Principal Network Security Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Grow, innovate, and generate progress: Harness your expertise to solve challenges and celebrate success! 

Job Summary
JCS Solutions is seeking a Principal Network Security Engineer to design, engineer, and implement enterprise network security capabilities across a large, distributed Department of Defense network environment. This role serves as a senior technical leader responsible for advancing network security architecture through strategic engineering efforts that strengthen segmentation, access control, zero-trust initiatives, resiliency, and enterprise-wide security posture.
The successful candidate will assess current network security architectures, identify capability gaps, develop implementation strategies, and lead engineering teams through complex modernization efforts. This position requires expertise in network security architecture, firewall technologies, intrusion prevention, network access control, segmentation, encryption, and secure connectivity across enterprise environments.
This role requires a hands-on engineer capable of developing solutions, directing technical teams, communicating with stakeholders and approval authorities, and delivering secure, scalable, and sustainable network security capabilities.

Location: Ft. Meade, MD
Clearance: Secret
Salary: $104,000.00 - $149,000.00
Certification: Active DoD 8140/8570 IAT Level II certification.

What’s in it for you: 

• Join a premier technology firm specializing in innovative solutions.  
• Be part of a collaborative, inclusive, and innovative work culture.  
• Enjoy tremendous growth potential in a high-performing team environment.  
• A robust benefits package: 
  • Health, dental, and vision insurance  
  • Life insurance  
  • Short-and-long term disability  
  • Paid time off (PTO)  
  • 401k retirement plan with employer match 
  • Annual Professional Development Reimbursement Program  
  • And more! 

What you will do:
Network Security Engineering and Architecture

• Design, engineer, and implement enterprise network security architectures spanning next-generation firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, web and TLS proxies, VPN and encryption services, network access control, DNS security, and east-west security controls.
• Evaluate existing network security architecture and identify security gaps, improvement opportunities, risks, and implementation approaches.
• Lead network segmentation and secure connectivity initiatives, including data-flow mapping, security-zone design, enclave development, firewall rule review, ACL rationalization, and routing coordination.
• Design and implement network access control and device-posture enforcement solutions, including identity validation, device authentication, policy enforcement, remediation workflows, and phased implementation strategies.
• Advance zero-trust networking principles, least-privilege access, micro-segmentation, and encrypted communications strategies.
• Evaluate and recommend emerging security technologies to improve enterprise security capabilities.
• Engineer secure connectivity between on-premises, cloud, and remote environments utilizing VPN, TLS, IPsec, cloud interconnects, and boundary protection technologies.
• Optimize security controls to reduce false positives, improve visibility, strengthen enforcement capabilities, and maintain network performance.

Project Execution

• Lead network security projects from concept through implementation.
• Perform requirements analysis, dependency identification, architecture review, design coordination, planning, validation, and operational transition activities.
• Develop implementation plans, cutover strategies, rollback plans, validation procedures, and stakeholder communication plans.
• Coordinate maintenance windows, testing efforts, change activities, and contingency planning for security infrastructure modifications.
• Collaborate with network engineering, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and subject matter experts to successfully deliver network security initiatives.
• Support security accreditation, compliance, STIG implementation, vulnerability remediation, POA&M activities, and authorization requirements.

Technical Leadership

• Serve as the senior technical authority for network security architecture and design decisions.
• Provide technical direction, mentoring, and engineering guidance to network engineers, security engineers, administrators, and analysts.
• Manage multiple concurrent technical efforts and maintain accountability against project schedules.
• Present security architecture recommendations, implementation strategies, risks, and technical decisions to government leadership, cybersecurity authorities, and approval boards.
• Improve engineering processes, documentation standards, implementation playbooks, migration runbooks, and operational handoff procedures.

Documentation

• Develop and maintain network security architecture diagrams and logical/physical design documentation.
• Create data-flow diagrams, segmentation models, security-zone designs, and secure connectivity documentation.
• Maintain firewall policy standards, ACL documentation, and rule-set baselines.
• Develop implementation plans, rollback procedures, test plans, validation packages, risk registers, and dependency documentation.
• Create accreditation artifacts, technical standards, SOPs, runbooks, as-built documentation, and transition-to-operations documentation.

What you will bring: 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience with 12+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with 10+ years of experience.
• Specific experience, education, and training may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Active DoD Secret security clearance.
• Current DoD 8140/8570 IAT Level II certification or higher.
• Significant experience designing and implementing network security architecture in complex, large-scale enterprise environments.
• Experience serving as a senior technical lead directing network and security engineers, administrators, analysts, or implementation teams.
• Experience leading security engineering projects from planning through implementation.
• Hands-on engineering experience with:
  • Next-generation firewalls
  • Intrusion detection and prevention systems
  • Proxies and TLS inspection solutions
  • VPN and encryption services
  • Network access control platforms
• Experience with network segmentation and secure connectivity initiatives.
• Experience with data-flow analysis, firewall policy reviews, ACL management, security-zone design, stakeholder coordination, and implementation planning.
• Strong knowledge of:
  • TCP/IP
  • Routing protocols
  • Switching
  • VLANs
  • DNS/DHCP/IPAM
  • NAT
  • QoS
• Software-defined networking
• Cloud-connected environments
• Hands-on experience with two or more of the following technologies:
  • Palo Alto
  • Cisco
  • Aruba
  • Dell
  • Infoblox
  • Brocade
  • Working knowledge of:
  • NIST
  • FedRAMP
  • FISMA
  • RMF
  • DISA STIGs
• DoD cybersecurity requirements
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and deliver complex technical initiatives.
• Experience documenting network and security architectures using Visio, PowerPoint, Cameo, or similar tools.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience briefing senior leadership, cybersecurity authorities, stakeholders, and approval boards.
• Experience with wireless security and authentication, including WPA2/WPA3, 802.1X, RADIUS, and enterprise NAC platforms.
• Experience integrating wireless infrastructure with enterprise networking services, including DNS, DHCP, NTP, routing, and monitoring platforms.
• Experience developing and executing engineering designs, implementation plans, migration procedures, test plans, and production deployments.
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills with the ability to resolve complex wireless connectivity, authentication, and network performance issues.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience providing technical guidance and developing engineering documentation.
• Must meet applicable cybersecurity workforce qualification requirements for the assigned position.
  
  

How you will wow us:

• CISSP, Palo Alto PCNSE, Cisco CCNP Security, or equivalent advanced security certification.
• Experience implementing Comply-to-Connect, 802.1X, or comparable network access control and device-posture enforcement solutions at enterprise scale.
• Experience with zero-trust architecture, micro-segmentation, SASE, or secure cloud connectivity designs.
• Experience integrating network security platforms with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and analytics platforms.
• Experience utilizing Python, Ansible, REST APIs, or similar technologies for security automation and infrastructure-as-code initiatives.
• Experience with automated firewall policy management.
• Experience supporting enterprise certificate management, PKI environments, encrypted-traffic inspection, and key management services.