Data Center Engineer

TekSynap•Morningside, MD

3h•$80,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a highly skilled and disciplined Data Center Engineer to support both unclassified and classified enterprise network infrastructure in direct support of Air Force National Capital Region (AFNCR) operations. The AFNCR IT Services program provides support services for information systems for Headquarters Air Force (HAF), Air Force District of Washington (AFDW), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other Air Force activities within the AFNCR, missions to include the Pentagon, Joint Base Andrews (JBA), Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), and other locations, leased spaces, and alternate sites. The major support areas required are IT Operations and Maintenance; Plans, Projects, and Engineering and National Military Command Center (NMCC). TekSynap is a fast-growing high-tech company that understands both the pace of technology today and the need to have a comprehensive well planned information management environment. “Technology moving at the speed of thought” embodies these principles – the need to nimbly utilize the best that information technology offers to meet the business needs of our Federal Government customers.

Requirements

Active Secret clearance.
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Computer/Electrical Engineering, or equivalent technical military/civilian experience (typically 5+ years of hands-on network engineering experience in secure environments).
Education and experience requirements may be substituted with: 1. A master’s degree (in subjects described above) and 3 years of experience. 2. No degree with 10 years of intensive and progressive experience demonstrating the required proficiency levels related to task.
Must meet DoD 8140 IAT Level II or III baseline certification requirements: active Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) OR Cisco CCNP Enterprise.
Proven experience configuring and troubleshooting enterprise-grade switches and routers (specifically Cisco platforms).
Hands-on administration of Cisco Catalyst Center (DNA Center), Cisco ISE, and F5 Local/Global Traffic Managers.
Experience with RSA Authentication Manager database administration and user agent configuration.
Direct experience configuring, keying, and troubleshooting TACLANE HAIPE encryption units.
Proficiency knowledge of DISA STIGs for network devices and appliances.
Familiarity with SNMP monitoring protocols, Cacti, and multicast routing protocols (e.g., PIM, IGMP snooping) for IPTV systems.
US Citizen

Nice To Haves

Active Cisco CCNP Enterprise certification.
Active Security+ certification.
Understanding of IPv6 to include configuration and common notation/nomenclature
Proficiency in Python and Ansible for network automation.
Familiarity with Cisco SD-WAN, Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).
Experience working in air-gapped and/or classified network environments (e.g., SIPRNet) is highly desirable.
Knowledge of Air Force, Pentagon, and/or AFNCR.
Experienced working at the Pentagon, Joint Base Andrews (JBA), and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB).

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and maintain information technology systems to include designing the basic computing infrastructure to accomplish key tasks, establishing networking rules for cybersecurity, and troubleshooting network errors or other technical issues.
Manage, deploy, configure, and maintain core data center hardware, including switches, routers, and high-performance server network interfaces.
Maintain comprehensive physical infrastructure documentation, including precise rack layouts, detailed port maps, and highly accurate physical asset tracking databases.
Employ and manage enterprise level network systems, utilizing Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly Cisco DNA Center) and Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) for policy enforcement, device profiling, and automated access control.
Configure and manage Cisco Nexus Series switches.
Configure and manage F5 Load Balancers (LTM/GTM) to guarantee application high availability and administer RSA Authentication Manager to support multi-factor authentication (MFA) across secure enclaves.
Monitor system performance, capacity, and overall environmental health using Cacti network monitoring and other SNMP-based telemetry tools.
Deploy and troubleshoot multicast-based Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) platforms over the enterprise LAN.
Install, key, configure, and support TACLANE (e.g., KG-175D, KGV-72) and other High-Assurance IP Encryptors (HAIPEs) to secure sensitive data-in-transit across classified and unclassified networks.
Implement and enforce physical and logical cybersecurity measures to safeguard critical infrastructure, databases, and network boundaries in accordance with DoD regulations.
Develop, update, and maintain detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for data center operations, ensuring strict alignment with military directives, safety, and environmental protocols.
Act as the technical point of contact with higher-level support units, such as the 26th Network Operations Squadron (26th NOS) and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), ensuring rapid coordination and resolution during network outages or degraded performance periods.
Draft, coordinate, and process Authorized Service Interruptions (ASIs) as directed by leadership, ensuring appropriate risk mitigation and stakeholder notification.
Coordinate with multidisciplinary engineering and facility stakeholders to schedule and execute preventative hardware maintenance and routine system-wide upgrades with minimal operational disruption.
Proactively identify single-points-of-failure and mitigate operational reliability risks to guarantee maximum network uptime and mission stability.
Participate in disaster recovery (DR) planning, complete routine system backups, and execute logical and physical system restoration processes.
Support a continuous, mission-critical operational standby and on-call rotation schedule to resolve emergent tier-3 technical issues during off hours.