Network Operations & Engineering Manager

CACI•National Harbor, MD

About The Position

CACI is seeking a Network Operations & Engineering Manager for its Desktop Support Services (DSS) team supporting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The role provides technical management and unified leadership for network engineering operations across multiple DHS DSS task orders. It oversees Tier 1 NOC, Tier 2 WAN/LAN, and Tier 3 WAN/LAN teams and serves as the authoritative representative for DSS network operations to DHS stakeholders. The manager establishes consistent network engineering standards and support practices across task orders, leads and develops staff, manages escalations and complex incidents, and coordinates with program management, government stakeholders, the Service Desk, and the Security Operations Center. The role also oversees network devices and maintenance, maintains shared technical documentation, develops service and network performance metrics, ensures compliance with federal and DHS requirements, and drives operational improvements. Teams must respond to alerts and resolve incidents in a 24/7/365 environment. The position requires flexibility to work standard business hours and availability for critical incident response, with occasional travel between customer sites. CACI describes a culture centered on integrity, innovation, trust, and continuous growth. Employees have access to a flexible time off benefit, learning resources, and comprehensive benefits covering healthcare, wellness, financial and retirement support, family support, continuing education, and time off. The proposed salary range is $120,800–$265,800, with final pay influenced by factors including location, contract labor categories and wage rates, experience, skills, education, and certifications.

Requirements

Ability to obtain DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance.
Ability to obtain DHS Entry On Duty (EOD).
Bachelor of Science degree and 15 years of applicable experience, or Master of Science degree and 12 years of applicable experience.
At least 5–7 years in a technical leadership or management role overseeing multi-tier network support operations (NOC, Tier 2, Tier 3) on a federal government contract.
CCNP certification or higher.
ITIL Foundation certification, or ability to obtain it within the first three months.
Expert-level knowledge of enterprise WAN and LAN technologies, including Cisco switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs, and wireless access points.
Advanced experience with network analysis tools and IP services, including IPv4/IPv6, Multicast, QoS, SDN, SNMP, VoIP, and VTC.
Strong experience with routing protocols and technologies, including OSPF, BGP, MPLS, RSVP/LDP L2/3VPNs, VRFs, IKE/IPSec, GRE tunnels, MTU, and import/export policies.
Experience with network security technologies, including firewalls, IPS/IDS, VPN, and NAC, and with wireless networking, including 802.11 standards, controllers, and access points.
Knowledge of network services critical to desktop support, including DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory integration.
Experience using ServiceNow or similar service management software.
Excellent communication skills and ability to translate technical issues for non-technical audiences.
Strong leadership and team-building capabilities, with the ability to influence and drive standardization across organizational boundaries.
Flexibility to work standard business hours, availability for critical incident response, and willingness to travel occasionally between customer sites.

Nice To Haves

Previous DHS experience supporting Desktop Support Services or similar enterprise IT contracts.
Previous DoD experience.
Active DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance.
Active DHS Entry On Duty (EOD).
CCIE or equivalent expert-level certification.
Security+ or higher DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification.
PMP or similar certification.
Additional Cisco certifications, such as CCNA Wireless or CCNP Security.
Wireless certifications such as CWNA, CWSP, or vendor-specific certifications.
Deep knowledge of Problem Management best practices and processes.
Experience with Palo Alto firewalls, Bluecoat proxies, and Zscaler.
Familiarity with SD-WAN and modern network architectures.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and management oversight for Tier 1 NOC, Tier 2 WAN/LAN, and Tier 3 WAN/LAN teams across multiple task orders.
Represent contract network operations to DHS stakeholders and facilitate communication among technical teams, program management, and government stakeholders.
Lead, mentor, and develop network engineering staff through performance reviews, one-on-ones, and coaching.
Establish and enforce network engineering standards, best practices, and procedures across DSS task orders.
Manage escalations between support tiers, provide expertise on complex network issues affecting desktop connectivity, and oversee incoming escalations and participation in major incident bridge calls.
Manage, troubleshoot, and oversee maintenance of Cisco routers, switches, wireless access points, ASA and Palo Alto firewalls, Bluecoat proxies, VPN, and Zscaler.
Evaluate and recommend technology or process changes and upgrades to improve performance, standardization, and alignment with industry best practices.
Develop and maintain unified network documentation, runbooks, SOPs, architecture diagrams, knowledge base articles, work instructions, and job aids.
Establish metrics and KPIs for team performance, network health, and service delivery.
Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and service quality.
Lead postmortem activities and drive operational improvements based on lessons learned.
Ensure compliance with federal security requirements, DHS policies, and government procedures.
Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing across task orders and eliminate team silos to deliver consistent service and user experience.
Lead technical review meetings, provide consolidated status updates to program management, and conduct knowledge transfer on new solutions, systems, applications, and tools.
Ensure teams effectively respond to alerts, triage and troubleshoot issues, and resolve incidents in a 24/7/365 environment.
Coordinate with other support teams, including the Service Desk and Security Operations Center.
Coordinate patching, updates, upgrades, refreshes, and other maintenance activities.