L&I IT Network and Telecommunications - Senior/Specialist

Salary : $94,620.00 - $127,248.00 Annually
Location : Thurston County - Tumwater, WA
Job Type: Full Time - Permanent
Remote Employment: Remote Optional
Job Number:
Department: Dept. of Labor & Industries
Division: Information Technology - Enterprise Computing & Support Services
Opening Date: 10/12/2026
Closing Date: 10/26/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
Salary Information: The high end of the salary range, Step M is typically a longevity step

Description
About the Division and Unit

The Information Technology (IT) Division is an internal service organization responsible for providing information technology products and services in support of the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) agency's business priorities so that L&I can keep Washington Safe and Working.

The Maintenance and Operations (M&O) program, under the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) is responsible for the implementation and delivery of the products and services within IT, and sustaining operations so that L&I can complete business as usual with minimal delay or downtime.

As part of the Network Infrastructure & Operation (NetOps) unit, the Network and Firewall team designs, maintains, and secures L&I's network infrastructure (switching, wireless, routing, and firewalls) across on-premises and cloud environments.
About the Role

As an IT Network and Security Engineer on the NetOps team, you'll provide advanced technical support for L&I's statewide network and security infrastructure across onsite, hosted, and cloud environments. This network runs 24/7 and supports everything staff do by phone and computer, including collecting and distributing funds.

You'll implement, configure, and maintain networking and security components, and you'll help plan and improve the agency's network security programs, policies, and tools to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of L&I's systems and data. You will also maintain network redundancy and performance, resolve issues before they become outages or security breaches, and research solutions across vendors and products. You'll work with a team of network administrators, advise IT leaders, staff, vendors, and contractors, and report to the Network and Firewall team supervisor.

Duties
Some of what you'll do:

• Firewall Management, including:
  • Independently create security configurations and administration of all agency network-based firewalls.
  • Review requests for new Access Control Lists (ACL's) to verify they meet security requirements.
  • Propose alternative firewall changes that meet business requirements across the organization.
  • Implement firewall ACL's and other configuration changes across multiple interconnected systems.
  • Diagnose and resolve firewall related network problems.
  • Implement configuration changes to firewalls to resolve system outages.
  • Contributes technical expertise and collaborates with peers, share information with customers, managers and IT professionals.
  • Maintain firewall configurations and maintenance, including licensing and system patching.
  • Coordinate requests for Statewide Enterprise Networking and Security Services.
• VPN and Remote Connectivity, including:
  • Works independently with WaTech for changes.
  • Propose alternative VPN changes
  • Develop and maintain VPN system configurations and maintenance.
• Network Engineer, including:
  • Ensures optimum network performance and availability enterprise wide.
  • Independently designs the network architecture of all network solutions, installing, configuring, upgrading statewide networking hardware and software, core switches, edge switches, wireless networks, field office routers, and the statewide enterprise infrastructure for mission critical applications and L&I staff resources.
  • Advanced knowledge and technical expertise of a wide range of technologies and third-party solutions (Cisco, WaTech, and other agencies) as needed to resolve statewide networking technical issues across the state.
  • Ensures or schedules network changes as the primary point of contact with WaTech.
  • Leads problem solving teams on issues in the WaTech network environment statewide and networking issues for all L&I network infrastructure across the state.
• New Solution Implementation, including:
  • Serve as IT Network and Security expert and represents IT Enterprise Services in any of the IT Security an Network service areas within the IT division.
  • Develop, design, and implement new processes and technology to keep risk and vulnerabilities low.
• Network Operations Support, including:
  • Monitor and respond to incident trouble tickets forwarded to the Network and Firewall team inside NetOps.

And much more!
Qualifications
Required:

• Ten (10) years of qualifying professional IT experience working full-time within a professional IT environment. Qualifying professional IT experience includes, but is not limited to System Administration of:
  • Large multi-site switching environments
  • Firewall administration of local and cloud
  • Remote access

NOTE: Education may substitute for IT experience up to four (4) years for a bachelor's degree and up to two (2) years for an associate's degree in information technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a closely related field

Required Competencies

• Theability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Desired:
Formal network and security training or certifications such as, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP), or college level IT.
Supplemental Information
At L&I, your voice matters. In addition, L&I is a diverse state agency dedicated to the safety and health and security of Washington's 3.3 million workers. Take a look at this and learn more about why L&I is an employer of choice.

L&I provides a modern work environment and excellent benefits including paid leave, tuition reimbursement, Infants at Work Program and a generous retirement package for qualified employees at the end of their career. Click on the "Benefits" tab to learn more.

We value our employees and their work-life balance. We support a hybrid work model and offer flexible custom work schedules. This position is eligible for a flexible schedule (4/10's, 9/80's, 5/8's, etc.) upon approval by management.

For this position, teleworking may be up to full time with the expectation of attending in person meetings and training occasionally or upon business needs. The assigned duty station for this position is Tumwater, WA.

We offer hybrid and remote work options, though we're primarily seeking candidates who live in Washington State or are willing to relocate, to support in-person collaboration and access to on-site resources when needed. Remote work from a state outside of WA requires approval.

To receive more information on opportunities at L&I sign up for GovDelivery and select L&I job alerts.

Application process

To be considered for this opportunity, you must submit a completed online application including work history and professional references.

A resume and cover letter are not required and will not be used in lieu of a complete application.

Please ensure your application includes detailed work history that clearly demonstrates how your experience relates to the qualifications and responsibilities of this position. For each position listed, include specific duties, project(s), accomplishments, and relevant skills that showcase your experience.

You are also required to provide three (3) professional references with current telephone numbers. References should be individuals who can speak to your work performance, skills, and professional experience.

**Applications with incomplete work history, missing employment information, references to a resume in place of detailed work experience, or fewer than three (3) professional references with current telephone numbers may be considered incomplete and may not be considered for further review.

Your application materials will be used to determine whether you meet the qualifications for this position and advance in the selection process.

Please do not attach or place any medical information within the application, experience or work history. If you do, we will have to reject your application to safeguard others from receiving your confidential information. You will have to remove the confidential information before you can apply again.

To learn more about our hiring process timeline at L&I please visit our L&I recruiting page at If you would like to read our website in a language other than English, scroll up to the top of the page to select your language of choice from the banner.

Other information

• IT position applicants selected to move forward in this hiring process will receive an email skills assessment invitation within 3 weeks of your application being accepted. An applicant may complete the assessment when ready, but the invitation to complete the assessment will expire 5 days after the invitation was sent. Once you start the assessment, you will be required to complete it. You cannot start your assessment and then come back to it later. Please look in your email inbox or spam as these invitations are sent by CodeSignal.
• For positions requiring travel, you must have a valid unrestricted driver's license and have insurance if driving a privately owned vehicle on state business.
• This position is represented bytheWashington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).
• Candidates who are offered a job with L&I must possess work authorization that does not require sponsorship by the employer for a visa now or in the future.
• The Department of Labor & Industries complies with the employment eligibility verification requirements of the federal employment eligibility verification form, I-9. The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States consistent with the requirements of that form on the first day of employment.
• Please note: L&I may use this announcement to fill multiple permanent and/or non-permanent positions.