CND Systems Engineer (Network)

Are you inspired by protecting New Zealand? Looking for a role where your expertise will be highly valued? Join our diverse and talented people and work at the heart of national security, providing essential intelligence to the New Zealand government to protect New Zealand and its people. About the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the heart of Aotearoa New Zealand’s cyber defence. We fulfil the cyber security responsibilities of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) | Te Tira Tiaki, and provide cyber security services to all New Zealanders – from individuals and small businesses and organisations up to large enterprises, government and critical national infrastructure. The Role We’re looking for an experienced Senior Network Engineer to design, build and operate our enterprise software‑defined LAN & WAN platforms. In this critical role, you’ll be at the forefront of enhancing GCSB’s capability to detect, disrupt and deter sophisticated cyber threats facing New Zealand, contributing to the security of our nation. Key Responsibilities Technical Leadership as a senior network engineer: design, build and manage enterprise LAN & WAN as the subject‑matter expert. Champion industry best practices and frameworks into engineered solutions. Coach and mentor systems engineers. Relationship management & stakeholder engagement. Who We’re Looking For You’ll be instrumental in delivering enterprise systems by being the subject matter expert, applying industry best practices and frameworks, driving automation initiatives, mentoring team members and supporting end‑to‑end project execution and day‑to‑day operations. You will achieve this by being proactive and enthusiastic, with strong relationship management skills and the ability to navigate complexity with confidence. You Will Ideally Bring: 5+ years’ experience as a SME in designing, building and operating SDN and SD‑WAN platforms. Experience defining and evolving reference architectures (cloud networking, hybrid connectivity, WAN, segmentation) and codifying standards that enable consistency across teams and environments. Knowledge of developing and maintaining a multi‑quarter network roadmap covering capacity, refresh cycles, end‑of‑support remediation and major initiatives (e.g., SD‑WAN rollout, zero‑trust segmentation, defence‑in‑depth). Experience implementing redundancy, failure domains and graceful degradation; ensuring critical paths have appropriate high availability and tested failover. Experience embedding network controls (segmentation, firewall policy, DDoS protections, secure remote access) into architecture patterns and build processes. Experience implementing and optimising routing (BGP/OSPF/IS‑IS), VLANs/VRFs, QoS and resilient L2/L3 designs across datacentres and campuses. Experience enforcing baseline configurations, secure defaults and policy‑as‑code checks (where feasible); support audits with evidence and traceability. Experience maintaining accurate network diagrams, configurations‑as‑code repositories and operational runbooks to reduce key‑person risk. Compensation Range $120,359–$128,383. Benefits Medical insurance and vision care packages. Enhanced employer contributions to your Kiwisaver. Generous leave benefits, including additional paid days off and enhanced sick and parental leave. Childcare allowance for your pre‑schoolers. Opportunities for personal and professional growth and career pathways across the intelligence community. Great work‑life balance. Eligibility & Security Clearance You must: Have been a NewZealand citizen for at least 10 years, or hold a current NZ Residency Class visa and ideally have been a citizen of the UK, USA, Canada or Australia for at least 10 years. Be eligible to obtain a Top Secret Special (TSS) clearance. The security clearance process is a 15‑year checkable background; you can self‑check eligibility using the online tool at http://www.protectivesecurity.govt.nz/eligibility-tool. For more information, view The security clearance process | Beyond Ordinary Careers and New Zealand's Security Threat Environment | New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. #J-18808-Ljbffr