Network Engineer - Contract - Blythewood, SC

Job Description
Network Engineer

Location: Blythewood, SC

Interview Process: Two Rounds. Candidate needs to be prepared to go onsite for one or both interviews.

Duration: 12 Months Employment Type: Contract Experience Required: 12+ Years

Candidate Location: Candidates must be residents of SC, NC, or GA AND be willing to relocate within 40 miles of Blythewood, SC prior to their start date at their own expense.

Project Scope:

We are looking for a highly experienced Network Engineer to support and maintain enterprise-wide network infrastructure for a large government environment. This role requires a strong technical professional who will serve as a key member of the Network Operations Center, handling complex network administration, troubleshooting, security compliance, and infrastructure upgrades.

The ideal candidate will have deep hands-on expertise in Cisco and Palo Alto technologies and will play a critical role in ensuring stable, secure, and high-performing network operations across multiple office locations.

Key Responsibilities:
•Design, configure, implement, and maintain enterprise network infrastructure including LAN, WAN, VPN, and wireless environments.
•Manage, troubleshoot, and support Cisco routers, switches, firewalls, and VPN technologies across statewide operations.
•Administer and maintain Palo Alto firewall environments, including security policies and threat prevention configurations.
•Work with Palo Alto XDR for endpoint detection, threat analysis, and incident response.
•Perform advanced network diagnostics, identify outages, and resolve complex network performance issues.
•Monitor network systems proactively to ensure high availability, performance, and compliance with security standards.
•Support implementation of upgrades, patches, firmware updates, and infrastructure enhancements.
•Maintain detailed network architecture diagrams, documentation, and standard operating procedures.
•Collaborate with technical teams to support voice-integrated infrastructure and secure communication systems.
•Provide technical guidance, knowledge transfer, and informal training to team members.
•Participate in after-hours and weekend support for critical outages or emergency incidents.
•Travel to field offices as needed using state-provided vehicle to support networking equipment installations and troubleshooting.

Required Skills & Experience:
•10+ years of experience with Cisco Firewalls
•10+ years of experience with Cisco Routers
•10+ years of experience with Cisco Switches
•10+ years of experience with Cisco VPN
•10+ years of experience with Cisco Network Administration
•5+ years of experience with Palo Alto Firewalls
•2+ years of experience with Palo Alto XDR
•Strong expertise in routing, switching, and advanced network troubleshooting
•Experience with network security and cybersecurity best practices

Preferred Skills:
•Experience with network monitoring and tracing tools
•Strong understanding of core network architecture
•Wireless network administration experience
•Hybrid cloud infrastructure experience
•Experience with voice-integrated network environments
•Knowledge of Fortinet/FortiGate, Citrix NetScaler, Certes, and Trellix technologies

Certification and Education:

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field
•CCNA
•CCNP