Senior Cloud & Network Infrastructure Engineer

Sword is a leading provider of business technology solutions within the Energy, Public and Finance Sectors, driving transformational change within our clients. We use proven technology, specialist teams and domain expertise to build solid technical foundations across platforms, data, and business applications. We have a passion for using technology to solve business problems, working in partnership with our clients to help in achieving their goals. 

We are looking to hire a Senior Cloud & Network Infrastructure to work within our Group IT team.

Our Group IT team at Sword are responsible for the design, security, and operation of the group’s internal IT platforms, maintaining core security and systems availability, maximising benefits from existing technology investments, and undertaking a programme of ongoing improvements to ensure the platforms that underpin Sword’s business remain secure, efficient, and aligned across all regions.

The team operates globally across multiple business units, delivering secure, standardised services across Microsoft 365, Azure, networking, identity, and security platforms.

What the role will look like:

• You will join a small, focused internal IT team, reporting to the Group IT Manager, working closely with regional business units and security stakeholders across the group.
• A normal week will see you supporting a range of activities including providing senior technical escalation support, designing and implementing improvements to core platforms, contributing to security and infrastructure projects, and helping deliver group-wide initiatives such as cloud adoption, firewall migrations, and Zero Trust security improvements
• The role will involve working across multiple technologies including Azure, Microsoft 365, enterprise networking, firewalls, identity, and security tooling, with opportunities to contribute to architecture decisions and long-term platform improvements.
• There will be opportunities for you to refine and build new skills on the job, with the team expected to support one another across the range of technologies being leveraged.
• The role is entirely internal, with no external customer-facing component

Requirements

You must be able to demonstrate significant experience delivering operational IT support and infrastructure projects within a medium-sized or enterprise organisation, including a range of technical skills drawn from across the following technologies.

Primary Skills

• Networking and security architecture (LAN/WAN design, routing, switching, VPN, hybrid cloud networking)
• Enterprise firewalls and secure connectivity (Palo Alto, Fortinet, or similar)
• Experience with Zero Trust / ZTNA principles and secure remote access solutions
• Azure Cloud Platform (IaaS / PaaS, networking, RBAC, Policy, Backup, Monitoring)
• Azure networking (VPN, Load Balancer, Application Gateway, Firewall, Private Endpoints, Front Door)

Beneficial Skills

• Microsoft Windows platforms (Server / Endpoint management, Intune, SCCM, DNS, security features, authentication)
• Active Directory / Entra ID (on-premises and cloud, SAML, Conditional Access, RBAC, PIM, Identity Governance)
• Infrastructure as Code / automation (ARM, Bicep, PowerShell, scripting, or similar)
• Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, Intune, Defender, E5 security technologies)
• SIEM / Security monitoring platforms (Azure Sentinel, Defender, or similar)
• Systems monitoring and alerting (Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, PRTG, SCCM, or similar)
• Centralised backup platforms (Azure Backup, Commvault, or similar)
• Experience supporting governance / compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, NIST, or similar)
• Experience working in environments with multiple regions / tenants / business units
• Evidence of the following qualifications or equivalent on-the-job experience would be beneficial
• Relevant Microsoft certifications (Azure, Microsoft 365, Security, Identity, or Networking)
• Azure Administrator / Architect / Security certifications
• Networking or firewall certifications (Palo Alto, Fortinet, CCNA, or equivalent)

Benefits

At Sword, our core values and culture are based on caring about our people, investing in training and career development, and building inclusive teams where we are all encouraged to contribute to achieve success. We offer comprehensive benefits designed to support your professional development and enhance your overall quality of life.  In addition to a Competitive Salary, here's what you can expect as part of our benefits package: 

• Personalised Career Development: We create a development plan customised to your goals and aspirations, with a range of learning and development opportunities within a culture that encourages growth. 
• Flexible working: Flexible work arrangements to support your work-life balance.  We can’t promise to always be able to meet every request, however, are keen to discuss your individual preferences to make it work where we can. 
• A Fantastic Benefits Package: This includes generous annual leave allowance, enhanced family friendly benefits, pension scheme, access to private health, well-being, and insurance schemes.

At Sword we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, ensuring that all applicants receive fair and equal consideration for employment, regardless of whether they meet every requirement. If you don’t tick all the boxes but feel you have some of the relevant skills and experience we’re looking for, please do consider applying and highlight your transferable skills and experience. We embrace diversity in all its forms, valuing individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Your perspective and potential are important to us. 

If we can do anything to help make the hiring process more accessible, please let our talent acquisition team know when you apply so we can support any adjustments.