Manager of Network Engineering - UK

Job Summary As the Network Engineering Manager, you will lead the day-to-day operations of the UK Network Engineering team, ensuring the delivery of reliable, secure, and high-quality managed network services to our clients. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining operational standards, driving service excellence, managing escalations, and fostering a high-performing engineering culture. This role combines technical leadership, operational management, client engagement, and people development. You will work closely with internal stakeholders, clients, and senior leadership to ensure network services are delivered in accordance with established service levels, security requirements, and business objectives. The successful candidate will possess strong leadership skills, a customer-focused mindset, and extensive experience managing network operations within a Managed Service Provider (MSP/MSSP) environment. Key Responsibilities • Lead, mentor, and develop EMEA based team of Network Engineers, fostering accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. • Oversee the delivery of managed network services, ensuring SLA compliance, operational excellence, and high levels of client satisfaction. • Act as the primary UK based escalation point for major incidents, critical client issues, and operational risks while providing clear communication to stakeholders. • Drive adherence to established processes, standards, change management procedures, and documentation requirements. • Support architectural reviews, project implementations, and technology lifecycle management while ensuring solutions align with client requirements, security standards, and best practices. • Collaborate with cross-functional teams, leadership, and clients to support business objectives and service excellence. • Provide technical and operational oversight for network infrastructure, security, monitoring, and lifecycle management activities while promoting continuous technical development within the team. • Support workforce planning, resource allocation, recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of team members. • Review operational metrics, ticket quality, utilization, and team performance to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. • Participate in an on-call management rotation and provide leadership support during major incidents and service-impacting events as required. Skills • Strong leadership and team management skills. • Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities. • Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and decision-making skills. • Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced managed services environment. • Strong organisational and time management capabilities. • Customer-focused approach with a commitment to service excellence. • Experience managing competing priorities and operational risk. • Ability to influence and collaborate across multiple teams and business functions. • Strong documentation, reporting, and presentation skills. Technical Knowledge Experience with the following technologies is highly desirable: • Enterprise routing and switching • Firewalls (Fortinet, Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, or equivalent) • Cloud networking (Azure, and AWS) • VPN technologies and remote access solutions • Network monitoring and observability platforms • Wireless networking solutions • Network security principles and best practices Qualifications • Minimum 5 years of experience in a Network Engineering role within an MSP or MSSP environment. • Minimum 2 years of experience leading or managing a technical team. • Experience managing global or distributed engineering teams. • Demonstrated experience managing operational service delivery and escalations. • Experience working with SLAs, KPIs, reporting, and service governance. • Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders. • Bachelor's degree preferred • Industry certifications such as below are a plus • CCNA, CCNP, JNCIA/JNCIP • NSE/FCP (Fortinet) • PCNSA/PCNSE • Azure Network Engineer Associate • ITIL Foundation or higher What We Are Looking For • A positive, proactive, and solution-oriented leader. • Someone who takes ownership and drives outcomes. • A collaborative team player who leads by example. • A continuous improvement mindset with a passion for developing people and improving services. • A strong advocate for customer experience and operational excellence. Benefits of Working at Abacus • Exposure to a diverse range of enterprise networking and security technologies. • Opportunity to work alongside highly skilled engineers and technical leaders. • Competitive salary and performance-based incentives. • Comprehensive benefits package. • Ongoing professional development, training, and certification opportunities. • Hybrid and flexible working opportunities (where applicable). • Supportive, collaborative, and inclusive workplace culture. • Career progression opportunities within a growing managed services organisation.