SITEC - Network Defense Engineer - MacDill AFB

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees solve the most daunting challenges that our customers face. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.



Peraton provides USSOCOM, its Component Commands, Theater Special Operations Commands (TSOCs), deployed forces, CIO/J6, and end-users with high-quality IT platform and network services over an eight-year period.



Peraton requires a Network Defense Engineer to support the Special Operation Command Information Technology Enterprise Contract (SITEC) - 3 EOM.

This position is located at MacDill AFB in Florida.

The purpose of the Special Operations Forces Information Technology Enterprise Contract (SITEC) 3 Enterprise Operations and Maintenance (EOM) Task Order (TO) is to provide USSOCOM, its Component Commands, its Theater Special Operations Commands (TSOCs), and its deployed forces with Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services to maintain Network Operations (NetOps); maintain systems and network infrastructure; provide end user and common device support; provide configuration, change, license, and asset management; conduct training, and perform Install, Move, Add, Change (IMACs) services. The responsibilities and tasks associated with each requirement play a pivotal role to USSOCOM, the CIO/J6 organization, and ultimately the end-user who operate around the globe 24x7x365.

The Network Defense Engineer is responsible for designing the organization's network threat detection and countermeasure capabilities. This role focuses on engineering sophisticated telemetry collection systems that provide total visibility into network traffic and adversary behaviors. As the definitive technical authority on network-based cyber events, the engineer translates complex threat intelligence and attack characterizations into actionable, enterprise-wide countermeasures. This position requires deep expertise in network protocols, traffic analysis, and defensive architecture to proactively shield critical mission networks from advanced persistent threats, passing validated mitigation designs to administrative teams for implementation.

• Engineer Telemetry Systems: Design, develop, and integrate advanced network telemetry detection mechanisms (e.g., deep packet inspection, NetFlow analysis, and sensors) to ensure comprehensive visibility across the enterprise network boundary and internal segments.
• Network Traffic Analysis: Serve as the primary technical authority for identifying, analyzing, and characterizing complex network-based cyber events, anomalous traffic patterns, and Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) behaviors within the environment.
• Countermeasures: Develop and test network-based countermeasures and active defense strategies designed to detect, disrupt, or neutralize adversary network operations before they impact mission-critical systems.
• Design Mitigations: Assist in advising enterprise security design.
• Threat Intelligence Integration: Automate the ingestion threat intelligence into network sensor grids to build proactive, high-fidelity detection pipelines.
• Strategic Capability Planning: Continuously evaluate emerging network defense technologies, conducting proof-of-concept testing to transition new detection capabilities into the enterprise production architecture.

Required Qualifications:

• Min 12 years with HS degree, 10 years with AS/AA degree, 8 years with BS/BA, 6 years with MS/MA, 3 years with PhD
• DoD 8570 IAT II Certification; AND
• CCNA
• DoD TS/SCI clearance

Desired Qualifications:

• Must be with DoW 8140 compliant under the Work Role Code 521- Cyber Defense Infrastructure Support Specialist - Intermediate level or higher by 1 Oct 26.
• Deep Packet & Protocol Analysis: Mastery of network protocols (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, TLS/SSL, SMB) and advanced packet analysis tools (e.g., Wireshark, Tshark) to dissect malicious payloads and identify evasive command-and-control (C2) traffic.
• Automation & Scripting: Proficiency in scripting languages (such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash) to automate the processing of network logs, parse large datasets, and integrate threat intelligence feeds.
• Threat Hunting & Emulation: Ability to think like an adversary to proactively hunt for hidden threats within network metadata and reconstruct complex multi-stage attack paths.
• Detection Engineering: Direct experience writing, testing, and deploying custom high-fidelity detection signatures using industry-standard formats (such as Snort, Suricata, Yara, Sigma, or Zeek scripts).

Target Salary Range: $80,000 - $128,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual's experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

Benefits Statement: Peraton offers eligible employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, health savings account, short/long term disability, EAP, parental leave, 401(k), paid time off (PTO) for vacation, and company paid holidays. A full listing of available benefits can be viewed at https://www.careers.peraton.com/benefits.

Application Statements: The application period for the job is estimated to be 30 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates. By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in the role and the Company. During the review of your application, you may be required to participate in an on-camera interview, as well as participate in a process to verify your identity.

EEO:Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.