Senior Akamai Security Engineer

Role: Senior Akamai Security Engineer
Location: Hybrid - 60% onsite / 40% remote - Knutsford, Cheshire
Contract Length: Until 30/11/2026
Rate: £550 to £600 per day Inside IR35

Role Overview

We're looking for a Senior Akamai Security Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and optimisation of Akamai security solutions across large-scale digital platforms.

This role sits at the sharp end of web security - protecting high-traffic environments from modern threats while improving performance and resilience. Expect real engineering challenges, complex environments, and zero room for checkbox security.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, configure, and optimise Akamai security solutions including Kona Site Defender, WAF, Bot Manager, and CDN
• Lead end-to-end implementation of Akamai security policies and custom rules
• Perform threat analysis, log monitoring, and security incident response for web trafficl
• Implement and manage rate limiting, bot mitigation, DDoS protection, and zero-trust controls
• Partner with engineering and application teams to embed secure Akamai configurations into delivery pipelines
• Manage Akamai properties, edge redirects, certificates, and traffic routing rules
• Tune WAF policies to minimise false positives while maximising threat coverage
• Provide technical leadership, documentation, and best-practice guidance

Required Skills & Experience

• Extensive hands on experience with the Akamai platform: Kona Site Defender, WAF, Bot Manager, EdgeWorkers, CDN
• Strong understanding of web security fundamentals: OWASP Top 10, DDoS, bot protection, API security
• Deep knowledge of HTTP/S, TCP/IP, DNS, TLS, caching strategies, and CDN optimisation
• Experience supporting large-scale, high-traffic production environments
• Scripting and automation skills (Python, Shell, Akamai APIs)
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and performance tuning capability

Nice to Have

• Akamai certifications (ACE, Akamai Security Architect)
• Cloud platform experience (Azure, AWS, GCP)
• Familiarity with DevSecOps practices, CI/CD, and Infrastructure as Code
• Experience with SIEM platforms and security analytics