Senior Network Engineer

Senior Network Engineer

Leading with our people, Digital Consultants' mission is to deliver the highest level of professional solutions while being a trusted partner and advisor to our customers. With a culture of practicality, opportunity, and creativity, we remain dedicated to being honest, trustworthy, respectful, and ethical in everything we do. We are a certified SBA 8(a) small, disadvantaged business that supports multiple IT customers within the Federal, civilian, and private sectors. Digital Consultants also offers our employees growth opportunities, competitive wages, and a full benefits package. Our founding principles, Fairness and Common Sense, make working here more than a job; it's the Digital family.

Digital Consultants seeks a Senior Network Engineer to serve as the senior technical authority and chief architect for enterprise network infrastructure supporting the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC). This role is responsible for setting the strategic direction, defining the architecture, and ensuring the long-term health, security, and scalability of all network services. The Senior Network Engineer translates high-level mission and business requirements into a comprehensive network vision and technical roadmap. They provide visionary leadership on network technologies, establish governance and engineering standards, and serve as the ultimate authority for the most complex network challenges. This individual is the final escalation point for all network-related issues and acts as the lead technical consultant to senior leadership on network strategy and investment.

Location: JBSA-Lackland AFB

Duties to include:

• Network Architecture and Strategy:
  • Define and own the long-term technical roadmap for the enterprise network, encompassing campus LAN, WAN, data center, and cloud connectivity.
  • Architect the enterprise network topology, including routing schemes, segmentation strategies, and high-availability designs.
  • Lead research and development (R&D) efforts, evaluating emerging technologies (e.g., SD-WAN, Zero Trust Networking) and creating proofs-of-concept and business cases for their adoption.
  • Establish and enforce network engineering standards, configuration management policies, and governance for the entire infrastructure.
• Technology Leadership and Project Execution:
  • Serve as the technical lead on all major network infrastructure projects, from initial concept and design through implementation and operational turnover.
  • Direct large-scale migrations, such as data center relocations, major hardware technology refreshes, or transitions to new architectural models.
  • Develop multi-year investment strategies for network infrastructure to ensure it remains current, supportable, and capable of meeting future demands.
• Advanced Troubleshooting and Performance Optimization:
  • Serve as the ultimate escalation point for the most catastrophic, persistent, or complex network performance and security issues.
  • Lead root cause analysis for major incidents, using deep-level packet analysis and correlation of data from multiple sources to identify underlying architectural flaws or systemic problems.
  • Analyze complex data flows and application performance across the network to engineer and implement Quality of Service (QoS) and traffic-shaping solutions.
• Governance, Security, and Mentorship:
  • Act as the primary technical liaison to senior leadership, the cybersecurity team, and auditors, articulating network design, security posture, and risk.
  • Architect the network security posture, including firewall architectures, intrusion prevention system (IPS) deployment strategies, and network access control (NAC) policies.
  • Provide expert mentorship and technical oversight to all senior and journeyman network specialists, setting the standard for technical excellence and leading design reviews.

Requirements

• Clearance: Secret (Top Secret Desired)
• Certifications:
  • Certifications (Baseline): Must possess a current certification that meets DoD 8140 requirements for IAT Level III or IAM Level III. Acceptable certifications include:
    • CASP+ CE
    • CISSP (or Associate) - Highly Preferred
    • CISM
  • Certifications (Computing Environment): Must possess at least one expert-level, active professional certification. Examples include:
    • Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Enterprise Infrastructure - Highly Preferred
    • Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE)
    • Juniper Networks Certified Internet Expert (JNCIE)
• Experience:
  • A minimum of twelve (12) years of progressive experience in network engineering and architecture.
  • At least five (5) years of this experience must be in a lead architect or principal engineer role, with responsibility for designing and managing large-scale, complex enterprise networks.
  • Proven experience leading major network transformation projects (e.g., data center build-out, enterprise-wide technology refresh).
• Technical Skills:
  • Mastery of complex IP routing protocols (e.g., BGP, OSPF) and advanced Layer 2/3 switching concepts.
  • Expert-level knowledge of network architecture, including data center design, campus design, and WAN technologies.
  • In-depth knowledge of network security architecture, including next-generation firewalls, VPNs, and Network Access Control (NAC).
  • Ability to perform deep-level network traffic analysis with tools like Wireshark.
  • Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical strategies and risks to a non-technical, executive-level audience.
• Physical Requirements: The candidate must be able to travel to other worksites as required and with or without reasonable accommodation, be able to sit, stand, use computers and monitors, and perform duties in an office environment for extended periods. The candidate must be able to lift up to 40 lbs. on occasion (e.g., moving a case of paper or similar task) that may occur occasionally.

Benefits: The company offers the following benefits to permanent, full-time employees:

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Group health plans
• Income protection and supplemental benefits
• 401(k) plan with company matching
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Pet insurance options
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Digital Consultants, an inclusive and welcoming company, is fully committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic.