Senior Network Engineer

Optical Network Development Engineer - Global Infrastructure - 12 to 18 Month Contract - Remote (Dublin)

We're hiring on behalf of a leading global technology organisation operating one of the world's largest IP and optical network infrastructures. This is a senior contract engineering role within a Data Centre Network Engineering team, for someone who has operated at scale in a carrier or hyperscale environment and brings hands-on depth across both IP and optical transport layers.

The contract: 12 to 18 months. Remote-first with periodic attendance at Dublin offices and data centres depending on project deliverables. Includes participation in a 24/7 on-call rotation - this must be factored in before applying.

The role: You'll be part of a global infrastructure engineering team responsible for deploying, automating and sustaining a large-scale IP and optical network. This is not a maintenance role. The expectation is that you build, automate and improve, delivering solutions that balance performance, cost and reliability at a scale most engineers never encounter.

What you'll actually be doing:

• Deploying and automating network configurations across a large global footprint - writing tooling that eliminates manual work, not just running it

• Designing, deploying and troubleshooting DWDM optical transport infrastructure - a core technical requirement, not a nice-to-have

• Leading projects on network scaling, capacity optimisation and technology refresh across both IP and optical layers

• Troubleshooting routing, interconnectivity and performance issues in high-availability, mission-critical environments

• Supporting and mitigating large-scale network events for critical customers - clear communication under pressure is expected

• Collaborating with network, systems and software engineering teams on new infrastructure, tooling and processes

• Creating and maintaining engineering standards, configuration documentation and operational best practices across Cisco and Huawei environments

Must have:

• Hands-on DWDM experience - optical transport design, deployment and troubleshooting. Non-negotiable for this role

• Strong core IP networking fundamentals - BGP, MPLS, OSPF, VLANs, routing protocol design and troubleshooting at scale

• Experience writing automation - Python, Ansible or equivalent. Building tooling, not just using it

• In-depth experience with major router platforms, specifically Cisco 37xx, 49xx, 65xx, 73xx and 76xx including compatible supervisory and line cards

• Significant experience across many of: DWDM, T1/OTN, IPv4 and IPv6, TCP internals and flow control, BGP, OSPF, HSRP/GLBP, PIMv2, IGMP, LDP, TACACS, IPSEC and VPNs, netflow, DNS, HTTP

• Experience in large-scale complex network environments - national or international carrier, hyperscale or large enterprise

• Demonstrated ability to lead or own network engineering projects from design through to delivery

• Comfortable with a 24/7 on-call rotation and occasional travel to data centre and network sites

Strong advantage:

• Public cloud network and infrastructure experience - VPC design, direct connect, cloud networking

• Regional or international network inventory and integration projects

• SAP or equivalent workflow tooling for project and budget management

• Experience working across multinational or cross-regional engineering teams

The profile we're targeting: someone from carrier-grade or hyperscale IP and optical networking, ideally having worked on national core network projects covering both IP routing and DWDM transport. The ability to lead technically and coordinate across international teams matters.

The reality of the role: this is a contract position on a globally significant network. The scale is real, the on-call commitment is real, and the expectation that you operate autonomously is real. If you have genuine DWDM depth alongside core IP engineering, this is worth a conversation.

Remote, with periodic attendance at Dublin offices and data centres as required.

You must be based in Ireland with valid working rights in Ireland to be considered.