Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager / Lead - Secret or TS Clearance

Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager / Lead Location: Mark Center, Alexandria, VA / Arlington, VA / Crystal City, VA / Hybrid 3-days onsite Clearance Required: Secret or Top-Secret Salary Range: $125K - $165K Application Deadline: May 31, 2026 Description IBSS is seeking a highly skilled NOC Lead to oversee the comprehensive management, optimization, and security of a global enterprise network infrastructure for a DoD customer. This critical role involves ensuring the reliability, performance, and resilience of complex networking environments, including SD‑WAN, campus LAN, Aruba wireless systems, Palo Alto firewalls, and cloud networking fabrics. The successful candidate will lead a team responsible for advanced diagnostics and lifecycle management while strictly adhering to DoD Zero Trust strategies, NIST SP 800‑53, and DoDI 8510.01 (RMF) standards. This position requires a proactive leader who can maintain 99.9% network availability and drive automation to support the organization's mission. Key Responsibilities Lead a team of NOC engineers and technicians, providing guidance, training, and mentorship to ensure optimal performance and development. Oversee daily operations of the NOC team, including scheduling, task allocation, and performance management. Ensure the continuous monitoring of network devices, systems, and applications to detect issues proactively and respond to critical events. Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of NOC processes, including monitoring, event management, incident response, and change management. Manage and optimize the SD‑WAN environment, including policy configuration, link health monitoring, and traffic optimization to ensure resilient connectivity between global sites. Provide full lifecycle management of LAN infrastructure, including advanced switch configuration, VLAN segmentation, and access control enforcement to support Zero Trust principles. Lead cloud networking services across public, private, and hybrid environments, implementing secure routing, encrypted tunnels, and micro‑segmentation. Monitor network health and capacity continuously using real‑time telemetry, NetFlow, and path analytics to identify bottlenecks before they impact mission operations. Coordinate enterprise‑wide changes using automation pipelines with rollback validation to minimize risk and operational overhead. Lead incident response efforts for critical network issues, ensuring Priority 1 incidents are resolved within 4 hours and followed by detailed root cause analysis reports. Maintain accurate configuration documentation, topology diagrams, and firewall inventories, ensuring updates are completed within 5 business days of network changes. Required Skills / Education / Certifications & Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience). 5+ years of experience in a NOC environment, with at least 1 year in a lead or supervisory role. 5+ years in network operations, infrastructure operations, or site reliability roles with significant experience running and building a NOC, operations center, or equivalent 24/7 monitoring function. You’ve built shift models, managed MSP relationships, and know how to turn a collection of monitors into a high‑performing operational team. Ideally, you’ve done this at global scale. Deep experience with structured incident response processes — severity classification, escalation matrices, incident bridges, post‑incident reviews, and RCA workflows. Demonstrated expertise in wireless infrastructure, including administration of RF tuning and strong authentication. Strong knowledge of network management, monitoring, and security tools (e.g., SNMP, NetFlow, SIEM, ticketing systems). Strong background in managing firewalls, including compliance with STIG/NIST controls and integration with SIEM. Deep understanding of DoD cybersecurity frameworks, specifically DoD Zero Trust Strategy, DoDI 8510.01 (RMF), NIST SP 800‑53, and DoD STIGs. Must possess and maintain the necessary security clearances required to access DoD networks and systems. Ability to support operations to meet strict uptime requirements of &Client; 99.9% for core network services. Desired Skills Relevant vendor certifications in network engineering and security. DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II or III certification. Experience operating NOC/operations centers at hyperscale companies (Meta, Google, Microsoft, AWS), large telcos, or major AI infrastructure providers. Experience with cloud networking security features, such as Web Application Firewalls (WAF) and DDoS protection. Proficiency in operating underlay/overlay fabrics and performing deep service assurance using telemetry and path analytics. Experience integrating network telemetry with enterprise monitoring platforms for proactive fault detection. Benefits Medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage with a company‑paid deductible. Paid time off, federal holidays, and a matching 401K plan. Tuition/professional development reimbursement. Flex‑Spending (FSA)/Dependent Care Account (DCA) options. EEO Statement IBSS is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. EEO is the law. #J-18808-Ljbffr Creative Solutions Services, LLC