Principal Network Engineer

NielsenIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. 

The Principal Network Engineer’s role within the global network team is to design, build, implement and manage networks across the enterprise. This includes planning, installing, configuring, maintaining, supporting and optimising all network hardware and data circuits. This person will also be engaged in high priority network incidents to provide guidance and troubleshooting expertise, as well as analysing network performance to  provide capacity planning guidance and strategic solutions.

In addition to normal senior infrastructure engineering duties, the Principal Network Engineer will lead large-scale, complex and highly analytical activities requiring a very high level of subject matter expertise along with the ability to integrate at a high level, the knowledge from other infrastructure areas.  This will include validation and verification of network strategies, cost analysis, risk assessment, and research. (These duties are not considered to be a part of the normal career path for a network engineer; rather it is reserved for those employees with a mastery of specific technologies or a particular expertise.)

As a Principal Infrastructure Engineer, you will have the following key accountabilities: 

Design & Planning

• Work closely with the Transformation and Architecture Team to research, develop and enhance Network capability and to make recommendations and long-range strategic plans for new and innovative networking technologies
• Conduct research on existing network products, services, protocols, and standards in support of network performance and development efforts
• Perform network design and capacity planning
• Develop and maintain network standards that comply with GfK network security policy
• Develop and implement policies for network asset management, including network maps, hardware inventories and related documentation
• Plan and implement any improvement, modification, or replacement of network infrastructure components
• Strategic design & planning of the global network via IaC (Infrastructure as Code)
• Provide DDI (DHCP, DNS and IPAM) expertise and support
• Identify and deploy tools to test network performance and provide network performance metrics and reports

Operational Management

• Monitor and analyse network performance across the organization’s WAN, LANs, and wLAN deployments, providing performance metrics and reports as required, and identifying/remediating network performance bottlenecks
• Configure, manage and upgrade as appropriate all network hardware and equipment, including routers, switches, wireless access points and UPSs
• Day to day management of the IaC toolsets
• Network asset management, including maintenance of network toolsets, maps, hardware inventories and related documentation
• Recommend, schedule, and perform network improvements, upgrades, and repairs
• Provide guidance to junior members of the team

Skills

• Extensive hands-on technical knowledge of Cisco network hardware, network protocols and standards
• Strong analytical skills, able to investigate faults and complex network issues and perform cause analysis
• Extensive expertise with network automation tools including Ansible, Python, Nautobot, Jason, Cisco DNA Center
• Strong knowledge of network management, monitoring and analysis tools including Solarwinds, Netflow, Telemetry, Wireshark
• Keen stakeholder management, able to begin projects by identifying stakeholders, understanding roles in the project, identifying project-related expectations, and, relative to other stakeholders, confirming common expectations while resolving expectations that are in conflict
• Documentation authoring skills in order to both update existing documentation and to create detailed handover documents on completion of any network projects
• Ability to prioritise effectively and execute tasks in high-pressure situations
• Ability to present complex technical information to non-technical audiences

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience as a senior network engineer in a team-leadership position, or technical subject matter expert in one or more network areas
• Working in dispersed, global teams
• Experience of working in an ITIL environment and be familiar with standard ITIL practices e.g. Incident, Change, Problem, Continual Service Improvement etc.
• Experience of working within The Scaled Agile Framework, or SAFe, methodology would be desirable
• The ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with other technical teams, including internal infrastructure teams and external service providers, vendors and partners
• Experience mentoring and providing leadership to junior team members would be desirable
• Experience of working with Equinix Service Provider and Equinix ECX (Cloud Exchange Services) would be desirable

A current certification in the following is required:

• Cisco Certified Network Professional Routing and Switching (CCNP) certification

A current certification in either of the following is desirable:

• Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert Routing and Switching (CCIE) certification
• Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Centre (CCNP) certification

• Exciting work environment that brings people together
• Use of the latest digital technologies
• Initial and ongoing trainings to support your development
• Opportunities for personal and professional growth
• Competitive remuneration and bonus scheme linked to individual performance and company results
• Food vouchers
• Health insurance

Our Benefits

• Flexible working environment
• Volunteer time off
• LinkedIn Learning
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

About NIQ

NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

For more information, visit NIQ.com

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Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

NIQ is committed to reflecting the diversity of the clients, communities, and markets we measure within our own workforce. We exist to count everyone and are on a mission to systematically embed inclusion and diversity into all aspects of our workforce, measurement, and products. We enthusiastically invite candidates who share that mission to join us. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action-Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability status, age, marital status, protected veteran status or any other protected class. Our global non-discrimination policy covers these protected classes in every market in which we do business worldwide. Learn more about how we are driving diversity and inclusion in everything we do by visiting the NIQ News Center: https://nielseniq.com/global/en/news-center/diversity-inclusion