Network Engineer
Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxfordshire
Salary: £31, – £34, or £39, – £44, per annum (dependent on skills and experience). A Specialist Allowance of up to £3, per annum is also available for this role
Hours: Full time
Contract Type: Fixed Term 3 Years

Come and work with the latest technologies, addressing the challenges that prompted you to be a network engineer. Stretch your technical skills while building human understanding. Promote sustainability and create new materials. And, alongside world-leading scientists and technologists, shape projects that improve lives, and daily life, in the UK and far beyond. Put simply, come and discover the impact you can make when you’re equipped, encouraged and inspired to perform to your very best.

Based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) the Central Laser Facility (CLF) is building a new laser centre – the Extreme Photonics Applications Centre (EPAC) and is seeking new team members to help to build this and to contribute to our existing facilities. EPAC is an £81M facility that will use lasers developed by our team to drive new types of novel particle and radiation beams that can be applied to a wide range of problems in science and industry.

EPAC will generate high data rates (expected to be up to 5 GB/s) and will require appropriate network infrastructure to handle that data, as well as its control and safety systems.

We are looking for people like you, network engineers at all stages of their careers to help build that infrastructure as part of our friendly and enthusiastic team. The EPAC network engineer will work very closely with network experts at STFC’s Digital Infrastructure department, and will have opportunities to work on other cutting-edge projects within STFC as we are moving towards Gbps networks.

We have a hybrid working arrangement with the option of partial remote working.

We are looking for someone with:

  • A degree or equivalent experience in computer science, software engineering, or a strongly related STEM subject with hands-on experience with network instruments
  • Experience of fibre networks and knowledge of fibre transmission concepts and technologies
  • Experience of TCP/IP Ethernet networking, and experience of working with Firewalling technologies and VPN as well as leading networking products would be beneficial.

    • What we offer

    We are offering a fixed term position with a whole host of benefits including:

  • 30 days holiday annually (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days)
  • Flexible working hours
  • An excellent defined average salary pension scheme
  • Employee shopping/travel discounts
  • Excellent learning and development opportunities
  • Visa Sponsorship for candidates applying outside of the UK.

    • Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

    UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.

    We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us.

    What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe’s largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what’s possible.

    For full details on the role, please visit our careers site Please submit an application including your CV and a Cover Letter that clearly showcases how your skills and experience align to the requirements of the role. If you experience any difficulties with applying online, please contact us on or call us on .

    Closing Date: 21st August