Networking Patch Management Specialist

Project overview

Role Summary

The Network Patch Management Specialist is responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing patch management activities across the organization's network infrastructure. This role ensures network devices remain secure, stable, and compliant by managing patch cycles, assessing vulnerabilities, coordinating maintenance windows, and minimizing operational risk.

Key Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end patch management life cycle for network infrastructure, including Routers (Cisco), Switches( Cisco Cat Switches and Nexus), Firewalls(Cisco ASA, Firepower and Palo Aloto), F5 load balancers, F5 BigIQs,VPN gateways, and related appliances

Own the end-to-end patch management life cycle for network infrastructure, including Routers, Switches, Firewalls, load balancers, Cisco ISE nodes, VPN gateways, and related appliances

Partner with cybersecurity teams and Service Assurance Teams to prioritize remediation of critical and high-risk vulnerabilities

Own the end-to-end patch management life cycle for network infrastructure, including Routers, Switches, Firewalls, load balancers, VPN gateways, and related appliances

Review vendor advisories, security bulletins, and vulnerability notifications to assess patch relevance and priority

Plan and schedule patch deployment activities in coordination with network operations, security, infrastructure, and business stakeholders

Validate patch compatibility, dependencies, rollback requirements, and implementation risks before deployment

Coordinate testing of patches in lab, staging, or controlled production environments where applicable

Execute or support patch deployment during approved maintenance windows

Monitor post-patch health, performance, and service stability, and lead rollback actions if required

Maintain accurate patch status records, remediation trackers, exception logs, and compliance reporting

Partner with cybersecurity teams to prioritize remediation of critical and high-risk vulnerabilities

Track patch compliance across the network estate and escalate overdue or high-risk gaps

Support audit, regulatory, and internal control requirements related to patching and security hygiene

Contribute to patch management standards, runbooks, governance processes, and continuous improvement initiatives

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Proven experience in network operations, infrastructure support, or patch management in an enterprise environment

Strong understanding of network devices and platforms such as Routers, Switches, Firewalls, and load balancers

Experience with vulnerability management, patch governance, change management, and incident response processes

Familiarity with enterprise maintenance planning, risk assessment, and rollback procedures

Ability to analyze vendor documentation, technical advisories, and patch dependencies

Strong coordination and stakeholder management skills across operations, security, and business teams

Good documentation, reporting, and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with multi-vendor network environments such as Cisco, Juniper, Palo Alto, Fortinet, F5, or similar platforms

Familiarity with vulnerability and patch tools such as Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7, ServiceNow, SCCM, Ansible, or equivalent operational tooling

Understanding of ITIL-based change and incident management practices

Relevant certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, CompTIA Security+, ITIL, or vendor-specific network/security certifications

Key Skills

Network patch life cycle management

Vulnerability remediation prioritization

Change and release coordination

Risk assessment and rollback planning

Stakeholder communication

Operational governance and reporting

Troubleshooting and incident support

Process improvement

Success Measures

Timely remediation of critical and high-risk network vulnerabilities

High patch compliance across in-scope network assets

Minimal service disruption during patch execution

Accurate audit-ready documentation and reporting

Strong coordination across infrastructure, security, and operations teams

Project details

• Start: flexible
• Remote: onsite
• Location: Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, GB