Our Tech team is a 60+ strong team of curious minds, building the digital experiences that power KFC – from app to kiosk, delivery to checkout. We work cross‑functionally, move fast, and stay focused on what matters: creating smart solutions that make things better for our customers and our teams.
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 has partnered with various organisations to assist with day‑to‑day operation.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Education and 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.
Experience
- Minimum 10 years’ experience in enterprise network engineering, with proven team leadership and workload management responsibilities.
- Demonstrated experience in designing, implementing, and supporting SD‑WAN, large‑scale Wi‑Fi, NAC, and firewall solutions in hybrid (cloud/on‑prem) environments.
- Experience in leading a small team of engineers, including resource planning.
- Track record of leading network changes in high‑availability, mission‑critical environments with minimal downtime.
- Experience collaborating with third‑party vendors and suppliers to deliver critical services and oversee SLA compliance.
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.
Benefits
- Hybrid working from our Woking RSC (just 24 mins from London)
- Up to 11 % company pension contributions
- Fri‑Yay finishes at 1 pm every Friday
- 5 Live Well Days a year, just for you
- Bonus scheme linked to company & personal performance
- Private healthcare, Digital GP access & mental health coaching
- Enhanced parental leave and flexible return options
- Study support, income protection, life cover & more
- 25 % off the chicken
Our promise is this: every person who applies to a role at KFC, regardless of age, background, ethnicity, gender, ability, religion or sexual orientation, will have an equal opportunity to work here.
Beware of fake job postings using Yum! and/or our brand logos -- KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill -- on fraudulent sites. Yum! Brands only posts jobs on official careers pages and never asks for money during onboarding. Avoid unsolicited contacts via Telegram, WhatsApp or similar social apps.
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