Senior Systems Engineer

We are looking for an experienced Senior Systems Consultant. You will be responsible for the design, implementation, administration, maintenance and operational support of enterprise network and data centre infrastructure.

The role requires strong technical expertise in network infrastructure, network security, high availability, disaster recovery and operational support. You will also work closely with internal teams, vendors and contractors to deliver network-related projects and ensure the reliability, security and performance of critical IT environments.

This is a 24x7 operational role, with scheduled on-call duties averaging 1-2 weeks per month.

Key Responsibilities

Network Planning & Infrastructure Management

• Plan and manage network infrastructure technology roadmaps, upgrades and refreshes.

• Perform proactive capacity, performance and availability planning for network infrastructure.

• Design and implement network security hardening and availability improvements.

• Plan and execute hardware, software and firmware upgrades to maintain vendor-supported versions.

• Design and maintain High Availability (HA), failover, backup and recovery solutions to meet required RTO/RPO.

• Develop, maintain and execute Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BCP) procedures and exercises.

• Consolidate and plan network changes requiring downtime to minimise disruption to production services.

Network Administration & Operations

• Administer, monitor and maintain enterprise network and data centre infrastructure.

• Perform daily operational tasks, health checks, provisioning and preventive maintenance.

• Provide 24x7 on-call support, including after-hours emergency response when required.

• Investigate incidents within 30 minutes of alert or activation.

• Troubleshoot network and infrastructure issues and drive timely incident and problem resolution.

• Perform root cause analysis and recommend preventive and corrective actions.

• Manage network configuration, access controls, system interfaces and dependencies.

• Monitor network performance, availability and capacity, and implement corrective actions where required.

• Perform network hardware/software upgrades, patching, firmware updates and security fixes.

• Maintain accurate configuration, asset, inventory, licensing and technical documentation.

• Support IT audits and ensure timely remediation of audit findings.

• Perform scheduled DR/BCP exercises, including system failover, switch-over and recovery testing.

Network & Infrastructure Projects

• Provide technical solutions and recommendations for network architecture and infrastructure.

• Lead or participate in infrastructure and network-related projects.

• Review technical designs, configurations, migration plans and implementation approaches.

• Support application and infrastructure teams during solution deployments.

• Plan infrastructure capacity requirements, including CPU, memory, storage and network resources.

• Assess technical risks and recommend appropriate mitigation measures.

• Develop migration and implementation plans for new or upgraded infrastructure.

• Ensure appropriate 24x7 operational support arrangements are in place following project implementation.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Manage vendors, contractors and technology service providers.

• Prepare and review technical specifications for RFQ/RFP exercises.

• Evaluate vendor proposals and ensure implementations meet technical requirements and agreed SLAs.

• Coordinate with internal Technology teams, Market Operations and other business departments.

• Liaise with external vendors, contractors and Market Participants as required.

• Track project delivery, technical issues and vendor performance.

Continuous Improvement & Documentation

• Review existing operational processes and identify opportunities for improvement and automation.

• Develop and improve network monitoring and health-check processes.

• Maintain and update network architecture diagrams, configuration documents, operational manuals and procedures.

• Ensure technical documentation remains accurate, complete and current.

• Support other Technology initiatives and perform additional responsibilities assigned by the supervisor.

• Provide backup support for Data Centre Facilities Management, including audit support and related activities.

Requirements

Education & Certifications

Essential:

• Degree/Diploma in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.

• CCNP Routing & Switching, CCNP Enterprise, Data Centre certification or equivalent.

• ITIL Foundation certification.

Preferred:

• CCIE or equivalent advanced network certification.

• CDCP, CISSP or other relevant infrastructure/security certifications.

Experience & Technical Skills

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in network infrastructure support, maintenance and implementation.

• Strong experience with Cisco and/or Aruba network infrastructure.

• Experience with Cisco ACI is highly preferred.

• Strong understanding of:

  • TCP/IP

  • IPsec

  • VRRP / HSRP

  • SNMP

  • NAT

  • Multicast

  • Subnetting

  • Ethernet

  • Access Control Lists (ACL)

• Strong working knowledge of routing protocols including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, IS-IS and MPLS.

• Experience configuring and administering network security technologies such as:

  • Firewalls

  • VPN

  • WAN optimisation

  • Authentication servers

• Hands-on experience with high-availability network security platforms such as Check Point, Cisco Firepower, Fortinet and Palo Alto.

• Working knowledge of DNS, time synchronisation, proxy services, F5 Load Balancers, Infoblox and RSA.

• Strong experience in switch and router configuration, including storage switch configuration.

• Experience with network monitoring and management platforms such as MRTG, Cisco ISE, AlgoSec or equivalent.

• Experience monitoring and improving network performance, availability and capacity.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in vendor management, procurement, RFQ/RFP processes and infrastructure project management.

• Proven track record in successfully delivering network infrastructure projects.

• Working knowledge of Disaster Recovery (DRP) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP).

• Experience supporting critical or high-availability IT/trading environments.

• Experience with data centre facilities management is an advantage, including:

  • Structured cabling

  • Power and grounding

  • Cooling systems

  • Fire protection

  • Rack and physical layout

  • Physical security

Key Competencies

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.

• Excellent understanding of enterprise network architecture and infrastructure.

• Ability to work independently in a critical 24x7 environment.

• Strong incident and problem management skills.

• Good project management and vendor management capabilities.

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Ability to work under pressure and respond effectively to critical incidents.

• Proactive approach to infrastructure monitoring, capacity planning and service improvement.

• Strong documentation and technical writing skills.