Senior Network Engineer/Strategist

Riverside Research Institute•Dayton, OH

12d

About The Position

Riverside Research is seeking an experienced Network Strategist to support the National Air & Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. The role leads the design, modernization, and long-term planning of enterprise network capabilities, ensuring the network foundation supports evolving business, security, and IT transformation needs. It combines architecture, strategy, and cross-functional leadership, with collaboration across engineering, operations, cybersecurity, and leadership teams. All Riverside Research opportunities require U.S. citizenship. The position requires a Top Secret clearance with SCI adjudication and execution of government-approved plans.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship.
Top Secret clearance with SCI adjudication.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
16 or more years of hands-on network engineering, architecture, or strategy experience.
Expert-level understanding of enterprise networking technologies, including routing, switching, wireless, BGP/OSPF/EIGRP, MPLS, SD-WAN, VPN, and DNS/DHCP/IPAM.
Strong experience with modern architectures such as SASE, ZTNA, SD-WAN, cloud networking (AWS, Azure, or GCP), and micro-segmentation.
Demonstrated ability to lead multi-year roadmap development and strategic planning.
Experience collaborating with cybersecurity, cloud teams, and infrastructure leadership.
Strong analytical and communication skills, including the ability to explain complex solutions to technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
Experience with DevSecOps and/or cross-domain solutions.
Experience with cloud-native architectures.
Professional certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP/IE, PCNSE, AWS/Azure networking specialty, or equivalent.
Experience with network automation frameworks such as Python, Ansible, or Terraform.
Experience with large-scale enterprise or multi-site environments.

Responsibilities

Investigate hardware and software technologies to design network configurations supporting transition to modern cloud environments.
Deliver a monthly Network Strategy Posture Report documenting architectural design progress and recommended technical standards.
Coordinate with stakeholders to deliver engineering artifacts, including configuration management, architecture, and cybersecurity artifacts, and track IT modernization network requirements across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).
Develop and maintain enterprise network strategy covering LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, data center, cloud networking, and edge connectivity.
Assess current network environments and define multi-year evolution roadmaps aligned with organizational priorities.
Lead network modernization initiatives, including zero trust networking, segmentation, automation and orchestration, and observability upgrades.
Partner with cybersecurity teams to align networking and security strategies, including SASE, firewall architecture, and secure access approaches.
Evaluate technologies, vendors, and industry trends, and provide recommendations supported by business cases and technical assessments.
Collaborate with network engineering teams to translate strategic direction into actionable designs, standards, and implementation plans.
Drive capacity planning, resilience improvements, and performance optimization across global network environments.
Establish and maintain reference architectures, standards, and governance models.
Communicate strategy, risks, and impacts to leadership and stakeholders in clear, business-focused language.
Guide and mentor junior and mid-level network engineers and architects.
Execute government-approved plans.
Perform other duties as assigned.