Network Engineer

Department:  IT & Infrastructure

Reports to:  CTO / Head of Engineering

Role Overview

We are looking for a hands-on IT Manager to own the security, reliability, and day-to-day operation of the systems and infrastructure that keep Fivecell running. You will be the single point of accountability for access control, employee system and device management, IT infrastructure, and our hardware and software inventory.

You will run our bare-metal server estate, design and secure our networks, and put lightweight, practical compliance controls in place. This is a broad, ownership-heavy role for someone who is equally comfortable racking a server, hardening a firewall, managing user access, and keeping an accurate inventory of every asset we own.

This role suits someone who is deeply technical, security-minded, well-organised, and capable of operating independently in a fast-moving environment.

Key Responsibilities

Access Control & Identity (Primary Focus)

• Own user access management across all internal systems, applications, and cloud services

• Implement and enforce least-privilege access, role-based permissions, and strong authentication (SSO, MFA)

• Manage the full joiner-mover-leaver lifecycle: provisioning, changes, and timely de-provisioning of access

• Maintain clear audit trails of who has access to what, and review access periodically

• Manage secrets, credentials, and privileged accounts securely

Employee System & Endpoint Management

• Manage and secure employee laptops, workstations, and mobile devices end-to-end

• Standardise device setup, patching, encryption, and endpoint protection across the fleet

• Administer core productivity and collaboration platforms (email, identity, file storage, directory)

• Provide responsive IT support and onboarding/offboarding for employees

• Enforce device and data-security policies consistently across the organisation

Security & Hardening

• Own day-to-day IT and infrastructure security across endpoints, servers, and networks

• Harden systems, apply security patches, and reduce attack surface proactively

• Monitor for, investigate, and respond to security incidents and suspicious activity

• Manage firewalls, VPNs, and secure remote access for the team

• Maintain backup, recovery, and business-continuity processes and test them regularly

Infrastructure & Bare-Metal Servers

• Own the bare-metal server estate: provisioning, configuration, maintenance, and capacity planning

• Manage physical servers, storage, RAID, BIOS/firmware, and operating systems (primarily Linux)

• Handle racking, cabling, and hardware lifecycle, including diagnostics and replacements

• Ensure high availability, monitoring, and alerting across critical infrastructure

• Plan and execute upgrades and migrations with minimal disruption

Networking

• Design, configure, and maintain reliable, secure internal and external networks

• Manage switches, routers, firewalls, VLANs, DNS, DHCP, and VPNs

• Monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and optimise for throughput and latency

• Segment networks and apply firewall rules to enforce security boundaries

IT Asset & Inventory Management

• Maintain an accurate, up-to-date inventory of all hardware, software, and licences

• Track asset lifecycle from procurement to decommissioning and disposal

• Manage software licensing, renewals, and vendor relationships

• Control IT spend and recommend cost-effective purchasing decisions

Compliance & Process

• Implement and maintain basic IT security policies, controls, and documentation

• Support compliance efforts and audits (e.g., access reviews, data handling, asset records)

• Document infrastructure, configurations, and standard operating procedures clearly

• Drive consistent, repeatable IT processes across the organisation

Ownership & Problem Solving

• Take full ownership of IT reliability, security, and operations

• Proactively identify risks and gaps before they become incidents

• Respond calmly and effectively to outages and security events

• Work closely with engineering to support infrastructure needs as the company scales

Requirements

Core Technical Skills

• Proven experience managing IT infrastructure, systems, and security in a technical organisation

• Strong, hands-on experience with bare-metal servers and Linux system administration

• Very strong networking knowledge: switching, routing, firewalls, VLANs, DNS, DHCP, VPNs

• Solid grasp of access control, identity management, and least-privilege security

• Experience with endpoint/device management and securing an employee fleet

• Comfortable scripting and automating tasks (Bash, Python, or similar)

Security & Compliance

• Practical understanding of IT security fundamentals and system hardening

• Experience implementing access reviews, backups, and incident response

• Familiarity with basic compliance and audit requirements (access control, asset tracking, data handling)

Operations

• Strong troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and incident-handling skills

• Well-organised approach to inventory, documentation, and asset lifecycle

• Ability to operate independently and own outcomes end-to-end

What We’re Looking For (Non-Negotiable)

• You are an A-player with a strong sense of ownership over IT, security, and infrastructure

• You are security-minded and catch risks before they become incidents

• You are hands-on and comfortable across hardware, networking, and systems

• You are organised and keep access, assets, and documentation accurate and tidy

• You move fast but do not compromise on security or reliability

Nice to Have

• Experience with containers and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Familiarity with DevOps tooling and workflows (Git, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code)

• Experience with monitoring and observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)

• Experience with configuration management (Ansible, Terraform)

• Exposure to cloud platforms alongside on-premise infrastructure

• Relevant security or networking certifications (e.g., CCNA, Security+, RHCE)

Why Join

• Own the infrastructure and security backbone of a high-scale, data-intensive company

• High ownership and direct impact on reliability, security, and operations

• Fast-paced environment with minimal bureaucracy

• Opportunity to build IT processes, security, and infrastructure from the ground up