Senior Network Patch Management Engineer

Salary: £30,000 - 50,000 per year

Requirements:

• 3–6 years in network engineering / operations
• B.Tech (Electronics & Communication / Computer Science) or equivalent
• Expert-level CLI skills: Cisco IOS / IOS-XE / NX-OS, Juniper JunOS, Aruba AOS, Palo Alto PAN-OS
• Deep understanding of network protocols: OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, MPLS, VRF, STP, HSRP/VRRP
• Experience with automated patching toolchains: Ansible, Netmiko, NAPALM, Python (Paramiko)
• Vendor firmware lifecycle knowledge including feature releases, maintenance releases, and ED/MD trains (Cisco SMU, Juniper package management)
• Firewall firmware management: Palo Alto, Fortinet FortiOS, Cisco ASA/FTD upgrade procedures
• Load balancer firmware: F5 BIG-IP or Citrix ADC upgrade methodology
• Network management platforms: Cisco DNA Centre, SolarWinds NPM/NCM, NetBrain, Infoblox
• Vulnerability management: parsing Cisco PSIRT, Juniper JSA, and NVD CVE data
• ITSM integration: ServiceNow change management, CMDB for network asset tracking
• SD-WAN patching exposure (Cisco Viptela, VMware VeloCloud) is advantageous
• Strong risk assessment skills: balances urgency with network stability
• Excellent planning skills for complex, multi-device maintenance windows
• Clear communicator with NOC, application, and security teams
• Methodical documentation – detailed runbooks, RCAs, and change records
• Proactive – stays current with vendor EOL/EOS notices and security advisories
• Preferred certifications: CCNP Enterprise or Security, JNCIP-ENT or JNCIP-SEC, PCNSE, CompTIA Security+ or CySA+, ITIL 4 Foundation or Managing Professional

Responsibilities:

• Manage the firmware / software lifecycle for routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless controllers across multi-vendor environments (Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto, F5, Fortinet)
• Assess vendor advisories (Cisco PSIRT, Juniper JSA, Palo Alto Security Advisories) and map CVEs to required upgrades; prioritise based on business impact and CVSS score
• Develop and maintain device-specific patching runbooks including pre-check scripts, upgrade procedures, rollback steps, and post-validation checks
• Automate network patch workflows using Ansible, Netmiko, NAPALM, or vendor APIs (Cisco NSO / DNA Centre)
• Lead maintenance window planning: impact analysis, rollback testing, stakeholder communication, and CAB submission
• Oversee configuration backup integrity (RANCID / Oxidised / Cisco NSO) before every patching activity
• Conduct structured rollback for failed upgrades; perform root cause analysis and document findings
• Integrate network vulnerability data from Qualys / Tenable into the patch prioritisation workflow
• Monitor network stability post-patching using NMS/IPAM tools (SolarWinds, NetBrain, Infoblox)
• Act as L2 escalation for L1 patch-related issues and routing/connectivity incidents
• Produce patch compliance reports and present to network management and security teams
• Drive patching SLA adherence: Critical vulnerabilities within 72 hours, High within 14 days

Technologies:

• AI
• Ansible
• Aruba
• Citrix
• Cloud
• CMDB
• Cisco
• Firewall
• Firmware
• ITIL
• ITSM
• MPLS
• Network
• NPM
• Nx
• Python
• Security
• ServiceNow
• VMware
• Windows
• iOS
• LAN
• Spark

More:

We are a $13+ billion global technology company, home to more than 224,000 people across 60 countries, delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering, cloud, and AI, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. We are a globally recognized leader in the Tech and IT industry, with an idea-first attitude and a startup mindset that shapes how we work. The role is for a Senior Network Patch Management Engineer based in London / Birmingham, working 5 days in the office on a fixed-term contract.

last updated 34 week of 2026