Lead Network Engineer at KFC

ABOUT THE ROLE

• Accountable for the design, ownership, and continuous improvement of KFC UK&I’s network solutions, ensuring secure, resilient, and high-performing connectivity across 1,000+ restaurants and corporate environments. 
• Responsible for leading the network engineering team, mentoring two network engineers, and managing the delivery and lifecycle of network technology and services. Vendor collaboration is a key part of this role as KFC have partnered with various organisations to assist with the day-to-day operation. 

WHAT WILL YOU SPEND YOUR TIME DOING?

Network Solution Design & Authority

• Owner of network architecture and design, accountable for developing and maintaining scalable, secure, resilient, and innovative solutions that align with business and security requirements.
• Responsible for evaluating emerging technologies, driving adoption of best practices, and ensuring all network solutions are future-proof and cost-effective.
• Team Leadership & Mentoring
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of network engineers, managing their workload, performance, and professional growth.
• Allocate tasks, set priorities, and ensure the team delivers high-quality support and project outcomes within agreed SLAs.
• Operational Excellence
• Accountable for the operational integrity of WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, and cloud-based network services.
• Oversee incident response, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis for complex network issues, ensuring timely resolution and minimal business impact.
• Owner of network device configuration management, backup, and disaster recovery processes.

Security & Compliance

• Responsible for enforcing network security baselines, compliance with internal policies, and external standards (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST CSF).
• Collaborate with the Security team on vulnerability management, incident response, and audit readiness.

Supplier & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary technical authority with network service providers and hardware vendors, accountable for SLA adherence, capacity planning, and service improvement.
• Coordinate change windows, communications, and post-change validation with business and IT stakeholders.

Documentation & Governance

• Owner of network documentation, including diagrams, inventories, runbooks, and change records.
• Contribute to architecture standards, design reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.

On-call & Travel

• Participate in an on-call rota for major incidents and perform occasional travel to sites and data centers.

Working relationships:

• Cross functional teams within technology; collaborate with infrastructure, security, and Tech teams to align network designs and configurations with security standards.
• Wider business teams: Engage with operational and business units to promote awareness of network security best practices.
• Global teams; work closely with global partners (e.g., Yum! brands) to maintain compliance with corporate standards and security policies.
• 3rd Party Partner teams: work closely with partners to maintain the security and operational integrity of the network and associated services.

WHAT WE LOVE FROM YOU: 

Education/Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field (or equivalent practical experience). 
• Cisco CCNP or higher (or equivalent). 
• Cloud networking certification (e.g., Azure/AWS) highly desirable. 
• Security certifications (e.g., CompTIA Security+, CySA+, or SSCP) are advantageous.

Knowledge and Expertise 

• Routing & Switching: Expert knowledge of BGP, static routing, route redistribution. VLANs, trunking, STP variants, LACP/EtherChannel.
• Cloud & Modern IT: Significant knowledge of cloud networking principles including the design and configuration of services (Azure/AWS), including Express Routes, vNets, NGS’s, routing tables, and security appliances.
• Networking Principles & Protocols: Expert understanding of network protocols and infrastructure such as TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, 802.1x. SD-WAN, PKI, Radius, QoS, IP addressing and subnetting.
• Firewalls: Substantial understanding and experience of policy & object configuration, IPS/IDS, web filtering, application control, SSL inspection, VPN’s, IPsec tunnels, HA clusters, segmentation, and NAT.
• Security Controls: Proven ability to implement, and maintain robust network security measures for infrastructure, users, and devices. Skilled in configuring security policies, logging and monitoring, and integrating advanced solutions such as IDS/IPS, NAC, and network segmentation.
• Management & Monitoring: Proficient with SNMP, syslog, SIEM, and network automation, capacity planning and monitoring tools including introducing such tooling.
• Threat Landscape: Deep understanding of common networking attack vectors and defense-in-depth strategies.
• Risk & Compliance: Board understanding of risk assessment methodologies, control frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST CSF, CIS Controls).

Skills 

• Analytical & Detail-Oriented: Keen eye for anomalies; precise documentation and follow-through.
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communication—translating technical detail into business-friendly risk insights.
• Collaboration: Works well with Infrastructure, Application, and Business teams; influences without authority.
• Self-Motivation: Proactive ownership; drives tasks to completion with minimal supervision.
• Process Discipline: Organizes workload, meets deadlines, and adheres to SLAs and standards.
• Ethics & Confidentiality: Handles sensitive information with discretion and integrity