Improved knowledge resilience Critical infrastructure knowledge should be distributed across the ICT team rather than concentrated with one individual. Improved documentation Critical infrastructure, dependencies and operational procedures should be documented and accessible. Improved Azure capability The organisation should have greater understanding, resilience and operational capability across its Azure environment. Improved infrastructure resilience Identified infrastructure risks and single points of failure should have been assessed and, where practicable, addressed. Improved recovery capability Critical infrastructure recovery procedures should be documented and tested where appropriate. The successful supplier must demonstrate how the proposed consultant will reduce key-person dependency and leave a sustainable increase in organisational capability. Knowledge transfer, documentation and handover are therefore core deliverables of this engagement and not optional additional services. Key Experience/Competencies/Skillsets : The following Experience/Competencies/Skillsets are applicable to this Role. The consultant should demonstrate substantial practical experience in: · (Networking): Experience managing enterprise routing, switching, and firewall infrastructures. (200 marks) · (Infrastructure): Proven experience administering enterprise Windows infrastructure, storage arrays, and directory services (Active Directory / Entra ID). (200 marks) · (Azure Cloud): Experience of configuring and troubleshooting cloud-native environments, specifically Azure Virtual Networks (VNets), Hub-Spoke topologies, ExpressRoute/VPN Gateways, and Azure Network (300 marks) Essential · Azure infrastructure administration and architecture. · VMware administration. · Windows Server administration. · Enterprise networking. · LAN/WAN technologies. · Firewalls and network security. · Active Directory. · Virtualisation. · Backup and disaster recovery. · Infrastructure monitoring. · Troubleshooting complex infrastructure incidents. · Hybrid cloud environments. · Infrastructure security. · Change and incident management. · Technical documentation. · Knowledge transfer. Desirable Experience with: · Azure Arc. · Azure Site Recovery. · Microsoft Entra ID. · Microsoft Intune. · Microsoft Defender. · PowerShell. · Infrastructure automation. · Azure Monitor. · Microsoft 365. · Enterprise backup platforms. · Network monitoring platforms. · ITIL/service management environments. · Public-sector or regulated environments. · NIS2/security compliance requirements. Required Professional Experience The consultant should have: · At least 5 years' relevant professional experience in infrastructure engineering/consultancy, preferably in complex enterprise environments. · Demonstrable experience managing hybrid Azure/on-premises environments. · Demonstrable experience supporting enterprise networks. · Experience resolving complex infrastructure incidents. · Experience designing or implementing infrastructure improvements. · Experience documenting complex technical environments.