Network Engineer - Principal

Amentum•Warrenton, VA

3d•$210,000 - $240,000

About The Position

Amentum is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to lead full-lifecycle IT infrastructure, hardware, and service transitions across a critical program. The role drives cross-functional delivery across procurement, change management, logistics, production, engineering, network architecture, and customer project management, guiding voice, video, and data capabilities from concept through operational deployment in DISA/DoD environments. The engineer serves as a primary subject matter expert to government leaders and manages a team of 10–15 Network Engineers supporting existing enterprises and emerging capabilities. The position oversees enterprise network connectivity and data center network infrastructure operations, engineering, integration, and modernization. It includes technical feasibility assessments, solution design and trade studies, cost and schedule estimates, risk and mission-impact analysis, and recommendations to customer leadership. The engineer works with government personnel, contractors, and internal teams to deliver secure, reliable network services and full lifecycle operations and maintenance. The schedule is Monday through Friday, five days per week, eight hours per day (40 hours weekly). Overtime may be required during critical periods, and travel is approximately 5–10%, primarily within 75 miles. A bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field or equivalent experience is required, along with 12 or more years of relevant experience. The position requires an active Top Secret clearance with SCI, or the ability to acquire the required clearance, and the required certifications must be held or obtained before the start date.

Requirements

Active Top Secret clearance with SCI, or the ability to acquire Top Secret/SCI; the security clearance section also specifies active Top Secret with the ability to acquire SCI.
At least 12 years of experience in network and data center architecture design and management, including at least 3 years implementing Cisco ACI and next-generation firewall solutions such as Cisco Firepower and Palo Alto PAN-OS/Panorama.
Prior experience as a Lead Engineer communicating design solutions and operations and maintenance activities to senior government technical personnel.
At least 5 years directing cross-functional engineering teams delivering full-lifecycle IT infrastructure support and documenting system performance.
Experience designing highly available, high-performance, scalable redundant networks; ISP management; SD-WAN; IPAM; and IPv6 design and deployment in enterprise and data center environments.
Ability to implement Cisco Nexus Dashboard and ACI fabric architectures, including VXLAN, spine-leaf topology, APIC controller management, and multi-data-center design and optimization.
Ability to configure ACI tenant policies, endpoint groups, contracts, filters, service graphs, and L4–L7 integrations with firewalls and load balancers.
Experience developing network automation scripts with Python, Ansible, or Terraform for configuration, policy enforcement, and application profiles.
Ability to integrate ACI with multi-data-center VMware and Acropolis AOS VM environments.
Knowledge of or experience implementing Zero Trust security policies within ACI and ensuring compliance with industry standards.
Ability to use APIC, SNMP, Syslog, and telemetry tools for proactive monitoring and performance tuning.
Ability to implement Cisco data center solutions, including Nexus 9K switches, UCS, BE7K, and data center management planes.
Experience designing and troubleshooting Layer 2/3 networks and knowledge of TCP/IP, VPLS, DMVPN, EIGRP, BGP, OSPF, VRRP, HSRP, and NHRP.
Experience with Type 1 line encryption devices, including KG175, KG250, and KG250xs.
Experience with network security practices and technologies including SSH, IPSec, RADIUS, TACACS, firewall policies, and 802.1x.
Experience implementing network performance management solutions such as SolarWinds, NetScout InfiniStream, and Gigamon Deep Observability, and troubleshooting using packet, session, and log data.
Working knowledge of Cisco IP telephony products and interconnection of multiple IP telephony systems over LAN and WAN connections.
Familiarity with data center infrastructure and experience with Cisco ISR and ASR routers and Cisco switch families including 35xx, 37xx, 38xx, 45xx, 65xx, and Nexus 9xxx, 7xxx, 6xxx, 5xxx, 2xxx, and 1xxx series.
Hands-on experience using network monitoring, fault management, and performance analysis tools such as Syslog, SNMP, What’s Up Gold, SolarWinds, and Scrutinizer.
Demonstrated application of the ITIL framework to deliver enterprise IT service management.
Demonstrated experience leading technical teams and mentoring engineers.
Ability to develop technical documentation, engineering designs, and executive-level presentations.
Experience making recommendations that improve customer mission effectiveness and operational efficiency.
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field, or equivalent experience demonstrating capability in IT, telecommunications, or systems engineering in DoD environments.
Must possess or be able to obtain CCNP and one 8140 IAT Level II or III baseline certification before the start date. Listed Level II certifications are CCNA Security, CySA+, CND, and Security+ CE; listed Level III certifications are CASP CE, CCNP Security, CISA, and CISSP (or Associate).
Must be able to work a 40-hour work week, normally Monday through Friday, and work overtime during critical peaks or when last-minute requests arise.
Ability to travel 5–10%, primarily within 75 miles.
Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, Project, and Visio.
Exceptional attention to detail; strong verbal and written communication, critical thinking, organizational, time-management, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a dynamic environment.
Comply with applicable safety, quality, environmental, operational, and customer-contract requirements; complete required training and participate in safety and emergency-response responsibilities.
Employment is contingent on successful drug screening; the employer requires compliance with its drug and alcohol policies.

Nice To Haves

Master of Science in Information Technology, Computer Science, or Engineering.
Cisco Certified Enterprise Infrastructure – CCIE.
Palo Alto Networks Network Security certification.
Experience with ITIL.
Experience with ServiceNow.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary subject matter expert to government leaders on local and wide area networking, communications, data center operations, and related software and hardware.
Manage a team of 10–15 Network Engineers supporting enterprise operations and maintenance and developing and integrating emerging capabilities.
Apply an industry-accepted systems development life cycle model to manage multiple engineering projects and initiatives.
Support customers as part of a complex team of contractors and government personnel.
Support information systems operations, including computer and communications operations, data control, LAN/WAN administration, operating systems programming, system security policy procedures, and operations.
Analyze hardware requirements and prepare acquisition specifications.
Research and recommend technologies and future concepts, including deployable solutions, interoperability, virtualization, and software-defined networking.
Review site design packages for technical accuracy and design and plan network communications systems.
Recommend hardware or software models to the Configuration Management Board and inform lifecycle teams about equipment approaching end of life or end of support.
Coordinate with Information Assurance Security Engineers to validate designs against security controls and maintain Authority to Operate for each enclave.
Create, review, and update technical documentation, implementation documentation, and templates for network deployment and sustainment.
Provide engineering support to the Network Operations Center and implementation and sustainment teams.
Identify and diagnose complex performance, security, and technical issues, and develop and implement solutions.
Implement and maintain DISA STIG requirements and evaluate vendor products and technological developments for potential purchase.
Oversee day-to-day operations and maintenance of enterprise network connectivity and data center network infrastructure, including related policies and procedures.
Analyze and resolve network and data center work problems and assist employees in resolving them.
Lead enhancement efforts to optimize and secure infrastructure and monitoring systems.
Coordinate enhancement projects, operational changes, schedules, resources, and progress reporting with other departments.
Lead operations and maintenance troubleshooting to isolate and diagnose system problems, and document system events to support continuous operation.
Train, mentor, and motivate team members to meet individual, team, and contractual obligations while supporting career development.
Develop techniques to improve workflow, productivity, and the operating environment.
Evaluate customer technology initiatives, enhancement requests, and modernization requirements; assess technical feasibility, architecture, constraints, dependencies, cybersecurity, and infrastructure impacts.
Develop engineering solution options, analyze alternatives, and conduct trade studies to identify technical approaches.
Estimate hardware, software, licensing, infrastructure, labor, and lifecycle support costs; prepare ROM estimates, budget projections, and implementation timelines.
Identify technical, operational, programmatic, and cybersecurity risks and assess mission benefits, operational impacts, return on investment, and performance improvements.
Produce technical white papers, engineering assessments, briefing materials, and executive recommendations, and present findings to customer leadership and technical review bodies.
Participate in architecture review boards, configuration control boards, and technical review meetings, and support enterprise strategic technology planning and modernization.
Work overtime during critical peaks and respond to last-minute overtime requests as needed; travel approximately 5–10%, primarily within 75 miles.
Fulfill applicable safety, quality, procedure-compliance, training, and emergency-response responsibilities.