Principal Network Security Engineer

JCS Solutions LLC•Fort Meade, MD

3d•$104,000 - $149,000

About The Position

JCS Solutions is seeking a Principal Network Security Engineer to design, engineer, and implement enterprise network security capabilities across a large, distributed Department of Defense network environment. The role is a senior technical leadership position focused on strengthening network segmentation, access control, zero-trust initiatives, resiliency, and the enterprise security posture. The engineer will assess existing network security architectures, identify capability gaps, develop implementation strategies, and lead technical teams through modernization efforts. The position requires hands-on expertise in network security architecture and technologies, along with the ability to develop solutions, direct engineering teams, communicate with stakeholders and approval authorities, and deliver secure, scalable, sustainable capabilities. The position is located in Ft. Meade, Maryland, and requires an active DoD Secret security clearance and an active DoD 8140/8570 IAT Level II certification or higher. The stated salary range is $104,000–$149,000.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience with 12 or more years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree with 10 or more years of experience; specific experience, education, and training may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Active DoD Secret security clearance.
Current DoD 8140/8570 IAT Level II certification or higher.
Significant experience designing and implementing network security architecture in complex, large-scale enterprise environments.
Experience serving as a senior technical lead directing network and security engineers, administrators, analysts, or implementation teams.
Experience leading security engineering projects from planning through implementation.
Hands-on engineering experience with next-generation firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, proxies and TLS inspection solutions, VPN and encryption services, and network access control platforms.
Experience with network segmentation and secure connectivity initiatives.
Experience with data-flow analysis, firewall policy reviews, ACL management, security-zone design, stakeholder coordination, and implementation planning.
Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, routing protocols, switching, VLANs, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, NAT, QoS, software-defined networking, and cloud-connected environments.
Hands-on experience with at least two of the following: Palo Alto, Cisco, Aruba, Dell, Infoblox, or Brocade.
Working knowledge of NIST, FedRAMP, FISMA, RMF, DISA STIGs, and DoD cybersecurity requirements.
Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver complex technical initiatives.
Experience documenting network and security architectures using Visio, PowerPoint, Cameo, or similar tools.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience briefing senior leadership, cybersecurity authorities, stakeholders, and approval boards.
Experience with wireless security and authentication, including WPA2/WPA3, 802.1X, RADIUS, and enterprise NAC platforms.
Experience integrating wireless infrastructure with enterprise networking services, including DNS, DHCP, NTP, routing, and monitoring platforms.
Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
Experience providing technical guidance and developing engineering documentation.
Must meet applicable cybersecurity workforce qualification requirements for the assigned position.

Nice To Haves

CISSP, Palo Alto PCNSE, Cisco CCNP Security, or equivalent advanced security certification.
Experience implementing Comply-to-Connect, 802.1X, or comparable network access control and device-posture enforcement solutions at enterprise scale.
Experience with zero-trust architecture, micro-segmentation, SASE, or secure cloud connectivity designs.
Experience integrating network security platforms with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and analytics platforms.
Experience using Python, Ansible, REST APIs, or similar technologies for security automation and infrastructure-as-code initiatives.
Experience with automated firewall policy management.
Experience supporting enterprise certificate management, PKI environments, encrypted-traffic inspection, and key management services.
Experience supporting RMF, eMASS, continuous monitoring, audits, assessments, and inspection activities.
Experience using Jira, Confluence, or similar project management and knowledge-sharing platforms.
Experience developing engineering execution frameworks, implementation playbooks, migration runbooks, technical standards, and risk-reduction methodologies.

Responsibilities

Design, engineer, and implement enterprise network security architectures covering next-generation firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention, web and TLS proxies, VPN and encryption services, network access control, DNS security, and east-west security controls.
Evaluate existing network security architectures and identify security gaps, improvement opportunities, risks, and implementation approaches.
Lead network segmentation and secure connectivity initiatives, including data-flow mapping, security-zone design, enclave development, firewall rule reviews, ACL rationalization, and routing coordination.
Design and implement network access control and device-posture enforcement solutions, including identity validation, device authentication, policy enforcement, remediation workflows, and phased implementation strategies.
Advance zero-trust networking, least-privilege access, micro-segmentation, and encrypted communications strategies.
Evaluate and recommend emerging security technologies to improve enterprise security capabilities.
Engineer secure connectivity across on-premises, cloud, and remote environments using VPN, TLS, IPsec, cloud interconnects, and boundary protection technologies.
Optimize security controls to reduce false positives, improve visibility, strengthen enforcement, and maintain network performance.
Lead network security projects from concept through implementation; perform requirements analysis, dependency identification, architecture review, design coordination, planning, validation, and operational transition.
Develop implementation plans, cutover strategies, rollback plans, validation procedures, and stakeholder communication plans.
Coordinate maintenance windows, testing, change activities, and contingency planning for security infrastructure modifications.
Collaborate with network engineering, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and subject matter experts to deliver network security initiatives.
Support security accreditation, compliance, STIG implementation, vulnerability remediation, POA&M activities, and authorization requirements.
Serve as the senior technical authority for network security architecture and design decisions; provide technical direction, mentoring, and engineering guidance to technical personnel.
Manage concurrent technical efforts and maintain accountability against project schedules.
Present architecture recommendations, implementation strategies, risks, and technical decisions to government leadership, cybersecurity authorities, stakeholders, and approval boards.
Improve engineering processes, documentation standards, implementation playbooks, migration runbooks, and operational handoff procedures.
Develop and maintain network security architecture diagrams and logical and physical design documentation.
Create data-flow diagrams, segmentation models, security-zone designs, and secure connectivity documentation.
Maintain firewall policy standards, ACL documentation, and rule-set baselines.
Develop implementation plans, rollback procedures, test plans, validation packages, risk registers, and dependency documentation.
Create accreditation artifacts, technical standards, SOPs, runbooks, as-built documentation, and transition-to-operations documentation.
Develop and execute engineering designs, implementation plans, migration procedures, test plans, and production deployments.
Troubleshoot complex wireless connectivity, authentication, and network performance issues.