Network Engineer

Network Engineer Location: Radford, Virginia (Onsite) Role Overview We are seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Network Engineer to join our team. This role is pivotal to the implementation and sustainment of the switching, routing, firewall, load balancing, and network infrastructure underpinning globally dispersed datacenter environments. The successful candidate will engineer and sustain the transport layer that a diverse portfolio of mission partners depends on, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their critical systems across physical, virtual, and containerized environments. Key Responsibilities Design, implement, and maintain scalable, high-performance network infrastructure. Translate current and future mission requirements into network architecture and engineering solutions, accounting for growth, capacity, and lifecycle refresh. Configure and deploy network devices including routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and associated network management tooling. Evaluate proposed system, network, and cluster configuration changes for operational and security impact, providing expert recommendations to ensure availability and compliance are maintained. Monitor network performance and proactively identify and resolve issues to ensure optimal network operation. Provide Tier II and Tier III troubleshooting support in coordination with internal teams, mission partners, and external stakeholders. Maintain the security posture of network devices to specified standards by implementing security controls, vendor best practices, and federal standards. Develop and execute operational plans to remediate or mitigate vulnerabilities affecting network devices. Document environment changes and follow established change and incident management processes. Develop project documentation to include standard operating procedures, project plans, and network diagrams. Train and mentor junior team members, elevating the technical depth of the broader network team. Required Qualifications 5+ years of network engineering experience, including hands‑on configuration and sustainment of switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, and network management tooling within a data center environment. Capable of independently designing, deploying, and troubleshooting enterprise network infrastructure at the Tier II/Tier III level. Technical Skills Thorough, practical experience implementing and maintaining the security posture of network infrastructure, hardening devices against established security benchmarks and vendor guidance, evaluating proposed configuration changes for security impact, and leading vulnerability remediation efforts on network platforms in support of audit and compliance requirements. Professional Skills Proven ability to produce and maintain technical documentation, standard operating procedures, project plans, and network diagrams, and to mentor junior engineers, with the interpersonal, analytical, and written/verbal communication skills to work effectively across internal teams and mission partners. Certifications Must possess and maintain an active, approved baseline certification such as CompTIA Security+ CE or an approved equivalent to meet foundational workforce qualification requirements. Preferred Qualifications Engineer-level experience with the Cisco Nexus line (9K, 7K, 5K, and 2K) and the Cisco Catalyst line. Engineer-level experience with Palo Alto firewalls. Engineer-level experience with F5 load balancers. Experience with network automation and scripting using Ansible and Python. Experience interfacing with cloud environment counterparts (AWS, Azure, private cloud). Experience working in DevSecOps environments and integrating network changes into CI/CD pipelines. Familiarity with container networking constructs (CNI, service mesh, ingress) in Kubernetes or OpenShift environments. Experience utilizing monitoring, telemetry, or data visualization tooling to build operational and executive-level network dashboards. Proven ability to work independently as a self-starter, capable of initiating and executing complex network engineering tasks without significant day‑to‑day guidance. Benefits Overview Medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP). 401K program allowing contributions typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Health Savings Account (HSA) on the HDHP plan. SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions. Corporate discount savings program and other discounts. On-demand training program, access to certification prep, library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars after 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Dedicated customer service team for consultants to address questions around benefits and other resources, and a certified Career Coach. Everforth Apex Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, disability, status as a crime victim, protected veteran status, political affiliation, union membership, or any other characteristic protected by law. Everforth Apex will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law. If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to participate in an interview with a virtual recruiter or to use our website for a search or application, please contact our Benefits Department at View email address on click.appcast.io or View phone number on click.appcast.io. Please note that this contact information is strictly to be used for medical ADA accommodations and that no other inquiries will be answered. #J-18808-Ljbffr Apex Systems