Overview

Senior Network Engineer (Cisco/Juniper)

Top Secret Clearance Required | 100% Onsite Washington, DC

Government Agency: U.S. Department of Justice, National Security Division (DOJ NSD)

Position Type: Full-Time, Government Contractor Support

Location: 100% Onsite Washington, DC (no remote or hybrid option for this role)

Clearance: Active Top Secret required, with the ability to obtain a DOJ Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility

Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k); Flexible Spending Account (FSA); 11 paid federal holidays; PTO; education reimbursement

Mission Overview

The National Security Division (NSD) carries out the Department of Justice's highest priority: combating terrorism and other threats to national security. NSD's Infrastructure Support and Software Development Services division delivers the full range of IT services required to sustain NSD's infrastructure and operations, including network engineering, software development, systems engineering, and service desk support. The Senior Network Engineer plays a direct role in keeping this mission-critical infrastructure secure, available, and performing at the standard a national security environment demands.

Position Summary

The Senior Network Engineer is responsible for the design, administration, and sustained operation of NSD's wide area and local area network infrastructure. This is a hands-on engineering role that combines day-to-day operational support with higher-level responsibilities such as evaluating the impact of proposed network changes, troubleshooting complex connectivity and performance issues, and ensuring the network environment remains compliant with DoD Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) standards.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Network administration and support Administer, support, and maintain enterprise network capabilities across wide area and local area networks, ensuring consistent uptime and performance for a high-security mission environment.
• Operations and sustainment Perform day-to-day network operations and support activities, including monitoring, configuration management, and routine maintenance of routing and switching infrastructure.
• Change impact evaluation Evaluate proposed network changes for operational impact prior to implementation, identifying risks to availability, security, or performance and recommending mitigations.
• Performance and connectivity troubleshooting Evaluate network performance trends and resolve network and connectivity problems, applying structured troubleshooting methodology across Layer 1 through Layer 3.
• LAN performance management Manage local area network performance and proactively troubleshoot degradations before they affect end users or mission systems.
• Security compliance Maintain network infrastructure configurations in accordance with applicable STIG guidelines, supporting the organization's continuous compliance and audit readiness posture.
• Cross-functional support Partner with applications programmers and engineering staff working within the networking environment to ensure infrastructure changes align with application and system requirements.
• Documentation and reporting Maintain accurate, up-to-date records of network configurations, changes, and incidents using Excel-based tracking tools and other documentation standards required by the program.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive Network Administration/Engineering experience, including direct responsibility for enterprise-scale routing, switching, and security infrastructure in a production environment.
• Demonstrated, hands-on professional experience with Cisco and Juniper technologies, including configuration, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of routers, switches, and firewalls in an operational network.
• Hardware and platform experience with some combination of the following (not all required):
• Cisco routers: 2500, 2600, 3600, 3800, 4500, 9200, 9300, and 1200 series
• Cisco Catalyst switches: 2900, 3500, 3700, 4500, 5500, 6500 series
• Cisco Nexus switches (1000V, 2000, 5000, 7000), ASA 5500 series, Firepower Threat Defense (FTD), Cisco ACS, and ASR 1004 routers
• Juniper routers, switches, and firewalls (SRX and EX series)
• Strong working knowledge of core network protocols and technologies, including OSPF, BGP, IS-IS, RIP, IGRP/EIGRP, IPv6, HSRP, VRRP, AAA, TACACS, RADIUS, ACL, IPSec, GRE, PPTP, PPP, HDLC, ISL, 802.1Q, and 802.1X with the ability to apply this knowledge to real-world design and troubleshooting scenarios, not just textbook familiarity.
• Solid grounding in Layer 1 and Layer 2 troubleshooting and technologies, with the ability to isolate physical-layer and data-link-layer issues quickly in a live operational environment.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in Washington, DC. This position does not support remote or hybrid work; candidates must be able to report to the DOJ NSD facility in Washington, DC on a daily basis.

Desired Qualifications

• Cisco certifications such as CCNA or CCNP, demonstrating formal validation of routing, switching, and network engineering competencies.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent additional professional experience (2+ years beyond the required experience above) may be substituted in lieu of a degree.

Security Clearance Requirements

• Active Top Secret clearance required, with the ability to obtain DOJ Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility.

Work Environment and Physical Demands

This position is performed 100% onsite at the DOJ NSD facility in Washington, DC, in a general office environment. Candidates must be able to function effectively in a standard office setting on a full-time, in-person basis.