Junior Network Support Engineer – Hybrid
Are you an early-career networking professional with a strong technical grounding in Cisco infrastructure, network security, and enterprise communication systems?
Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced public sector environment, supporting complex, high-availability networks across multiple sites?
We are seeking two capable and motivated Junior Network Support Engineers to join a mission-critical ICT infrastructure team supporting the Irish Prison Service (IPS).
Location: Hybrid working model (minimum 1 day per week onsite at Longford, with significant travel across IPS sites)
Start Date: 1st October 2025
Contract Duration: 24 months
Travel Requirement: Approx. 200 km per week on average, with own transport required. Valid, clean driving license and commercial/business class insurance are mandatory.
On-call: Shared weekly on-call rotation (every third week), mostly offsite, compensated with TOIL
About the Role:
As a Junior Network Support Engineer, you will play an integral part in managing, supporting, and securing a large-scale, high-resilience enterprise network across multiple secure locations. This includes voice/data/IP systems, firewalls, structured cabling, unified communications, and more. You’ll work as part of a close-knit networks team maintaining critical infrastructure that supports both operational prison technology and secure communications for staff and inter-agency partners.
This is an ideal opportunity for engineers looking to deepen their practical experience in high-availability Cisco environments while expanding into areas like firewalls, VPN, video conferencing, VOIP, and unified communications.
Key Responsibilities:
- Monitor and manage WAN/LAN links, ensuring network resilience and proactive incident resolution
- Support implementation of IP-based systems: CCTV, Fire Safety, Cell Call, BMS, VoIP
- Maintain high network security standards across all locations, including firewall and encryption deployments
- Support enterprise-grade unified communications, including voice, video, mobile and remote access infrastructure
- Provide Tier 2 technical support and participate in the on-call rota for critical out-of-hours issues
- Assist with structured cabling, power, security and cooling for communications infrastructure
- Manage enterprise switching, routing, and wireless configurations using Cisco platforms
- Maintain network documentation, reporting, and baseline configuration compliance using SolarWinds and similar tools
Essential Experience & Skills (Minimum 2 years):
1. Unified Communications (Cisco):
- VOIP & Video (Cisco CUBE, CMS, Jabber, TMS, Intercall)
- Cisco Gateways, Mobile Least Cost Routing
- Cisco Video Endpoints & Infrastructure (Expressway, VCS, MCU)
2. Network Security:
- Juniper SRX5400, Cisco ASA & Firepower, Mikrotik Firewalls
- VPN Configuration – remote access, third-party access
3. Large Campus Networking:
- Cisco Catalyst 2900/3K/7K/9K, Industrial switches, WAN (copper/fibre/wireless)
- Networking for BMS, CCTV, Fire Safety systems
4. Network Management & Monitoring:
- SolarWinds Orion, Cisco DNAC, Kiwi CatTools, Cisco Firepower, Juniper Security Director, Viavi GigaFlow
5. Access Control & Wireless:
- Cisco ISE, 802.1x, Cisco Wireless, Juniper NAC
6. Advanced Networking Protocols:
- OSPF, ISIS, BGP, Static Routing, VLANs, GRE, DMVPN, MPLS, VRF, IPsec, GETVPN
- IP tunneling, spanning tree, multicast, QinQ
7. Data Centre Networking & Security:
- Cisco Nexus (7K/5K/2K), FCoE, OTV, UCS
- Virtualization – VLANs, VRFs, VDCs, MACSec, secure overlay networking
8. WAN Technologies:
- MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, Siklu Radio, Point-to-Multipoint Encryption
9. Video Systems:
- IPCCTV (American Dynamics Victor, Intellex)
- Multicast IPTV, Anttron IPTV
Mandatory Qualifications & Requirements:
- Minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience in a network support role
- Cisco CCNA certification (or equivalent industry-recognized certification)
- Fluent English language skills: CEFR Level C2 Mastery/Proficiency certificate (for non-native speakers)
- Full, clean driving license - Must hold Commercial/Business class car insurance (evidence required)
- Must be available for hybrid work, with flexibility for travel
- Must be eligible to work under EU GDPR regulations
Working Schedule & On-call Requirement:
- Full-time (Monday–Friday), 8 hours per day between 08:00–19:00
- Must be available during core hours: 10:00–12:30 and 14:30–16:00
- No service on Christmas Day
- Participates in on-call rotation every 3rd week (shared across network team)
If you’re ready to grow your career in a critical, high-trust infrastructure environment and gain hands-on experience with modern networking and unified communication technologies, we welcome your application.
