E2E Research Platform Technical Manager

Recruiter: Mark Thomas

Hiring Manager: Paul Deans

Career Grade: D

Internal Closing Date: 12/08/2026

About the role

This is a unique opportunity to play a leading role in shaping and evolving BT's End-to-End Research Platform (E2ERP), a secure, self-service IT and networking environment that enables rapid experimentation, proof-of-concept development, and the creation of advanced research testbeds.

The platform underpins some of BT's most ambitious research and innovation programmes, providing researchers with the infrastructure, tools, and capabilities needed to validate emerging technologies that do not yet exist within BT's operational networks.
At the centre of a growing partnership ecosystem, the E2ERP enables collaboration across BT, supporting business-critical programmes and network use cases, while also providing a trusted environment for engagement with leading industry partners, technology vendors, start-ups, and academic institutions.

As part of the ongoing evolution of the platform, you will help design, build, and operate strategically important capabilities including mobile and fixed network infrastructure, Digital Twins, GPU-enabled compute environments, cloud-native platforms, and advanced experimentation environments that accelerate innovation across the organisation.

This is one of three senior technical leadership positions within a highly skilled team of six, combining deep technical expertise with strategic influence. You will play a key role in defining future platform direction, enabling cutting-edge research programmes, and ensuring the organisation has the capabilities required to explore and validate tomorrow's technologies.

This role is based in Ipswich and our hybrid working model means you are expected to be in the office at least three days per week.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading the design, build, operation, and continuous improvement of secure IT and networking environments that support research, experimentation, and innovation.
• Developing reusable platform capabilities spanning mobile and fixed networks, Digital Twins, network emulation and simulation, AI-enabled infrastructure, and containerised environments.
• Designing, developing, and maintaining software and APIs that enable automated deployment, configuration, orchestration, and management of platform services and network resources.
• Collaborating with stakeholders across BT Research and Commercialisation, Networks, and wider business units to understand requirements and translate them into scalable platform capabilities.
• Working closely with senior leaders to help shape platform strategy, technical roadmaps, investment priorities, and future capability development.
• Providing end-to-end support for research initiatives, from initial concept and experimentation through to operational support, retirement, or transition.
• Ensuring security, governance, compliance, and operational resilience are embedded across all platform services and environments.
• Managing the lifecycle of a broad range of infrastructure assets, including GPU clusters, compute platforms, networking equipment, storage systems, and specialist research hardware.
• Coaching, mentoring, and supporting graduates, placement students, and early-career professionals to develop their technical capabilities and careers.

Essential Skills / Experience

• Recognised technical expertise in IT, networking, and platform engineering, with significant experience designing, building, and operating complex technical environments.
• Proven track record of delivering laboratory, testbed, research, development, or pre-production environments that support innovation and experimentation.
• Strong technical knowledge across telecommunications networking and software engineering, including:
o IP networking and routing technologies
o Transport and service architectures
o Network protocols and programmability
o API design and development
o Cloud-native technologies and container platforms
o Distributed systems and automation frameworks
o Data centre and infrastructure technologies

Desirable Skills / Experience

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys enabling the success of others. While the position sits within a research environment, its primary focus is on creating the capabilities, infrastructure, and platforms that allow researchers and innovators to achieve breakthroughs.

You will be exposed to a diverse range of technologies, projects, and domains, providing continuous opportunities to broaden your technical expertise and work at the forefront of emerging technologies. Curiosity, creativity, and innovative thinking are highly valued, and on occasion can contribute to the development of novel intellectual property and patentable inventions.

Research experience is beneficial, but strong technical expertise and a passion for building high-quality platforms are more important.
You are likely to bring experience in several of the following areas:

• Network engineering and software engineering.
• Programmable networks, network automation, and software-defined networking.
• Routing protocols and IP networking technologies.
• Software development, API design, and systems integration.
• Building and delivering complex laboratory, testbed, or infrastructure environments.
• Data centre architecture, infrastructure platforms, and fabric design.
• Telecommunications service and solution architecture.
• Cloud-native platforms, containerisation, and orchestration technologies.
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies (desirable).

Our Package

Tailored benefits make a real difference. That’s why we offer a comprehensive range to support your growth, wellbeing, and everyday life.

You can design the package to suit you and your lifestyle. Your core benefits include:

• 10% on target annual bonus
• Access to an online private GP 24/7 for you and your immediate family
• Market-leading paid carers leave with up to 2 weeks off
• Equalized maternity, paternity, and adoption leave – 18 weeks’ full pay and 8 weeks’ half pay
• Discounted EE and BT products, including mobile and broadband
• Market leading Pension scheme – 5% from you and 10% from us
• Holiday purchase scheme

BT Group is the UK’s leading communications group and the holding company behind some of the country’s most recognised brands – including BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet. Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: we connect for good. Our customers include consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations and other communications providers.

BT Group’s role is about setting direction, unlocking value and creating the conditions for our brands and businesses to thrive.

Having come through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, our focus now is on what comes next – simplifying how we operate, using technology and AI to work smarter, and organising ourselves to serve customers better and grow sustainably. Group teams shape strategy, policy, brand, capital allocation and transformation, helping the whole organisation perform at its best.

We have a singular culture that unites all our people: we are customer-first challengers, who are committed, clear and connected. These behaviours unite us as one team to deliver for our colleagues, our customers, our stakeholders and the country. Joining BT Group means working at the heart of a business that matters to the UK, with the opportunity to shape decisions, influence outcomes and help set the future course of one of the country’s most important companies.