Network Architect

SAIC•Washington, DC

16h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Network Architect supports the Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Technology through the Vanguard Program, providing enterprise network engineering, operations, and maintenance support. Within the Enterprise Infrastructure office, the role translates business requirements into telecommunications requirements, designs, and orders across voice, data, VoIP, RoIP, LAN, WAN, and video. It provides technical leadership and engineering analysis for the Department of State’s global network infrastructure, with an emphasis on security and operational readiness. As a senior member of the Vanguard team supporting the DT Bureau Enterprise Infrastructure Directorate, the position delivers enterprise-level solutions using physical and virtual networking technologies, server hosting, and storage. The architect works with government clients on data center and overseas infrastructure initiatives, guides project teams through the systems development lifecycle, and develops technical solutions, roadmaps, policies, specifications, and white papers. The role is hybrid; the government determines the number of days on site.

Requirements

One of the following: a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering, information technology, or a related field and 18 years of experience; a master’s degree in a related technology field and 16 years of network or system management experience; or 22 or more years of general engineering experience emphasizing LAN/WAN engineering and support.
Knowledge and experience in network or systems engineering and security, including routers, switches, and VPNs.
Experience designing and implementing VoIP and Wi-Fi.
Experience with global network operations, network or systems integration, and network or systems hardware.
Strong emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and executive-level communication skills.
Ability to work in a multivendor network environment.
Working knowledge of IP subnetting, IP routing, and troubleshooting IP-related issues.
Knowledge of data center architecture and designs for large-scale data centers.
Knowledge of integrated converged stack infrastructure, such as VCE Vblock or FlexPod.
Knowledge and experience with large-scale Storage Area Network systems, including design, build, and operation.
Knowledge and experience with VMware, including design, build, and operation.
Knowledge of IP networking, VPNs, switching, and routing.
Knowledge of Software Defined Data Center concepts and principles.
Knowledge of Microsoft file systems, operating systems, and applications, and experience with Microsoft OS systems.
Systems engineering background and understanding of Cloud Computing Reference Architecture.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Willingness to travel within the Washington, DC metropolitan area and, if required, within and outside the continental United States, not to exceed 10%.
Willingness to support a rotational on-call posture outside normal working hours in response to technical support requests.
U.S. citizenship.
Active Top Secret clearance and ability to obtain TS/SCI.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Nortel/AVAYA and Cisco PBX products.
Familiarity with setting up, configuring, and maintaining network monitoring tools.
Knowledge of network security and infrastructure protection, and an active CISSP certification.
Familiarity with the Department of State environment, including data and voice networks, IT systems, policies, procedures, the Foreign Affairs Handbook, and the Foreign Affairs Manual.
VMware VCP 5+ certification and working knowledge of SRM, VCOPS, SMVI, and VCAC.
Cisco network component design experience with switches and routers; certifications such as CCNA-DC or CCNP; and Cisco training on 7000/5000/1000 platforms.
Design knowledge of Cisco UCS technologies and HP blade technologies, and ability to maintain server or blade hardware, including replacing failed components.
Design knowledge of EMC Storage Area Network arrays and associated storage systems; working knowledge of Recover Point, Viper, and VCE Vision.
Design knowledge and experience with Virtual Desktop Infrastructures.
ITIL v4 Foundations certificate.
Current and active PMP certification by PMI.
Prior experience working within the Department of State.

Responsibilities

Provide senior-level engineering design and architecture support for enterprise solutions using physical and virtual networking technologies, server hosting, and storage.
Architect, engineer, and deploy enterprise solutions for more than 100,000 users.
Work with customers to determine functional needs and priorities and develop or update roadmaps.
Translate customer needs into hardware and software requirements.
Provide technical direction to project teams throughout the systems development lifecycle.
Develop white papers for technical system solutions and incremental roadmaps.
Support government clients on technical requirements for data center and overseas infrastructure initiatives.
Assist in developing enterprise policies and directives.
Participate in functional and user acceptance testing to confirm products meet customer needs.
Conduct Technical Exchange Meetings.
Review and document the functionality of existing legacy applications.
Create technical specifications and white papers as required.
Communicate regularly with government points of contact about project activities and status.
Plan, research, evaluate, and recommend new equipment and related technologies.
Develop contingency plans for infrastructure-related software or hardware failures.
Guide teams in planning and executing IT service enhancements and integrating solutions with attention to security and operational readiness.
Formulate concepts of operations and define requirements, system architecture, analysis and design, interfaces, data architecture, testing, validation and verification, performance analysis, lifecycle cost estimates, and decision analysis.