Senior Network Engineer - Routing & Switching

Platinum Technologies•Ft Meade, MD

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Platinum Technologies is hiring a Senior Network Engineer specializing in routing and switching to engineer, implement, and sustain enterprise network infrastructure across a large, distributed environment. The role has hands-on responsibility for routed and switched infrastructure, including designing and implementing changes and resolving complex issues escalated to the senior engineering tier. The position supports network planning, design, and evaluation; development of routing and switching specifications; technology recommendations; needs assessments; and installation, modification, testing, and servicing of network equipment. The engineer works independently on complex assignments, translates requirements into implementable designs, and serves as an escalation point for routing, switching, transport, and connectivity issues. The role is onsite at Fort Meade, Maryland, and requires an active DoD Secret clearance and a current IAT Level II or higher certification, such as Security+ CE. The engineer contributes to significant project milestones and recommends technical solutions that affect program results. Work is performed under general direction, with latitude for independent technical judgment. The position requires clear communication of technical information, design recommendations, risks, and status to engineering leadership, peers, and stakeholders, including explaining complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences. The successful candidate directly owns network designs, changes, validation, and outcomes. Responsibilities include engineering enterprise routing and switching across core, distribution, access, and WAN edge layers; implementing routing policy and Layer 2 infrastructure; supporting network services and high availability; optimizing performance; executing documented changes during approved maintenance windows; troubleshooting complex multi-layer and multi-vendor issues; and maintaining engineering and operational documentation.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and 8 or more years of prior relevant experience, or a master's degree and 6 or more years of experience; specific experience, education, and training may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Significant hands-on experience engineering, implementing, and troubleshooting enterprise routing and switching infrastructure at scale.
Strong working knowledge of TCP/IP, subnetting, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, spanning tree, link aggregation, VRFs, multicast, QoS, NAT, and high-availability design.
Experience installing and configuring network hardware, performing software upgrades, and carrying out lifecycle replacements.
Experience developing implementation plans, test procedures, and rollback plans, and executing production changes during maintenance windows.
Demonstrated troubleshooting ability, including packet capture and protocol analysis, in multi-vendor environments.
Hands-on experience with one or more of Cisco, Aruba, Palo Alto, Dell, Infoblox, or Brocade.
Experience documenting network designs and procedures using Visio, PowerPoint, or similar tools.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Current IAT Level II or higher certification, such as Security+ CE.
Active DoD Secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise or equivalent certification.
Experience with enterprise network modernization, migration, or large-scale transformation and integration efforts.
Experience with software-defined networking, SD-WAN, or SD-Access (Cisco Catalyst Center / DNA Center) environments.
Experience with network segmentation, access control, and identity-based networking.
Experience integrating enterprise networking with cloud infrastructure, including hybrid connectivity and secure cloud routing.
Experience with network automation and scripting using Python, Ansible, or infrastructure-as-code approaches.
Experience applying DISA STIGs, vulnerability remediation, and configuration hardening to network devices.
Experience with Jira, Confluence, or similar project and knowledge-management tools.

Responsibilities

Engineer, configure, and implement enterprise routing and switching infrastructure across core, distribution, access, and WAN edge layers.
Design and implement routing policies using BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, and static routing, including redistribution, filtering, summarization, path selection, and convergence tuning.
Engineer Layer 2 infrastructure, including VLAN architecture, spanning-tree design, link aggregation, trunking, and loop prevention.
Implement and maintain VRFs, MPLS/VPN services, tunneling, multicast, QoS policies, and high-availability designs such as HSRP/VRRP and redundant uplink topologies.
Develop network architecture specifications, evaluate and recommend technologies, and perform needs assessments.
Install, modify, configure, test, and service network equipment, including hardware refreshes and software or firmware lifecycle upgrades.
Baseline and optimize network performance, including latency, throughput, utilization, convergence, and error rates, and remediate identified deficiencies.
Develop implementation plans, test and validation steps, rollback procedures, and change documentation; execute changes during approved change windows.
Provide senior-level troubleshooting and escalation support for complex routing, switching, transport, and connectivity issues across multiple layers and vendors.
Perform packet-level and protocol-level analysis to isolate faults across network, systems, and application boundaries.
Support capacity planning, configuration standardization, and compliance with approved configuration baselines and hardening requirements.
Partner with architecture, cybersecurity, operations, and project teams to resolve blockers, manage dependencies, and deliver network changes end-to-end.
Develop and maintain logical and physical network diagrams, routing designs, policy standards, addressing plans, device configuration standards and baselines, implementation and rollback plans, port/protocol/service requirements, troubleshooting guides, standard operating procedures, and as-built and operational handoff documentation.
Communicate design recommendations, technical information, risks, and status to engineering leadership, peer teams, and stakeholders.