Freelance Network Engineer (Financial Services)
Location: Brussels Region, Belgium (2 days per week onsite, remainder remote)
Start Date: ASAP
Contract Type: Freelance
Project Type: Long-term assignment (12 months+)
About the Client
Our client is a leading financial institution based in the Brussels region, operating within a highly regulated and security-critical environment. The organisation manages complex, large-scale IT infrastructures that support core financial services and business operations.
High availability, security, and stability are key priorities. The network infrastructure plays a central role in ensuring secure connectivity, segmentation, and uninterrupted service delivery for both internal users and business applications.
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Freelance Network Engineer to support and evolve the client’s enterprise network infrastructure. The role focuses on network configuration management, secure network design, and controlled implementation of network changes in a mission-critical financial environment.
You will work closely with internal IT teams, security teams, and business owners to plan, implement, and maintain network configurations while ensuring minimal impact and maximum availability of services.
Key Responsibilities
Plan, prepare, and implement network configuration changes while ensuring minimal service disruption and high availability.
Manage and maintain network configurations across enterprise environments, ensuring consistency, documentation, and compliance with internal standards.
Design and implement network segmentation solutions based on Layer 3 VPNs and firewalls, aligned with security and business requirements.
Perform impact analysis and risk assessment for planned network changes.
Collaborate with business owners and stakeholders to understand requirements, constraints, and priorities.
Act as a technical point of contact for network-related topics, providing clear explanations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Ensure adherence to security, compliance, and operational procedures specific to financial-sector environments.
Support troubleshooting, incident analysis, and root-cause identification related to network issues.
Contribute to continuous improvement of network architecture, availability, and operational processes.
Technical Environment (incl. but not limited to)
Cisco networking technologies (routing & switching)
Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure)
Enterprise firewalls
Layer 3 VPNs
High-availability and redundant network architectures
Secure, regulated financial IT environments
Candidate Requirements
Proven experience as a Network Engineer in large-scale or complex enterprise environments.
Strong hands-on expertise with Cisco technologies, including Cisco ACI.
Solid experience in network configuration management and controlled change implementation.
Strong knowledge of network segmentation, L3 VPNs, and firewall-based security architectures.
Experience working in financial services or other highly regulated environments is a strong asset.
Comfortable interacting with business owners and translating business needs into technical network solutions.
Autonomous, structured, and able to operate effectively in a freelance setup.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Fluent in English (spoken and written).
Contract Details
Location: Brussels Region, Belgium
Onsite/Remote: 2 days onsite per week
Duration: 12 months+
Contract Type: Freelance