DescriptionPosition Title: Wide Area Network (WAN) Engineer
Department: Telecommunications / Network Infrastructure
Position Type: Full-Time
Location: Primary location Remote/Open to local candidates near Suitland, MDPublic Trust Background Check - Eligibility requirements US CitizenSalary: $112,000-$127,000Position SummaryWe are seeking an experienced
WAN Engineer to support the design, implementation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of enterprise-wide network infrastructure within a federal government environment.
The WAN Engineer will be responsible for ensuring the availability, reliability, security, and performance of critical network services connecting geographically dispersed facilities, data centers, cloud environments, and remote users.
The ideal candidate will possess strong technical expertise in Cisco networking technologies, WAN connectivity, routing and switching protocols, network monitoring, and incident resolution. This position requires collaboration with Network Operations Center (NOC) personnel, Network Security Engineers, telecommunications vendors, and federal stakeholders to maintain operational readiness and support mission-critical services.
Key ResponsibilitiesNetwork Engineering & Operations- Configure, maintain, troubleshoot, and optimize enterprise WAN infrastructure, including routers, switches, and telecommunications circuits.
- Support connectivity between headquarters, regional facilities, data centers, cloud environments, and remote locations.
- Monitor network performance, availability, bandwidth utilization, latency, and packet loss to proactively identify service degradation.
- Maintain and troubleshoot WAN technologies, including MPLS, Ethernet circuits, VPNs, SD-WAN, and dedicated point-to-point connections.
- Support Cisco network infrastructure, including IOS and IOS-XE platforms.
- Implement network configuration changes, firmware upgrades, hardware replacements, and infrastructure improvements.
- Support network redundancy, high availability, failover, and disaster recovery capabilities.
Troubleshooting & Incident Management- Serve as a technical escalation resource for complex WAN-related incidents and service disruptions.
- Diagnose and resolve routing, switching, circuit connectivity, and network performance issues.
- Coordinate troubleshooting efforts with telecommunications carriers, equipment manufacturers, and internal technical teams.
- Participate in incident bridges, outage investigations, and service restoration activities.
- Perform root cause analysis (RCA) and contribute to After Action Reports (AARs).
- Validate network functionality following planned maintenance, emergency changes, and service restoration.
- Provide technical updates to management and stakeholders during significant incidents.
Change Management & Compliance- Develop and execute network changes in accordance with established Change Advisory Board (CAB) and Change Control Board (CCB) processes.
- Prepare change implementation plans, impact assessments, validation procedures, and rollback documentation.
- Participate in scheduled maintenance windows, including after-hours and weekend activities as required.
- Support vulnerability remediation, network hardening, and compliance activities in accordance with federal security requirements.
- Ensure network configurations adhere to organizational security policies and approved technical standards.
Network Monitoring & Documentation- Utilize enterprise monitoring and diagnostic tools such as SolarWinds, Datadog, ExtraHop, and other network management platforms.
- Maintain accurate network topology diagrams, circuit inventories, device configurations, and infrastructure documentation.
- Document network incidents, troubleshooting activities, and resolutions within ServiceNow or equivalent IT service management platforms.
- Assist with capacity planning, network lifecycle management, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
- Identify end-of-life and end-of-support network equipment and recommend replacement or remediation strategies.
Collaboration & Technical Support- Work closely with NOC personnel, Network Security, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, and other technical teams.
- Coordinate with telecommunications providers, including Verizon, Zayo, and other carriers, to resolve circuit-related issues.
- Provide technical recommendations to improve network resiliency, operational efficiency, and service delivery.
- Support infrastructure migrations, data center transitions, and enterprise network modernization projects.
- Participate in technical reviews, operational meetings, and project planning activities.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Network Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience supporting enterprise WAN and network infrastructure.
- Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, routing, switching, and enterprise network architecture.
- Demonstrated experience configuring and troubleshooting Cisco routers and switches.
- Working knowledge of routing protocols, including BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP.
- Experience supporting MPLS, VPN, Ethernet, and telecommunications circuits.
- Understanding of VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, access control lists (ACLs), and network redundancy.
- Experience using network monitoring and packet analysis tools.
- Ability to troubleshoot complex network outages and performance degradation.
- Familiarity with ITIL-based incident, problem, and change management processes.
- Strong technical documentation, communication, and analytical skills.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a mission-critical operational environment.
Preferred Qualifications- Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise certification.
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification.
- Experience supporting federal government enterprise networks.
- Familiarity with AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, and hybrid cloud connectivity.
- Experience with Cisco Catalyst Center and network automation tools.
- Knowledge of network security principles, firewalls, and secure remote connectivity.
- Familiarity with F5 load balancing technologies and enterprise data center connectivity.
- Experience with network infrastructure lifecycle management and modernization projects.
- Knowledge of federal cybersecurity standards, including NIST 800-53 and FISMA.
- ITIL Foundation certification.
- Experience supporting geographically distributed, high-availability networks.
Additional Requirements- Ability to support after-hours maintenance windows and participate in an on-call rotation.
- Ability to respond to critical network incidents and operational escalations.
- Must meet applicable federal contract background investigation and suitability requirements.
- Must be able to work effectively with federal personnel, contractors, vendors, and technical leadership.
Performance ExpectationsThe successful candidate will be expected to:
- Maintain high availability and operational stability of WAN infrastructure.
- Respond promptly to network incidents and escalations.
- Ensure network changes are properly documented, tested, and validated.
- Maintain accurate network diagrams, inventories, and technical documentation.
- Proactively identify infrastructure risks, performance issues, and improvement opportunities.
- Support timely incident resolution and clear communication with operational stakeholders.
- Contribute to network modernization, security compliance, and continuous service improvemen
********Direct Applicants, only. No Agencies, No third-party recruiters, please********
