Principal Network Engineer (Distributed Networks)

We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs around 160 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. We have a growing international footprint and are one of Europe's fastest-growing engineering businesses.

About the role

We’re looking for a Principal Network Engineer to design and own the distributed networks that connect our systems in environments where most networks fail.

You’ll work on mesh networks across moving nodes, multi bearer communications, and software defined overlays that can adapt to outages, degraded links, and interference. You’ll help build zero-trust connectivity between far edge devices and central services in networks where the topology changes and bandwidth is limited.

This is difficult networking work. Traffic may need to move across several different bearers, each with different latency, reliability, and cost. Decisions have to be made automatically, in real time, and under changing conditions. We build systems with the assumption that links, nodes, and services will fail.

The work is technical, practical, and important. You’ll solve real operational problems for people working in demanding environments where communications matter. You’ll help define the architecture and engineering standards, while staying hands on with design, prototyping, testing, and operational delivery. This role is for an engineer who wants to apply deep networking expertise to hard distributed systems problems and build things that work in the real world.

This role offers hybrid working with a minimum of 3 days per week on-site at our Bristol HQ.

For senior roles, compensation is tailored to the scope of the role and the specific experience a candidate brings. Because that can vary significantly, we do not always publish a fixed salary band. We will, however, discuss compensation openly at the first stage of the process and can share an indicative range before either side invests significant time.
 
Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels