Network Engineer (IT Infrastructure) at Airtel

Job Description

•  At Airtel Africa, we act with passion, energy, and a can-do attitude. Innovation with an entrepreneurial spirit drive us. If you like “ordinary”, then we are not for you.
• We champion diversity. We anticipate, adapt, and deliver solutions that enrich the lives of communities we serve. we roll up our sleeves to win with our customers.
• By choosing Airtel, you choose to be part of a winning team. All this in addition to a brilliant opportunity to build a career in your field of expertise, across our different operating companies in Africa.
• The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with next-generation firewalls, switching, cloud-managed networking solutions, and advanced monitoring tools. He/She will ensure secure and reliable connectivity for enterprise services, VPNs, Internet access, and integration with other managed network domains (MPBN, ISP, Enterprise). The role requires strong hands-on expertise in configuration, troubleshooting, and solution design, working closely with both local and remote teams to guarantee availability, performance, and compliance of IT services.

Responsibilities

Network Availability & Performance

• Ensure continuous availability of LAN/WAN, VPNs, and Internet edge connectivity.
• Monitor network performance using SolarWinds, Cloud Vision, or equivalent enterprise tools.
• Conduct proactive health checks and respond to alerts.
• Participate in DR drills and validate network readiness.
• Ensure resilience testing and overall IP Core/Office network assurance.
• Ensure Proper backup & Recovery of all the components.
• High availability validation of the setup:
• Provide end-to-end support for operations and troubleshooting of network devices and services.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives in network design, automation, and security posture.

Deployment & Configuration

• Install, configure, and manage routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices.
• Support integration of enterprise services, ISP uplinks, and interconnects with MPBN/other domains.
• Ensure “first-time-right” implementation of new services and projects.
• Apply best practices for high availability, scalability, and QoS prioritization.
• Support new integrations in voice, data, and charging networks where required.

Incident & Problem Management

• Collaborate with remote and local teams to troubleshoot incidents.
•  Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
• Escalate and engage vendors for resolution (firewalls, ISP, equipment suppliers).
• Document incidents, resolutions, and lessons learned.
• Manage operational issues on caches, NNI, and Internet edge infrastructure.

Change & Access Control

• Implement changes following approved change management processes.
• Compile and deliver weekly change requests with the operations team.
• Ensure compliance with organizational change procedures.
• Manage access control for all networking devices and update audit trails.
• Keep configuration baselines updated and reviewed regularly.

Security & Compliance

• Administer and manage Firewalls, including policy design, security rule management, and threat prevention.
• Engage providers for resolution of issues relating to DDoS, IPDR, and anti-spam solutions.
• Support vulnerability remediation from security scans.
• Ensure adherence to company IT security standards and governance.

Solution Design & Continuous Improvement

• Recommend improvements for network architecture, capacity, and resilience.
• Evaluate new technologies and provide input into IT/Enterprise strategy.
• Act as a linkage between planning and operations teams for QoS and service delivery.
• Provide technical guidance to peers and junior staff.
• Contribute to enterprise service support and customer-centric solutions.

Documentation & Reporting

• Maintain accurate documentation of network architecture, changes, and implementations.
• Run monthly checks on critical documents and update as required.
• Produce reports on performance, availability, incidents, and audits.
• Ensure readiness for internal/external audits through structured documentation.

Qualifications

Educational Qualifications  

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or related discipline.
• Networking certifications (CCNA/CCNP, JNCIA, or equivalent) desirable.
• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE) desirable.
• Arista Cloud Engineer (ACE) desirable.
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or Cisco Meraki Certification desirable.

Relevant Experience & Technical Skills

• 10+ years of experience in enterprise networking.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of enterprise routers, switches, firewalls, and VPNs.
• Experience with DR drills, configuration audits, and ITIL-based operations.
• Firewalls design, deployment, policies, and troubleshooting (Palo Alto Desirable).
• Arista Switches (datacenter/enterprise switching (Arista desirable).
• Cisco Meraki (SD-WAN, cloud-managed wireless and security appliances).
• Proficiency in network monitoring tools like SolarWinds, Arista CloudVision etc..
• Deep understanding of  TCP/IP, routing, switching, VPNs, NAT, and security protocols.
• Experience in network design, capacity planning, and high-availability architecture.
• Strong troubleshooting skills with ability to resolve complex L2-L7 issues.
• Knowledge of automation/Scripting (Python/Ansible) would be an added advantage.

Other Requirements

• Ability to work effectively with both remote and local teams.
• Strong documentation, reporting, and organizational skills.
• Solution-oriented mindset with resilience (“deep-feeted” ownership of responsibilities).
• Customer-centric, proactive, and adaptable to business needs.
• High integrity, strong communication skills, and ability to meet tight deadlines.