Senior Network & Security Specialist

The Opportunity

Hardlink is a specialist technology and executive management consultancy serving the resources, energy, and heavy industry sectors. We are a firm of experienced practitioners - people who have held the roles our clients hold, worked in the environments our clients operate, and understand that the gap between strategy and delivery is where most engagements succeed or fail.

Every person here carries real weight, every engagement matters to the business, and the distance between a good idea and its execution is short. Our ambition is to be the most trusted technology advisory firm in the sectors we serve.

We believe that a healthy and sustainable firm is built through investment in people and rigor in delivery. That philosophy shapes how we hire, and how we work.

Hardlink’s growth in the resources sector depends on deep domain expertise, trusted client relationships, and the credibility to lead complex digital engagements from strategy through to delivery. That growth depends on attracting, developing, and keeping experienced practitioners

The Role

As our firm continues to grow, we are seeking a Senior Network & Security Specialist to join our team and lead the design and delivery of network and security initiatives for our mining and industrial clients. This role is mainly project-focused, involving the planning, implementation, and improvement of critical network and security infrastructure. It also serves as a Tier 3 escalation point for network and security issues that require deep technical expertise.

This role provides the opportunity to work on complex, project-driven network and security initiatives in industrial environments where design decisions have real operational impact. You will design and implement solutions for remote mining sites where bandwidth, latency, and physical constraints shape how systems are connected and secured. Success in these environments depends on clearly defining boundaries between systems while enabling the right communication paths to support production and safety.

The work involves close collaboration with operational teams and integration with large-scale industrial and fleet platforms, offering technically rewarding challenges that go well beyond traditional enterprise networking.

This role works closely with senior and executive IT consultants in a collaborative, highly technical environment. We offer a comprehensive benefits plan and an open-ended training budget, and we support continued development in both technical depth and scope of responsibility.

This position is best suited to experienced network and security professionals; candidates whose background is primarily helpdesk-focused or limited to basic network administration tasks may find the role is not the right fit.

If you are an experienced network and security professional who is comfortable owning complex designs and implementations, we’d love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of complex Fortinet and Cisco solutions (firewalls, switching, wireless, HA, SD-WAN), including Purdue Model–aligned network segmentation based on a clear understanding of application communication flows and IT/OT integration requirements.
• Design, implement, and support network security and NAC solutions, including policy design, enforcement, and ongoing optimization.
• Design and deploy secure authentication solutions for VPN, wireless, and NAC (e.g., RADIUS, 802.1X, certificate-based auth, MFA).
• Design and support hybrid network architectures, including cloud networking in platforms such as Microsoft Azure, with consideration for connectivity, security controls, and integration with on-premises and industrial environments.
• Serve as the technical lead for network projects, driving delivery from discovery and design through implementation, including greenfield deployments, network refreshes, security improvements, and architecture changes.
• Review designs and implementations produced by other team members.
• Provide technical mentorship and escalation support.
• Occasionally travel to client sites to perform detailed network discovery, assist with on-site implementation activities, and validate physical and logical designs during project delivery.
• Be personable, articulate, and clear in your communication – both written and spoken.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum of 8–10 years experience in mid-large enterprise/industrial/mining network design and delivery, including firewall, switching, wireless, and security architecture.
• Extensive hands-on experience with both Cisco and Fortinet enterprise environments. Expertise in Fortinet Fortigate firewalls is required. Experience with Palo Alto Networks firewalls is considered an advantage.
• Strong understanding of physical network connectivity and design considerations, including fiber and copper interfaces, SFP/GBIC selection and laser wavelength considerations, patch panel and termination design, ring and resilient topologies, LTE connectivity, and the application of technologies such as VXLAN where appropriate.
• Ability to read and critically review fiber network block diagrams is required; experience creating or updating such diagrams is considered an asset.
• Experience with centralized network and security management platforms, such as FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, Cisco Catalyst Center, and NAC platforms such as Cisco ISE.
• You are confident in your expertise, comfortable making technical decisions, and able to clearly articulate trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proficiency in ITSM tools such as incident and change management.
• A sense of humor. We’re building a team, in the truest sense.
• Tolerance and encouragement for people being and doing things differently – if you see only one way for the world to be, we’d very much prefer you respectfully decline this role.

Additional Assets

• Degree, diploma, or certificate in a related field
• Certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, NSE4+ or equivalent senior-level certifications/training.
• Palo Alto Panorama or equivalent enterprise tools is considered an asset.
• Fluency in Spanish or French.
• Related field experience (mining, industrial)

What We Offer

Hardlink is highly collaborative, offering an environment where your contributions are visible, valued, and respected.

This role offers a competitive salary range of $120,000 to $140,000, and a comprehensive benefits package, including dental coverage, long-term disability, a health spending account, and parental leave top-up along with schedule flexibility to support family responsibilities, such as school pick-up and drop-off and daytime school events.

Our team enjoys a supportive, intellectually engaged workplace, meaningful opportunities for professional growth and skill development, and the chance to work closely with senior leadership while influencing how the firm operates.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume and a cover letter to hardlinkhr@hardlink.ca outlining your experience and interest in the role.

Hardlink Consulting Corp. is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals.