Network Engineer III

Network Engineer III Element U.S. Space & Defense stands at the forefront of testing innovation, serving as a trusted partner to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, government agencies, and prominent industry leaders across the space and defense sectors. Founded as NTS Technical Systems, our company brings over 60 years of experience and expertise in handling the most complex projects and programs in the world. From centrifuge testing for the latest Mars rover, vibration testing for the Space Launch System (SLS), to environmental simulations for next-generation missiles, we are the pioneering partner for highly custom, end-to-end testing design and implementation. By advancing our state-of-the-art testing technologies, subject matter expertise, and service to critical missions, Element U.S. Space & Defense has become the go-to partner for ground-breaking industries. The Network Engineer III is responsible for designing, implementing, securing, optimizing, and supporting enterprise network infrastructure across a geographically dispersed environment. This role manages and maintains the organization's WAN, LAN, WLAN, SD-WAN, cloud networking, and network security infrastructure to ensure high levels of availability, performance, scalability, and compliance with cybersecurity and regulatory requirements. The environment supports more than 300 users across multiple data centers, six or more branch locations, and hybrid cloud platforms, including AWS and Microsoft Azure. As a senior technical resource, the Network Engineer III serves as an escalation point for complex network and security issues, provides technical leadership and architectural guidance, and leads infrastructure projects and modernization initiatives. The position works closely with cross-functional IT and business teams to support operational objectives and requires strong expertise in enterprise networking, cloud connectivity, cybersecurity, network monitoring, disaster recovery, and compliance-focused environments supporting both government and commercial customers. Primary Responsibilities: Design, implement, maintain, and optimize enterprise WAN, LAN, WLAN, SD-WAN, data center, and cloud network infrastructure to ensure high availability, performance, security, and scalability. Configure, support, and troubleshoot enterprise networking technologies, including routers, switches, firewalls, wireless controllers, access points, VPN solutions, and load-balancing platforms. Develop and maintain secure connectivity between data centers, branch offices, cloud environments, remote users, and third-party business partners. Support enterprise networks including wireless controllers, access points, wireless security, and performance tuning across all sites. Monitor network performance, availability, and capacity using enterprise monitoring tools, proactively identifying and resolving issues before they impact business operations. Analyze network utilization, performance trends, and system metrics to support capacity planning and continuous infrastructure improvement. Implement, manage, and enforce network security controls in accordance with company policies, cybersecurity best practices, NIST 800-171, CMMC, and other applicable regulatory requirements. Configure and maintain firewalls, IDS/IPS systems, VPN technologies, network segmentation, access control mechanisms, and secure remote-access solutions. Support and maintain networking infrastructure within cloud environments, including hybrid-cloud connectivity, virtual networking, secure cloud access solutions, and cloud security controls. Collaborate with cybersecurity, infrastructure, and application teams to remediate vulnerabilities, support audits, strengthen security posture, and participate in incident response activities. Serve as the Tier III escalation point for complex routing, switching, connectivity, wireless performance, and network security issues affecting users, systems, and business applications. Plan, coordinate, and execute network upgrades, migrations, hardware refreshes, technology deployments, and infrastructure modernization initiatives with minimal business disruption. Support data center operations, disaster recovery solutions, business continuity initiatives, and high-availability network designs to ensure resiliency of critical systems and services. Develop, maintain, and update network diagrams, configuration documentation, technical procedures, standards, and operational runbooks to support effective management of the environment. Research, evaluate, and recommend new technologies, architectural enhancements, and process improvements to improve network performance, security, and operational efficiency. Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior team members, share knowledge and best practices, and participate in after-hours support for critical incidents, maintenance activities, and emergency situations as needed. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field; equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered. Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience supporting enterprise network infrastructure. Minimum of 3 years supporting complex enterprise environments with multiple locations and/or cloud-hosted services. Current CCNA, CCNP, or equivalent networking certification preferred; equivalent experience may be considered. Experience supporting enterprise-grade routers, switches, firewalls, wireless infrastructure, and VPN technologies. Strong experience with network troubleshooting and performance analysis. Experience supporting cloud networking technologies within Microsoft Azure. Ability to lift and transport equipment weighing up to 50 pounds and work in data center or telecommunications environments as needed. Experience supporting WAN, LAN, WLAN, SD-WAN, cloud networking, and hybrid infrastructure environments. Ability to participate in after-hours maintenance and emergency support rotations. This is an onsite role in a lab; some travel is required. Preferred Qualifications: CCNP Enterprise, CCNP Security, CCIE, or equivalent advanced networking certification. Microsoft Azure Network Engineer Associate certification. AWS Advanced Networking Specialty certification. Experience supporting CMMC, NIST 800-171, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, or government-regulated environments. Experience with SD-WAN technologies. Experience with Palo Alto, Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point, or similar next-generation firewall platforms. Experience with network automation tools and scripting languages such as PowerShell, Python, or Ansible. Experience with VoIP, Unified Communications, Microsoft Teams Voice, and QoS implementations. Experience supporting enterprise monitoring platforms and SIEM solutions. Familiarity with Microsoft 365 services including Entra ID (Azure AD), Exchange Online, Intune, Autopilot, and Microsoft Defender security platforms. Knowledge and Skills: Advanced knowledge of enterprise networking technologies, including WAN, LAN, WLAN, SD-WAN, routing, switching, and network architecture design. Strong expertise with routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP), TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, QoS, and network performance optimization. Experience administering and troubleshooting next-generation firewall platforms, including Palo Alto, Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point, or equivalent technologies. In-depth understanding of network security principles, including VPNs, IDS/IPS, network segmentation, access controls, PKI, SSL/TLS, and secure remote-access solutions. Experience supporting cybersecurity and compliance frameworks, including CMMC, NIST 800-171, NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), and other regulated environments. Knowledge of cloud networking and hybrid-cloud architectures within AWS and Microsoft Azure, including secure connectivity and cloud security controls. Experience supporting high-availability infrastructure, disaster recovery solutions, business continuity initiatives, and resilient network architectures. Proficiency with network monitoring, management, and SIEM tools to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve performance, availability, and security issues. Experience with network automation and scripting technologies such as PowerShell, Python, Ansible, or similar tools to improve operational efficiency. Familiarity with enterprise technologies including VoIP, Unified Communications, Microsoft Teams Voice, Microsoft 365, Entra ID (Azure AD), Exchange Online, Intune, Autopilot, and Microsoft Defender security solutions. Physical Requirements: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; climb stairs; balance; stoop; kneel; crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. EEO Policy Statement: It is the policy of Element US Space & Defense to offer Equal Employment Opportunity to all individuals without regards to race, creed, ancestry, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, physical disabilities, pregnancy, Element U.S. Space & Defense