Senior Network Architect - Integration Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

CyKor is a fast-growing Technology Solutions Provider to both federal and commercial clients. We attribute our continued growth to our core values, our professional team, and the valuable relationships with our clients. Our small and growing team fosters an environment in which each team member is respected, valued, and appreciated for their contributions.

Role & Responsibilities

The Senior Network Architect - Integration Lead will serve as the lead technical architect responsible for integrating network, cybersecurity, application, sensor, and tactical communications capabilities supporting a DOD initiative. 

This position requires a senior-level architect who can look across the complete technical ecosystem - not simply the network - and develop an integrated architecture connecting enterprise SD-WAN, data transport, IDS/IPS, Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), applications, sensor data, and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET). 

The Integration Lead will work across military technical teams, engineering disciplines, vendors, and mission stakeholders to ensure individual technologies operate as a cohesive, secure, resilient end-to-end solution. 

Enterprise & Solution Architecture  

• Serve as the primary technical integration lead for Coastal Sentinel architecture and engineering activities. 
• Develop end-to-end architectures integrating enterprise, tactical, wireless, sensor, cybersecurity, and application environments. 
• Develop and maintain High-Level Designs (HLD), Low-Level Designs (LLD), architecture diagrams, interface definitions, data flows, and integration requirements. 
• Identify technical dependencies, integration points, interoperability risks, and architectural gaps across the solution. 
• Translate operational and mission requirements into scalable technical architectures. 
• Ensure architecture supports future expansion from pilot capabilities into broader operational deployments. 

SD-WAN & Data Transport  

• Architect integration of Cisco SD-WAN or comparable software-defined networking technologies with enterprise transport. 
• Design resilient WAN architectures supporting multiple transport paths and operating environments. 
• Develop routing, segmentation, QoS, redundancy, failover, and traffic-engineering strategies. 
• Integrate traditional IP transport with tactical and wireless communications environments. 
• Evaluate bandwidth, latency, availability, and resiliency requirements for mission-critical data and applications. 
• Support integration between fixed infrastructure and mobile/tactical network environments. 

MANET & Tactical Networking  

• Architect integration of Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) capabilities with enterprise and tactical DOD networks. 
• Understand dynamic routing, mesh networking, mobile nodes, degraded communications environments, and disconnected/intermittent/limited -bandwidth operations. 
• Develop architectures that allow tactical users, vessels, sensors, and mobile platforms to securely exchange data across MANET and enterprise networks. 
• Evaluate interoperability between MANET, IP transport, SD-WAN, wireless, SATCOM, cellular, and other available transport mechanisms. 

Cybersecurity / IDS / IPS  

• Integrate Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS) into the overall network architecture. 
• Design security inspection and enforcement points appropriate to enterprise and tactical network boundaries. 
• Coordinate firewall, IDS/IPS, network segmentation, encryption, logging, monitoring, and security policy requirements. 
• Ensure security capabilities maintain visibility into traffic without creating unacceptable latency or mission impact. 
• Support cybersecurity engineering, RMF, ATO, STIG, and operational security requirements. 

Zero Trust Architecture  

• Incorporate DoD Zero Trust principles into the Coastal Sentinel architecture. 
• Design network and application segmentation based on users, devices, applications, data, and mission requirements. 
• Support integration with identity, authentication, authorization, device posture, and policy-enforcement capabilities. 
• Apply least-privilege access principles and minimize implicit trust across enterprise and tactical network boundaries. 
• Develop architecture patterns supporting continuous verification and policy-based access. 

Applications & Mission Systems Integration  

• Architect network services required to support mission and operational applications. 
• Define connectivity, security, latency, bandwidth, QoS, and availability requirements for applications. 
• Coordinate with application owners to understand application dependencies and data flows. 
• Identify integration issues between legacy applications and modern segmented/Zero Trust environments. 
• Ensure architecture supports reliable access to mission applications across fixed, mobile, and degraded network environments. 

Sensor & Mission Data Integration  

• Develop architectures supporting the secure transport of sensor and mission data across tactical and enterprise networks. 
• Understand data flows from sensors and edge devices through tactical networks, transport infrastructure, security controls, applications, and data repositories. 
• Define requirements for data prioritization, aggregation, filtering, forwarding, and dissemination. 
• Address bandwidth-constrained environments and determine where processing or filtering should occur at the tactical edge. 
• Support integration of sensor feeds with operational applications, command-and-control systems, analytics platforms, and other mission consumers. 

Systems Integration & Testing  

• Own technical integration across network, cybersecurity, application, sensor, and tactical communications workstreams. 
• Develop interface and integration requirements between systems. 
• Lead architecture reviews, engineering working groups, integration planning, and technical design sessions. 
• Develop integration and test strategies for lab, pilot, and operational environments. 
• Support troubleshooting of complex cross-domain issues involving network transport, security controls, applications, and sensor data. 
• Identify root causes across multiple technology domains rather than treating individual systems in isolation. 
• Support pilot testing, operational demonstrations, acceptance testing, and transition to production. 

Please Note: This position is contingent upon contract award with an expected start date of September/October 2026.

Requirements:

• 10+ years of progressively responsible network engineering, systems integration, or network architecture experience. 
• Demonstrated experience serving as a Senior Network Architect, Solution Architect, or Technical Integration Lead. 
• Strong enterprise routing and switching background. 
• Hands-on architecture or engineering experience with SD-WAN. 
• Experience designing or integrating complex data transport architectures. 
• Experience with IDS/IPS, firewalls, network security, segmentation, and security policy enforcement. 
• Working knowledge of Zero Trust Architecture and Zero Trust Network Access concepts. 
• Experience integrating applications and application data flows across segmented networks. 
• Experience with MANET, tactical networking, mesh networking, or other mobile/disconnected communications environments. 
• Experience integrating sensor, telemetry, IoT, ISR, or other mission-generated data into network architectures. 
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, VPNs, QoS, multicast, network segmentation, and resilient routing architectures. 
• Experience developing HLDs, LLDs, network diagrams, data-flow diagrams, interface documentation, and technical implementation plans. 
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams and communicate complex architectures to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 
• An active Secret clearance; Top Secret or higher preferred 

Highly Desired Experience  

• Previous military/federal C5I/C5ISR engineering experience. 
• Federal enterprise network or cutter/afloat communications experience. 
• Cisco SD-WAN architecture and engineering experience. 
• Cisco ISE / identity-based network access and segmentation experience. 
• Next-generation firewall and IDS/IPS experience. 
• Tactical wireless and MANET technologies. 
• SATCOM, LTE/5G, RF, or other alternate transport experience. 
• Sensor-to-edge-to-enterprise data architecture experience. 
• Experience integrating legacy mission systems into modern Zero Trust environments. 
• Experience supporting federal pilot programs through lab integration, operational demonstration, production deployment, and transition to sustainment. 
• Familiarity with DoD/DHS Zero Trust guidance, NIST cybersecurity standards, DISA STIGs, RMF, and ATO processes. 

Preferred Certifications  

• CCNP Enterprise or CCNP Security 
• CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure / Security 
• Cisco SD-WAN certifications or equivalent demonstrated expertise 
• CISSP 
• Security+ 
• GIAC or comparable cybersecurity certification 
• Zero Trust–focused industry certifications