Senior Network Engineer

Leidos•Lorton, VA

8d•$107,900 - $195,050•Onsite

About The Position

Leidos is seeking an experienced Senior Network Engineer to support a fast-paced Department of Defense program for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The role supports engineering, deployment, modernization, and sustainment of network infrastructure across multiple customer locations. It is 100% on-site in Lorton, Virginia. The engineer serves as a senior technical contributor, translating mission and technical requirements into secure, resilient, supportable network solutions. Work spans the network engineering lifecycle, including requirements analysis, architecture and design, hardware and software selection, procurement support, staging, implementation, testing, troubleshooting, documentation, and operational transition. The role requires hands-on expertise in enterprise routing, switching, firewalls, WAN technologies, secure communications, and network management in DoD or similarly regulated environments.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship and an active Top Secret clearance, with ability to obtain and maintain SCI before the start date.
Bachelor's degree and 8+ years of experience, or a master's degree and 6+ years of experience; additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, configuring, and troubleshooting enterprise network infrastructure.
Strong understanding of OSI and TCP/IP models and protocols associated with Layers 1–4.
Hands-on experience configuring enterprise routers and switches.
Experience implementing and troubleshooting LAN technologies, including VLANs, 802.1Q trunking, STP/RSTP, link aggregation, and Layer 3 switching.
Experience with IP addressing, subnetting, route selection, ACLs, and network segmentation.
Working knowledge of dynamic routing protocols such as BGP and OSPF.
Experience designing, deploying, or supporting WAN connectivity across geographically separated locations.
Experience implementing or supporting IPsec/site-to-site VPN technologies.
Experience using network monitoring and troubleshooting technologies such as ICMP, SNMPv3, Syslog, packet captures, and network management platforms.
Experience troubleshooting complex network connectivity, routing, performance, and configuration issues.
Ability to develop and maintain detailed technical documentation and network diagrams.
Understanding of network security principles, secure management practices, segmentation, encryption, and defense-in-depth.
Strong analytical, troubleshooting, written communication, and technical documentation skills.

Nice To Haves

Active TS/SCI security clearance.
Experience supporting the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, Intelligence Community, or other highly regulated government environments.
Experience with Cisco and/or Juniper enterprise routing and switching platforms.
Experience with next-generation firewall technologies such as Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, or equivalent platforms.
Experience designing or supporting high-availability architectures, redundant WAN connectivity, and resilient network services.
Experience with DoD STIGs, RMF, NIST security controls, vulnerability management, and configuration compliance.
Understanding of DoD Zero Trust principles, including segmentation, identity-aware access, least privilege, continuous monitoring, and secure access architectures.
Experience with secure communications and operation or integration of DoD cryptographic devices such as TACLANE or equivalent Type 1 encryption technologies.
Experience with Cisco Secure Client/AnyConnect, Azure VPN Gateway, MPLS, IPsec, GRE, or similar enterprise WAN/VPN technologies.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Azure networking, including VNets, subnets, NSGs, routing, VPN gateways, and hybrid connectivity.
Familiarity with network automation and Infrastructure as Code technologies such as Python, Ansible, Terraform, REST APIs, or similar tools.
Experience with monitoring and performance-management platforms such as SolarWinds, Cisco network management platforms, Splunk, or equivalent technologies.
Demonstrated experience leading technical activities or mentoring junior network engineers.
Relevant certifications such as CCNP Enterprise, CCNP Security, CCIE, JNCIP/JNCIE, PCNSE, AZ-700, Security+, CISSP, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Develop network architectures and engineering designs aligned with DoD, Air Force, cybersecurity, availability, and mission requirements.
Translate requirements into network designs, implementation plans, equipment specifications, Bills of Materials, and technical documentation.
Design, configure, deploy, and troubleshoot enterprise network infrastructure, including routers, Layer 2/Layer 3 switches, firewalls, VPN gateways, and network services.
Engineer LAN and WAN solutions using technologies such as Ethernet, VLANs, trunking, STP, link aggregation, QoS, ACLs, and high-availability architectures.
Configure and troubleshoot BGP, OSPF, and static routing in enterprise and multi-site environments.
Design and support secure WAN connectivity using IPsec, site-to-site VPNs, MPLS, and other DoD-approved transport solutions.
Support network security technologies, including firewalls, segmentation, access controls, secure management interfaces, and encrypted communications.
Perform packet-level and protocol analysis to identify performance, connectivity, routing, security, and interoperability issues.
Use monitoring and troubleshooting technologies, including SNMPv3, Syslog, ICMP, NetFlow, packet capture, and network management platforms.
Develop test plans and verify network functionality, performance, resiliency, interoperability, and cybersecurity compliance.
Perform pre-deployment staging, configuration validation, and implementation readiness activities.
Troubleshoot complex issues during deployment, testing, and sustainment, conducting root-cause analysis when required.
Develop and maintain network diagrams, IP address plans, configuration baselines, interface documentation, rack elevations, cable diagrams, and as-built documentation.
Maintain configuration control and document network changes in accordance with established processes.
Support DoD cybersecurity requirements, including STIGs, security controls, vulnerability remediation, and RMF activities.
Collaborate with cybersecurity engineers to meet applicable DoD security and Zero Trust requirements.
Provide technical leadership and guidance to junior engineers and field personnel during installation, integration, troubleshooting, and operational turnover.
Support technical reviews, engineering meetings, site surveys, deployment planning, and customer technical discussions.
Provide technical input to procurement and evaluate hardware and software against technical, security, interoperability, lifecycle, and mission requirements.
Track emerging network, cybersecurity, cloud, automation, and DoD enterprise networking technologies and recommend improvements.