Senior Network Engineer – SD-WAN Specialist

Peraton•Ashburn, VA

9d•Onsite

About The Position

Peraton is seeking an experienced Senior Network Engineer specializing in Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) to support enterprise network infrastructure and modernization initiatives. The role serves as a subject matter expert in SD-WAN architecture, leading the design, deployment, migration, and optimization of network solutions across geographically distributed environments. The engineer collaborates with network, security, cloud, and operations teams to improve performance, resiliency, security, and connectivity across enterprise locations. The position requires full-time, on-site presence at one of the designated locations in Ashburn, Virginia; Springfield, Virginia; or Orlando, Florida. The engineer will lead SD-WAN projects from planning through implementation, testing, and operational handoff, provide on-call support for critical infrastructure, and mentor other engineers. Peraton is a national security company and enterprise IT provider serving government agencies and every branch of the U.S. armed forces. The stated target salary range is $135,000–$216,000. Salary depends on factors including responsibilities, experience, education, skills, location, and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may also be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain the required DHS CBP clearance.
At least 5 years of hands-on network engineering experience, including at least 2 years focused on SD-WAN design, deployment, or operations.
Hands-on experience implementing, configuring, and troubleshooting at least one enterprise SD-WAN platform, such as Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (Viptela), VMware VeloCloud, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, or Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN.
Strong understanding of SD-WAN architecture, underlay and overlay networking, routing protocols, and tunneling technologies, including BGP, OSPF, IPsec, and GRE.
Experience integrating SD-WAN with WAN transport technologies such as MPLS, broadband, LTE/5G, or DIA, and configuring application-aware routing, QoS, and traffic steering.
Working knowledge of network security integration, including next-generation firewalls, SASE, and SSE architectures.
Strong TCP/IP networking fundamentals, analytical skills, and experience troubleshooting complex network connectivity, performance, and failover issues.
A bachelor's degree and 8 years of experience, a master's degree and 6 years of experience, an associate's degree and 10 years of experience, or a high school diploma or equivalent and 12 years of experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting federal government, defense, or other regulated environments.
An active DHS Public Trust or Top Secret security clearance or higher.
Active Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise certification.
Advanced networking or SD-WAN certifications, including Cisco Certified Specialist in SD-WAN Implementation, CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, VMware VCP Network Virtualization, or relevant vendor certifications.
Experience with cloud networking across AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, or with SASE and Zero Trust solutions.
Experience with network automation and infrastructure-as-code tools, including Python, Ansible, Terraform, or vendor-specific APIs.
Experience with network monitoring platforms such as ThousandEyes, SolarWinds, Riverbed, or LiveAction.
Experience supporting large-scale SD-WAN deployments across 100 or more sites and familiarity with ITIL or other IT service management frameworks.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end SD-WAN solution design, deployment, and migration across enterprise and multi-site environments.
Architect and implement SD-WAN platforms, including Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (Viptela), VMware VeloCloud, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, or Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN.
Define and enforce SD-WAN policies for application-aware routing, QoS, traffic shaping, and path selection.
Integrate SD-WAN overlays with hybrid WAN transports, including MPLS, broadband, LTE/5G, and DIA circuits.
Collaborate with security teams to implement SASE and SSE frameworks alongside SD-WAN deployments.
Design and maintain SD-WAN orchestration and management planes, such as vManage, Orchestrator, and VCO.
Perform root cause analysis and troubleshoot complex SD-WAN connectivity, performance, and failover issues.
Monitor WAN performance metrics, including latency, jitter, and packet loss, and proactively optimize circuit utilization.
Lead network infrastructure projects from planning through implementation, testing, and operational handoff.
Collaborate with cloud teams on direct cloud on-ramps for AWS, Azure, GCP, and SaaS-optimized routing.
Support network automation initiatives using scripting and infrastructure-as-code tooling.
Participate in an on-call rotation to provide 24/7 support for critical network infrastructure.
Mentor junior and mid-level engineers on SD-WAN architecture concepts and operational best practices.
Maintain accurate network topology diagrams, runbooks, and SD-WAN configuration documentation.