Senior Network Engineer - Wireless

natgridProd•New York, NY

66d•$122,000 - $143,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Network Engineer – Wireless role focuses on bringing specialist wireless engineering expertise to improve reliability, security, user experience, and operational resilience across National Grid sites. The role will lead the design, deployment, optimisation, and lifecycle management of enterprise WLAN services across office, operational, and industrial environments. A significant part of the engagement will involve predictive and onsite wireless surveys, RF analysis, low-level design production, Bill of Materials creation, and post-deployment validation using Ekahau and/or Hamina tools. The engineer will support key initiatives including replacement of end-of-life network hardware, enhanced Wi-Fi deployments, high-speed internet connectivity services overlayed with SD-WAN technology, and alternative connectivity options such as satellite and 5G solutions for disaster recovery, rapid deployment, and facility expansion projects. Collaboration with stakeholders across IT, operations, platform teams, vendors, managed service providers, architects, and other engineers is expected to define requirements, produce robust designs, support implementation, and transition solutions into support. The role also contributes to wireless standards, best practices, design documentation, and knowledge sharing within the Network Engineering Chapter. Additional ad-hoc travel to National Grid locations will be required for physical Wi-Fi surveys, pre-deployment validation, troubleshooting, and post-deployment assurance activities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
10+ years of enterprise network engineering experience, with a strong focus on wireless network design, deployment, optimization, and troubleshooting.
Extensive experience with Cisco and Aruba WLAN solutions, including Aruba ClearPass (802.1X, RADIUS, profiling, and policy enforcement).
Experience supporting large-scale Wi-Fi environments across office, operational, and industrial settings.
Proficiency with wireless survey and design tools (e.g., Ekahau, Hamina).
Experience with Cradlepoint or similar 5G networking solutions.
Strong stakeholder management, vendor coordination, communication, and documentation skills.
Ability to travel as needed for site surveys and deployment activities.
Deep understanding of RF design, channel planning, interference mitigation, coverage, capacity planning, and roaming.
Strong knowledge of Wi-Fi technologies and standards (Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E, and 7).
Experience with WLAN authentication, NAC integration, RADIUS, role-based access, and network security best practices.
Expertise with enterprise wireless controllers, cloud-managed Wi-Fi platforms, analytics tools, and wireless troubleshooting.
Knowledge of LAN switching, SD-WAN, segmentation, internet connectivity, and secure network design.
Ability to analyze wireless performance metrics, survey results, packet captures, and operational data to drive service improvements.
Experience producing network designs, implementation plans, standards, runbooks, and operational documentation.

Nice To Haves

CWNA, CWDP, CWSP, or CWNE.
Cisco CCNP or CCIE.
Aruba ACMP, ACDP, or ACCX.
SAFe Agilist or similar certification.

Responsibilities

Design, deploy, and optimise enterprise wireless LAN solutions across office, operational, and industrial environments, ensuring reliable, secure, and scalable connectivity.
Conduct predictive and onsite wireless surveys, RF analysis, coverage assessments, and post-deployment validation using Ekahau, Hamina, or equivalent wireless survey tooling.
Lead troubleshooting for complex Wi-Fi issues including authentication, roaming, interference, coverage gaps, capacity constraints, and performance degradation.
Create and update low-level designs for Wi-Fi, NAC, wireless authentication, role-based access, and related network services.
Produce accurate Bills of Materials for new wireless deployments, refresh programmes, hardware upgrades, and wider network modernisation initiatives.
Support Wi-Fi lifecycle management including hardware refresh, software updates, capacity planning, standards alignment, and operational readiness.
Provide specialist support for Aruba ClearPass and CISCO ISE network access control capabilities including 802.1X, RADIUS, profiling, policy enforcement, and role-based access.
Support enhanced Wi-Fi deployments alongside high-speed internet connectivity services overlayed with SD-WAN technology where required.
Contribute to alternative connectivity options including 5G cellular-enabled networking platforms such as Cradlepoint, satellite connectivity, disaster recovery, rapid deployment, and facility expansion use cases.
Work with stakeholders across IT, operations, platform teams, vendors, managed service providers, and project teams to define requirements and deliver scalable wireless solutions.
Create and maintain high-quality documentation including wireless standards, RF designs, low-level designs, implementation records, as-built documents, survey reports, BoMs, support runbooks, and handover materials.
Interpret network analytics, wireless performance data, and incident trends to identify structural improvements and improve service reliability.
Support major incidents, problem investigations, planned changes, and escalations relating to wireless network services or performance.
Support planned network changes and maintenance activities outside normal business hours where required.
Participate in an on-call rota for critical network incidents and service restoration.
Contribute to peer reviews, technical governance, best practices, automation opportunities, and knowledge sharing across the Network Engineering Chapter.
Operate within a SAFe Agile delivery model, actively participating in agile ceremonies, managing work through Jira, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver network engineering outcomes.