Network Engineer - SME "Bachelors required Minimum 10 years experience The Network Engineer (SME) serves as the principal authority for network architecture, zero-trust network design, and cross-enclave interoperability. This role leads the design, implementation, and optimization of resilient, secure network infrastructures supporting mission-critical operations. The SME provides strategic and technical leadership in network modernization, security architecture, and performance optimization while ensuring secure and reliable communications across complex, multi-enclave environments. Key Responsibilities • Design and implement enterprise network architectures that support secure, mission-critical operations. • Lead zero-trust network design initiatives and cross-enclave interoperability solutions. • Optimize network performance, reliability, and security across complex, multi-enclave environments. • Establish and enforce network security architecture standards and governance processes. • Drive network modernization efforts aligned with enterprise strategy and zero-trust principles. • Ensure secure communications and connectivity across classified and highly regulated environments. • Provide technical leadership for network infrastructure planning and implementation. • Partner with security, architecture, and operations teams to maintain resilient network systems. Required skills: Extensive experience designing and supporting enterprise network environments. Strong expertise in routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, network security, and access control technologies. Experience implementing zero-trust architectures and secure communications solutions. Advanced troubleshooting and network performance analysis skills. Experience supporting mission-critical, highly secure, or regulated environments. Strong leadership, communication, and technical documentation skills. Unique Skills / Technical Requirements • Air-gapped hybrid cloud and on-premises operational environments, including complex multi-enclave ecosystems • AWS GovCloud/SC2S/C2S and GCP cloud platforms Nutanix host and cluster configuration, management with Prism Central, and NDFS configuration/management • Cisco switching, routing, firewalling, and site-to-site functionality (such as IPSEC, DMVPN, and SD-WAN) • Locally hosted GPU servers • Multi-tenant Cross-Domain Solutions (CDS) • Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible) • Containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift) • Cloud-native security implementation and security accreditation processes • Advanced GitLab CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices • Enterprise database services (RDS, RDS Aurora, DynamoDB) • Serverless architectures (Lambda) • Cloud networking and VPC configuration • Monitoring, logging, and data platforms (Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Splunk) • Microservices architecture and API Gateway implementation • Development experience with Python, .NET/C#, and related languages • Identity and access services (Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP / OpenLDAP, Entra ID, Keycloak) • High-assurance cross-domain and encryption solutions (TACLANE, NCAP) • Cloud cost-optimization techniques • Operating Systems: Linux (e.g., Rocky, RedHat, Amazon, Ubuntu), Windows, and Mac OS Preferred skills: Master's degree in Information Technology, Network Engineering, Cybersecurity, or related field. Experience supporting federal, defense, intelligence, or classified network environments. Expertise with multi-enclave or cross-domain network architectures. Experience with cloud networking, software-defined networking (SDN), and hybrid cloud environments. Knowledge of security accreditation processes and compliance frameworks. Relevant certifications such as CCNP, CCIE, CISSP, JNCIP, JNCIE, AWS Advanced Networking, or equivalent."