Network & Infrastructure Tooling / Automation Engineer – freelance – hybrid, London, UK NEW

BlackCube Labs

The organisation has accumulated a fragmented tooling estate with significant underutilisation – tools purchased but never properly deployed or embedded. This role will assess the current tooling landscape, define a target-state tooling strategy, and lead the implementation of automation and observability capabilities that will underpin both the transformation programme and the ongoing operational run state.

Key responsibilities

• Audit the current network and infrastructure tooling estate, identifying duplication, gaps, and unlicensed/underutilised products
• Define a target-state tooling strategy covering: network management, observability/monitoring, automation/orchestration, IPAM, and CMDB
• Design and implement network automation workflows for standard operational tasks (port changes, firewall rule changes, VLAN provisioning)
• Build out network observability capabilities to provide deterministic visibility across the converged network environment
• Work with the architecture team to define and implement a CMDB strategy, enabling accurate asset and service dependency data
• Develop automation to support the transformation programme itself – migration tooling, configuration validation, and audit capabilities
• Evaluate and rationalise managed service tooling used by the NTT-managed network
• Provide tooling input into the change management process, enabling automated risk classification and impact assessment

Requirements Technical requirements

• Network automation: Python, Ansible, or similar automation frameworks
• Network management and monitoring platforms (e.g., SolarWinds, PRTG, Datadog, Grafana, or equivalent)
• CMDB design and implementation (ServiceNow or similar ITSM platforms)
• IPAM tools (Infoblox, phpIPAM, or similar)
• API-driven network management (REST APIs, NETCONF/YANG, Cisco DNA Centre or ACI API)
• Cisco ACI API and automation familiarity advantageous
• Configuration management and version control for network infrastructure (Git-based workflows)
• Understanding of DevOps/NetDevOps practices

Advantageous

• Experience in financial services or similarly regulated environments
• Knowledge of ServiceNow integration with network management tooling
• Familiarity with cloud-native observability tools
• Scripting for reporting and cost analysis

Soft skills

• Pragmatic and delivery-focused – able to identify quick wins alongside longer-term capability builds
• Able to work across infrastructure, operations, and architecture teams
• Strong documentation skills
• Capable of training and upskilling operational team members on new tooling