Network Engineer - Aruba

Network Engineer - HPE Aruba

Kent / Hybrid - 2 days per week onsite

Up to £585 per day inside ir35

6 month contract

Active SC clearance - Sole UK National

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Network Engineer with strong HPE Aruba expertise to support the design, implementation and management of enterprise network infrastructure.

You will play a key role in maintaining and optimising highly available LAN and WLAN environments, supporting network security services and delivering infrastructure refresh, migration and transformation projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, configure, implement and support HPE Aruba network infrastructure.
• Manage and maintain Aruba CX and ArubaOS switching environments.
• Configure and support enterprise wireless networks, including Aruba access points and mobility controllers.
• Administer and optimise Aruba Central for network monitoring, management and reporting.
• Implement and manage Aruba ClearPass, including 802.1X, RADIUS, TACACS+ and certificate-based authentication.
• Support network refresh, migration and transformation projects.
• Maintain network availability, resilience, performance and security across LAN and WLAN environments.
• Troubleshoot complex network issues across routing, switching, wireless connectivity, authentication and network performance.
• Conduct packet analysis and root cause investigations using tools such as Wireshark.
• Undertake software upgrades, patching and network lifecycle management.
• Produce technical documentation and contribute to continuous service improvement.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Minimum 5 years' experience supporting enterprise networking environments.
• Strong hands‑on experience with HPE Aruba networking technologies.
• Proven experience with Aruba CX and ArubaOS switching.
• Extensive knowledge of Aruba wireless solutions, access points and mobility controllers.
• Practical experience administering Aruba Central.
• Strong experience implementing and managing Aruba ClearPass.
• Good understanding of NAC, 802.1X, RADIUS, TACACS+ and certificate-based authentication.
• Strong networking knowledge, including TCP/IP, VLANs, routing, switching, BGP, OSPF, DNS and DHCP.
• Experience troubleshooting Layer 2 and Layer 3 network issues.
• Knowledge of network security, segmentation and high-availability architectures.
• Experience working within ITIL-based service management environments.

Desirable Experience

• Aruba AirWave and SD-Branch.
• Large-scale campus and multi-site enterprise network deployments.
• Experience within Defence, Government, CNI or other highly regulated environments.
• Network automation using Python, Ansible or REST APIs.
• Hybrid cloud networking across Azure or AWS.
• Familiarity with monitoring tools such as SolarWinds, PRTG, Splunk and Grafana.
• Relevant Aruba certifications, including ACSA, ACMA or equivalent.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be a technically strong and proactive Network Engineer with excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills. You should be comfortable working independently, managing complex network incidents and engaging with technical teams and stakeholders to deliver reliable, secure network services.

Strong HPE Aruba switching, wireless and ClearPass experience is essential for this position.