Network Engineer

SkyePoint Decisions•Springfield, MD

22d•Hybrid

About The Position

SkyePoint Decisions is seeking a Network Engineer to support a Department of State customer. The position primarily supports operations and maintenance of foreign post network integrations with the DoS Core and other integrations across a large, complex network infrastructure and cloud environments. Engineering and design work is performed as warranted. The role follows a hybrid schedule of approximately three days onsite, at the customer's discretion, and can be located in Beltsville, Maryland, or Springfield, Virginia. The engineer operates and maintains enterprise network, cloud infrastructure, and voice systems; monitors and troubleshoots performance and availability; resolves incidents and service requests; and evaluates, designs, and documents network solutions when operational needs require them. The role also includes contingency planning, technical guidance and client training, technology recommendations, and designing and maintaining hybrid-cloud connectivity across on-premises infrastructure and AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud platforms. The position requires a related bachelor's degree and 10+ years of relevant experience, or a master's degree and 8+ years; additional experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have an active interim Secret clearance with the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance. The salary range is listed as TBD.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a network engineering, computer engineering, or related discipline and 10+ years of IT network engineering and architecture experience; alternatively, a master's degree and 8+ years of related experience. Additional experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.
Experience at Tier III or above in network infrastructure design and implementation for large, complex networks and cloud environments.
Expertise operating, maintaining, and supporting scalable, secure, high-performance enterprise network architectures, including LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, and cloud-based solutions.
Cisco CCNA and/or CCNP and/or CCIE.
Strong or deep knowledge of Layer 2 and Layer 3, routing and switching, tunneling, and protocols and technologies including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, static routing, L2TP, IPsec, VPN, DMVPN, GRE, spanning tree, EtherChannel, VLAN trunking, 802.1Q, HSRP, VRRP, GLBP, VPC, MPLS, and VLANs; experience with enterprise-grade routers and switches.
Deep knowledge of Cisco switching and routing product lines.
Proficiency implementing and maintaining security measures, including firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS, and zero-trust architectures across on-premises and cloud environments.
Strong experience operating, supporting, and troubleshooting large or complex networks end to end, including hybrid-cloud architectures.
Experience operating and maintaining cloud network architectures in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
Knowledge of cloud networking services such as AWS VPC, Azure Virtual Network, Transit Gateway, and Cloud Interconnect.
U.S. citizenship.
Active interim Secret clearance and ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

Low Earth Orbit satellite design, including Starshield design and implementations.
Firsthand experience developing and performing quality assurance reviews of engineering change orders for replacement or enhancement of perimeter security hardware and software.
Experience performing root cause analysis, risk identification, and risk mitigation.
Expert knowledge of cabling standards and fiber-optic and copper cable termination.
Understanding of SDN, IoT, 5G, and cloud-native networking.
Expert experience in one or more of unclassified voice systems, secure voice systems including red switch, TDM switching, or VoIP.
Experience supporting government customers in secure environments and familiarity with NIPRNET and SIPRNET operating standards and applicable guidelines.
DNS and/or Infoblox experience.
Industry-recognized certifications such as CCIE, CCNP, CCDP, JDCI, CCVP, AWS Certified Advanced Networking, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect, or similar cloud networking certifications.
Familiarity with automation tools and scripting languages such as Python, Ansible, Terraform, and CloudFormation for streamlining network operations in on-premises and cloud environments.
Expertise with network performance monitoring tools such as NeuralStar, SolarWinds, Nagios, NetFlow, CloudWatch, and Azure Monitor, and advanced troubleshooting techniques.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools for cloud network deployment and management.
Knowledge of cloud security best practices, including network segmentation, encryption in transit, and cloud-native security services.
Experience with multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud architectures and connectivity solutions.
Familiarity with the DoS environment, including data and voice networks, IT security systems, policies and procedures, Foreign Affairs Handbooks, and Foreign Affairs Manuals.
Interpersonal skills, including effective collaboration, self-awareness, and excellent presentation skills.

Responsibilities

Perform day-to-day operations and maintenance of enterprise network, cloud infrastructure, and voice components and systems.
Monitor, tune, set standards for, and maintain network and cloud infrastructure to support optimal performance and availability.
Use monitoring, performance analysis, network management, and hardware and software tools to troubleshoot and isolate problems across on-premises and cloud environments.
Isolate and resolve network incidents and service requests in support of global operations.
Evaluate, design, and document network solutions to address operational requirements and customer needs.
Collaborate with architects and engineering teams to design and implement solutions that fit installed equipment and cloud-service capacity and operational limitations.
Develop and maintain contingency plans for network hardware failures, isolated or major outages, and cloud-service disruptions.
Provide technical consulting, guidance, information, and support to application developers, computer operations, management, and departmental clients.
Consult with and train clients on the operation and use of network systems and cloud architectures.
Plan, research, evaluate, and recommend network equipment, cloud services, and related hardware and software technologies.
Design and implement hybrid-cloud network architectures integrating on-premises infrastructure with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms as needed.
Configure and manage cloud networking components, including virtual networks, subnets, security groups, load balancers, and cloud-native connectivity solutions.
Implement and maintain secure connectivity between on-premises data centers and cloud environments using VPNs, Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, or similar technologies.

Benefits

Certification incentive program that recognizes and rewards certifications aligned with business needs.
Paid time off (PTO).
Floating federal holiday options.
Several insurance options, including HMO and high-deductible plans with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).
Full dental plans.
Vision insurance.
Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
401(k) with employer match.
Flexible work environment.