Network Automation Engineer - TS/SCI clearance - Chantilly, VA

• Design, deploy, maintain, and optimize enterprise network infrastructure supporting mission-critical IT workloads.
• Support network operations, infrastructure deployments, technology refreshes, scaling, and sustaining engineering activities.
• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot enterprise networking hardware, including switches, routers, firewalls, and network appliances.
• Support network infrastructure from Top-of-Rack (ToR) switching through the network border and associated connectivity.
• Collaborate with network architects and engineering teams to implement new network designs, products, and infrastructure capabilities.
• Support network performance, stability, scalability, and operational reliability.
• Identify opportunities to improve network architecture, infrastructure management, and operational efficiency.

• Develop and implement automation solutions to deploy, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot network infrastructure.
• Create production-quality automation scripts and configuration frameworks using Python, Go, and Ansible.
• Automate network configuration changes to improve consistency, reduce manual effort, and minimize operational risk.
• Develop simple, sustainable, and repeatable automation processes for network deployment and maintenance.
• Integrate network automation with device APIs, software-defined control planes, and infrastructure management tools.
• Utilize RESTful APIs, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and structured data formats to interact with network devices and services.
• Maintain network automation standards, configuration policies, and operational best practices.
• Support automation-driven network provisioning, configuration validation, and infrastructure lifecycle management.

• Design, deploy, configure, and troubleshoot large-scale enterprise WAN architectures across geographically distributed sites.
• Support enterprise routing protocols, including BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP.
• Implement and maintain MPLS, overlay networks, and enterprise network connectivity.
• Configure and manage software-defined WAN platforms, including Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN/Viptela, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, VMware Velocloud, and Silver Peak.
• Support centralized policy enforcement, zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), and dynamic path selection.
• Troubleshoot routing, interconnectivity, performance, and configuration issues across WAN infrastructure.
• Implement secure connectivity between network environments using appropriate transport and security technologies.
• Optimize network performance and reliability for latency-sensitive enterprise applications.

• Implement and maintain secure network connectivity across enterprise and WAN boundaries.
• Configure and troubleshoot IPsec site-to-site tunnels, MACsec, and next-generation firewall policies.
• Support network segmentation, security policy enforcement, and secure infrastructure connectivity.
• Implement and maintain Quality of Service (QoS) policies and traffic shaping to support application performance requirements.
• Collaborate with security and network engineering teams to maintain compliance with infrastructure standards and program requirements.

• Troubleshoot network infrastructure involving Linux systems, networking applications, and software-defined control planes.
• Support enterprise network operating systems and platforms, including SONiC and Cumulus Linux.
• Work with network protocols, APIs, and software-defined networking technologies, including Open vSwitch.
• Support network integration across compute, virtualization, and enterprise platform environments.
• Apply networking fundamentals to troubleshoot application-level connectivity and infrastructure performance issues.
• Assist with deployment and sustainment of next-generation networking software and tools.

• Support network infrastructure and connectivity for Kubernetes-based environments.
• Apply knowledge of Kubernetes networking concepts, container networking, and cluster connectivity.
• Utilize the Kubernetes Container Network Interface (CNI) to interact with network plugins and manage pod networking.
• Support configuration, deployment, and maintenance of the MetalLB Operator for load balancing in bare-metal Kubernetes environments.
• Troubleshoot network connectivity, routing, and service communication across containerized workloads.
• Collaborate with platform engineering teams to ensure reliable networking across Kubernetes infrastructure.

• Work closely with network architects, software engineers, platform teams, vendors, and customers to understand requirements and implement effective solutions.
• Support the rapid deployment and integration of new network designs, products, and infrastructure capabilities.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, automation procedures, configuration standards, and operational runbooks.
• Identify opportunities to improve network deployment processes, automation frameworks, and infrastructure reliability.
• Maintain compliance with established networking standards, security policies, and operational procedures.
• Manage multiple priorities effectively while meeting technical requirements and deployment deadlines.
• Communicate technical issues, implementation plans, and troubleshooting findings clearly to engineering teams and stakeholders.

• Experience working with enterprise networking hardware, including switches, routers, and firewalls.
• Familiarity with software-defined networking, network APIs, and enterprise networking tools.
• Understanding of Linux systems and network troubleshooting.
• Experience working with Kubernetes networking concepts and container network interfaces.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver solutions in a fast-paced engineering environment.
• Active TS/SCI clearance and ability to maintain access as required by the program.
• Ability to work onsite five days per week in Chantilly, VA.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.

• Extensive experience designing, deploying, configuring, and troubleshooting large-scale enterprise WAN architectures.
• Strong understanding of core routing protocols, including BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP.
• Experience with MPLS, overlay networks, and geographically distributed enterprise connectivity.
• Proficiency in enterprise network topologies and architecture, including VLAN, LAN, and WAN environments.
• Experience troubleshooting network routing, interconnectivity, performance, and configuration issues.

• Hands-on experience configuring and managing enterprise SD-WAN platforms, such as:
• Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN / Viptela
• Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
• VMware Velocloud
• Silver Peak
• Understanding of centralized policy enforcement, zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), and dynamic path selection.
• Experience deploying, maintaining, and troubleshooting SD-WAN connectivity across enterprise environments.

• Proficiency developing production automation scripts and configuration frameworks using Python and Ansible.
• Practical experience automating network configuration, provisioning, and operational tasks.
• Experience working with network REST APIs, NETCONF, and/or RESTCONF.
• Familiarity with structured data formats, including JSON, YAML, and XML.
• Ability to develop repeatable automation solutions that improve deployment consistency and operational efficiency.
• Proficiency in either Python or Go programming language.

• Strong experience implementing secure network connectivity across WAN boundaries.
• Experience configuring and troubleshooting IPsec site-to-site tunnels and MACsec.
• Familiarity with next-generation firewall policies and enterprise network security controls.
• Experience implementing QoS traffic shaping and prioritization for latency-sensitive applications.
• Understanding of secure network segmentation, routing policies, and enterprise connectivity requirements.

• Experience using Terraform to define and manage network infrastructure state.
• Familiarity with Git-based version control and GitOps workflows.
• Experience with GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, or similar CI/CD platforms.
• Ability to automate network configuration validation, linting, testing, and deployment.
• Experience implementing infrastructure automation workflows that support continuous network deployment.

• Experience with model-driven telemetry technologies, including gRPC and gNMI.
• Familiarity with YANG data modeling and network configuration standards.
• Experience implementing network monitoring and observability pipelines.
• Familiarity with Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/OpenSearch, and ThousandEyes.
• Ability to analyze network latency, jitter, packet loss, and performance trends.
• Experience developing proactive monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities.

• Experience integrating enterprise SD-WAN environments with public cloud networking platforms.
• Familiarity with AWS Transit Gateway and Direct Connect.
• Experience with Azure Virtual WAN and ExpressRoute.
• Understanding of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architectures.
• Familiarity with Zscaler, Palo Alto Prisma Access, or comparable enterprise security platforms.
• Experience supporting hybrid cloud connectivity and secure enterprise network integration.

• Cisco Certified DevNet Professional.
• Cisco CCNP Enterprise with a network automation focus.
• Cisco CCIE.
• Equivalent advanced networking, infrastructure automation, or network engineering certifications.

We are looking for a technically strong network engineer who combines enterprise networking knowledge with software development and automation capabilities.

The ideal candidate understands how complex network infrastructure operates, can troubleshoot issues across multiple layers, and has the programming skills necessary to automate network deployment and operational processes.

This individual is comfortable working with enterprise networking hardware, software-defined networking platforms, Linux systems, and modern infrastructure technologies. They demonstrate initiative, strong analytical skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively with architects, engineers, vendors, and customers.

Success in this role requires a commitment to building scalable, reliable, secure, and repeatable networking solutions while continuously improving infrastructure performance and operational efficiency.

This position supports a federal customer in a secure, mission-critical environment. The engineer will work onsite with a multidisciplinary team responsible for network development, automation, deployment, and infrastructure sustainment.