Network Engineer

Liquid Intelligent Technologies

Nairobifull time~KES 130k – 200k/mo3w ago

Quick Take

The Role

You'll design, configure, and troubleshoot carrier-grade network infrastructure — managing routers, switches, and BGP peering relationships across Liquid's pan-African fibre backbone.

You Need

A mandatory CCNP certification, 3+ years of ISP or enterprise networking experience, and deep expertise in BGP, MPLS, and QoS.

You Get

A rare chance to work on one of Africa's largest fibre networks with a well-funded continental operator, backed by a competitive above-market salary of KES 130,000–200,000/month.

Job Description

•Role Overview

Liquid Intelligent Technologies is one of Africa's leading connectivity providers, operating a fibre network stretching over 100,000 kilometres across the continent. The company is looking to bring on board a skilled Network Engineer based in Nairobi to play a hands-on role in building, maintaining, and optimising the core internet infrastructure that keeps Africa connected.

This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned networking professional to work at scale, managing carrier-grade systems and collaborating with internet service providers and exchange points across multiple African markets. If you are passionate about network architecture and thrive in high-availability environments, this role offers a platform to make a genuine continental impact.

•Key Responsibilities

Design, deploy, and troubleshoot both enterprise-level and carrier-grade network solutions to ensure robust and reliable connectivity
Configure and administer routing and switching equipment from Cisco, Juniper, and Huawei platforms
Establish and manage BGP peering arrangements with ISPs and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) operating across Africa
Take ownership of network incidents from detection through to resolution, including conducting thorough root cause analyses to prevent recurrence
Maintain up-to-date documentation of network topology and ensure configuration management records are accurate and well-organised

•Required Skills & Experience

A CCNP certification or a recognised equivalent qualification — this is a mandatory requirement
A minimum of three years of hands-on network engineering experience within an ISP or enterprise networking environment
Solid, demonstrable knowledge of BGP, MPLS, and QoS protocols and their practical application in production networks
Practical experience working with network monitoring and management tools such as PRTG, Zabbix, or SolarWinds
Holding a CCIE certification will be considered a significant advantage during the selection process

•Who Should Apply

This position is best suited to a network engineering professional with a strong ISP or enterprise background who is comfortable operating in complex, large-scale environments. The ideal candidate is someone who holds at least a CCNP certification, brings three or more years of relevant experience, and has a deep understanding of routing protocols and traffic engineering. You should be detail-oriented when it comes to documentation, proactive in incident management, and confident working with multi-vendor equipment from Cisco, Juniper, and Huawei. Candidates who are already CCIE-certified or actively working towards that qualification will stand out strongly. A passion for advancing digital connectivity across Africa would be a great fit for Liquid Intelligent Technologies' broader mission.

•How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should apply for the Network Engineer position at Liquid Intelligent Technologies in Nairobi through the official job listing on the Liquid Intelligent Technologies careers portal or the platform where this advertisement is posted. Ensure your application clearly highlights your relevant certifications, years of experience, and technical expertise in line with the requirements outlined above.

Requirements Breakdown

Must Have

CCNP certification (or equivalent) — non-negotiable
3+ years of network engineering experience in an ISP or enterprise environment
Strong hands-on knowledge of BGP, MPLS, and QoS
Experience configuring and managing Cisco, Juniper, and Huawei equipment
Experience with network monitoring tools such as PRTG, Zabbix, or SolarWinds

Nice to Have

CCIE certification (strongly preferred)
Experience managing BGP peering with IXPs specifically in the African context
Familiarity with configuration management and network documentation best practices
Exposure to carrier-grade or backbone ISP environments at scale

Don't meet every requirement? Tailor your CV to close the gap →

Salary Context

Above market rate for a mid-to-senior Network Engineer in Nairobi

Network Engineers in Nairobi typically earn KES 80,000–150,000/month at the mid-level; this range of KES 130,000–200,000 reflects a premium for ISP-grade BGP and MPLS expertise and skews toward senior candidates with CCNP/CCIE credentials. Pay in this field is heavily influenced by certifications, multi-vendor hardware experience, and whether the employer is a telco/ISP versus a standard enterprise.

About Liquid Intelligent Technologies

Liquid Intelligent Technologies is one of Africa's largest pan-continental connectivity providers, operating a 100,000km+ fibre network spanning more than 13 countries including Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and beyond. In Kenya, the company plays a critical role in providing high-capacity data, cloud, and managed network services to enterprises, ISPs, and hyperscale cloud customers. Working at Liquid means contributing to infrastructure that genuinely shapes internet access and digital transformation across an entire continent — a rare scale of impact for a network engineer.

Likely Interview Questions

1
Walk us through how you would design a redundant BGP peering setup with two upstream ISPs — what attributes would you use to control inbound and outbound traffic?
2
Describe a major network outage you led root cause analysis on — what tools did you use, how did you communicate during the incident, and what did you change afterwards?
3
How have you implemented MPLS in a previous role, and what traffic engineering challenges did you solve with it?
4
We operate Cisco, Juniper, and Huawei equipment simultaneously — can you describe your experience across all three vendors and how you handle differences in CLI and configuration syntax?
5
How would you approach onboarding a new IXP peering relationship, from the initial route policy design through to monitoring and validation?

Application Tips

Lead your CV with your CCNP certification prominently — the job description calls it mandatory, so recruiters will screen for it immediately; include the certification number and date.
Quantify your network experience wherever possible — e.g. 'Managed BGP peering with 12 upstream ISPs' or 'Maintained uptime of 99.97% across a 500-node enterprise network' — as this role demands proven ISP-scale exposure.
Highlight any multi-vendor (Cisco + Juniper + Huawei) hands-on configuration experience explicitly in a skills section, as experience across all three vendors is specifically mentioned and will differentiate you from candidates with only single-vendor backgrounds.

Career Path

Roles that lead here

Junior Network Engineer / NOC Engineer

Network Administrator (ISP or enterprise)

YOU

Where this leads

Senior Network Engineer / Lead Network Architect

Network Operations Manager / Head of IP Engineering

Skills & Keywords

CiscoBGPMPLSNetwork DesignCCNP

Honest Assessment

Green Flags

Salary range is transparent and sits above the Nairobi market median for this level, signalling a serious employer willing to pay for quality.
Working on a 100,000km+ pan-African fibre backbone is a genuinely rare technical opportunity that will significantly strengthen any network engineer's CV.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is a well-capitalised, growth-stage continental operator — career progression into senior or regional roles is a realistic outcome.
The technology stack (Cisco, Juniper, Huawei, BGP, MPLS) is industry-standard and highly transferable, ensuring the skills built here retain market value long-term.

Watch Out

The role covers a very broad scope — BGP peering, incident response, documentation, and carrier-grade design — which may mean a lean team where one engineer wears many hats simultaneously.
On-call expectations for network incidents are implied but not explicitly defined; candidates should clarify shift rotation and after-hours incident response obligations before accepting.

A Day in the Life

☀️

A typical week starts with reviewing overnight alerts from PRTG or Zabbix, triaging any BGP route flaps or interface errors flagged by the NOC, and joining a Monday engineering standup to track open incidents and planned maintenance windows. Mid-week you might be deep in Juniper or Huawei configuration — rolling out a new MPLS circuit for an enterprise client or updating route policies for a new IXP peer — before joining a change management review to get a topology update approved. By Friday you're updating network documentation, closing out a root cause analysis report from an earlier incident, and perhaps jumping on a call with a peering partner in Johannesburg or Lagos to troubleshoot an asymmetric routing issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifications do I need to apply for the Network Engineer role at Liquid Intelligent Technologies?

A CCNP certification (or equivalent) is mandatory and non-negotiable, alongside at least 3 years of network engineering experience in an ISP or enterprise environment. Strong knowledge of BGP, MPLS, and QoS is also essential.

Is the Network Engineer position at Liquid Intelligent Technologies remote or office-based?

The role is listed as based in Nairobi with no mention of remote or hybrid working, so candidates should expect this to be a full-time, on-site position — likely important given the operational nature of managing live network infrastructure.

How much does a Network Engineer earn at Liquid Intelligent Technologies?

The posted salary range is KES 130,000–200,000 per month, which is above the Nairobi market average for this level; the exact figure will likely depend on your certifications (CCNP vs CCIE) and depth of ISP experience.

What are the career growth opportunities for a Network Engineer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies?

Given the company's continental scale and expanding African footprint, strong performers can progress into Senior Network Engineer, Network Architect, or regional engineering leadership roles, and may gain exposure to cross-country infrastructure projects across Africa.

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