Job Requirements
Fort Meade, MD
Secret Polygraph not specified
Senior Level Career (10+ yrs experience)
$130,000 - $170,000
Job Description
TEKsystems is seeking a Principal Network Engineer specializing in routing and switching to serve as the senior technical authority for the routed and switched enterprise. The role is responsible for advancing network innovation through the execution of strategic design and implementation efforts that improve the security, scalability, resiliency, and performance of the enterprise network.
This position is responsible for overall network engineering support across a broad range of efforts, including planning, designing, and evaluating the various components of the network. Duties include providing specifications for network architecture, evaluating and recommending new technologies to enhance current capabilities, performing needs assessments, and directing the installation, modification, testing, and servicing of network infrastructure.
The successful candidate sets technical direction for routing and switching across the enterprise — defining standards, resolving the architecture questions no one else can, and directing the work of other engineers against designs they own.
Scope and Impact
Impact: Influences development of solutions that impact strategic project and program goals and business results. Recommends and develops new technical solutions, products, and standards. Leads and manages the work of other technical staff that has significant impact on project results and outputs.
Complexity: Resolves highly complex problems through significant application of technical knowledge, conceptualization, reasoning, and interpretation. Develops solutions that are highly innovative and achieved through research and integration of best practices.
Communication: Communicates with executive and client leadership on matters of significant technical importance. Presents architecture recommendations, implementation plans, risks, dependencies, and status to technical leadership, stakeholders, and approval boards, and works to build consensus around new concepts, practices, and approaches.
Knowledge: In-depth understanding of network engineering principles, theories, and concepts and their application across a range of programs. Serves as a subject matter expert within the routing and switching domain.
Primary Responsibilities
Architecture and Design Authority
Own the enterprise routing and switching architecture, including core, distribution, access, WAN edge, and data center interconnect designs.
Define routing architecture and policy standards across BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, and static routing, including addressing strategy, route filtering and summarization, path selection, redistribution boundaries, and convergence targets.
Define Layer 2 and high-availability architecture, including VLAN and spanning-tree strategy, link aggregation, redundancy models, VRF and segmentation structure, multicast design, and QoS policy architecture.
Evaluate the current network architecture, identify gaps and improvement opportunities, estimate level of effort, assess implementation risk, and develop practical engineering plans to improve enterprise capabilities.
Provide specifications for network architecture, evaluate and recommend emerging technologies, and perform needs assessments to inform design and investment decisions.
Establish and enforce configuration standards, design patterns, and technical baselines that other engineers build against.
Project Execution
Drive strategic engineering projects from concept through implementation, including architecture evaluation, requirements analysis, dependency identification, design coordination, planning, execution, validation, and transition to operations.
Develop and manage implementation plans, schedules, cutover strategies, contingency plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, stakeholder communications, and change documentation for mission-critical network changes.
Lead network modernization efforts such as segmentation, IPv4/IPv6 transition, network optimization, connectivity consolidation, lifecycle replacement, automation, and software-defined networking adoption.
Coordinate change windows, maintenance activities, test validation, and rollback procedures for high-impact network activities.
Partner with architecture, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and technical SME teams to resolve blockers, manage dependencies, and reduce delivery risk.
Technical Leadership
Serve as the final technical escalation point for complex routing, switching, transport, and performance problems spanning multiple domains and vendors.
Provide technical direction, mentoring, and day-to-day guidance to network engineers, administrators, and analysts; review designs and implementation work for technical quality.
Organize technical priorities, track details across concurrent efforts, manage competing demands, and maintain accountability against aggressive schedules.
Continuously improve engineering processes, documentation standards, implementation playbooks, migration runbooks, technical standards, and execution models to accelerate delivery, reduce rework, improve operational handoff, and lower sustainment burden.
Documentation
Develop and maintain engineering and operational documentation, including:
Logical and physical network designs and architecture diagrams
Routing architecture, policy standards, and addressing plans
Configuration standards, design patterns, and technical baselines
Implementation and cutover plans with rollback and contingency procedures
Test and validation plans
Risk, dependency, and decision registers
Technical standards, playbooks, and runbooks
As-built and operations transition documentation
Key Success Factors:
This position requires more than a senior engineer executing assigned work. It requires the person who decides what the routing and switching architecture should be, defends that decision in front of leadership and approval boards, and then makes sure it gets built correctly.
The successful engineer is equally credible in the deepest technical detail — a BGP path-selection argument, a convergence problem nobody else has reproduced — and in a room where the question is what the enterprise should do next and why.
Job Title
network engineer
Top Skills Details
1. 7-10 Years of Experience working as a Network Engineer
2. 3-5 Years of Experience working in an Enterprise level Environment
3. Sec+ + Secret Clearance REQUIRED, CCNP Preferred
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
This position is responsible for overall network engineering support across a broad range of efforts, including planning, designing, and evaluating the various components of the network. Duties include providing specifications for network architecture, evaluating and recommending new technologies to enhance current capabilities, performing needs assessments, and directing the installation, modification, testing, and servicing of network infrastructure.
The successful candidate sets technical direction for routing and switching across the enterprise — defining standards, resolving the architecture questions no one else can, and directing the work of other engineers against designs they own.
Scope and Impact
Impact: Influences development of solutions that impact strategic project and program goals and business results. Recommends and develops new technical solutions, products, and standards. Leads and manages the work of other technical staff that has significant impact on project results and outputs.
Complexity: Resolves highly complex problems through significant application of technical knowledge, conceptualization, reasoning, and interpretation. Develops solutions that are highly innovative and achieved through research and integration of best practices.
Communication: Communicates with executive and client leadership on matters of significant technical importance. Presents architecture recommendations, implementation plans, risks, dependencies, and status to technical leadership, stakeholders, and approval boards, and works to build consensus around new concepts, practices, and approaches.
Knowledge: In-depth understanding of network engineering principles, theories, and concepts and their application across a range of programs. Serves as a subject matter expert within the routing and switching domain.
Primary Responsibilities
Architecture and Design Authority
Own the enterprise routing and switching architecture, including core, distribution, access, WAN edge, and data center interconnect designs.
Define routing architecture and policy standards across BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, and static routing, including addressing strategy, route filtering and summarization, path selection, redistribution boundaries, and convergence targets.
Define Layer 2 and high-availability architecture, including VLAN and spanning-tree strategy, link aggregation, redundancy models, VRF and segmentation structure, multicast design, and QoS policy architecture.
Evaluate the current network architecture, identify gaps and improvement opportunities, estimate level of effort, assess implementation risk, and develop practical engineering plans to improve enterprise capabilities.
Provide specifications for network architecture, evaluate and recommend emerging technologies, and perform needs assessments to inform design and investment decisions.
Establish and enforce configuration standards, design patterns, and technical baselines that other engineers build against.
Project Execution
Drive strategic engineering projects from concept through implementation, including architecture evaluation, requirements analysis, dependency identification, design coordination, planning, execution, validation, and transition to operations.
Develop and manage implementation plans, schedules, cutover strategies, contingency plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, stakeholder communications, and change documentation for mission-critical network changes.
Lead network modernization efforts such as segmentation, IPv4/IPv6 transition, network optimization, connectivity consolidation, lifecycle replacement, automation, and software-defined networking adoption.
Coordinate change windows, maintenance activities, test validation, and rollback procedures for high-impact network activities.
Partner with architecture, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and technical SME teams to resolve blockers, manage dependencies, and reduce delivery risk.
Technical Leadership
Serve as the final technical escalation point for complex routing, switching, transport, and performance problems spanning multiple domains and vendors.
Provide technical direction, mentoring, and day-to-day guidance to network engineers, administrators, and analysts; review designs and implementation work for technical quality.
Organize technical priorities, track details across concurrent efforts, manage competing demands, and maintain accountability against aggressive schedules.
Continuously improve engineering processes, documentation standards, implementation playbooks, migration runbooks, technical standards, and execution models to accelerate delivery, reduce rework, improve operational handoff, and lower sustainment burden.
Documentation
Develop and maintain engineering and operational documentation, including:
Logical and physical network designs and architecture diagrams
Routing architecture, policy standards, and addressing plans
Configuration standards, design patterns, and technical baselines
Implementation and cutover plans with rollback and contingency procedures
Test and validation plans
Risk, dependency, and decision registers
Technical standards, playbooks, and runbooks
As-built and operations transition documentation
Key Success Factors:
This position requires more than a senior engineer executing assigned work. It requires the person who decides what the routing and switching architecture should be, defends that decision in front of leadership and approval boards, and then makes sure it gets built correctly.
The successful engineer is equally credible in the deepest technical detail — a BGP path-selection argument, a convergence problem nobody else has reproduced — and in a room where the question is what the enterprise should do next and why.
Job Title
network engineer
Top Skills Details
1. 7-10 Years of Experience working as a Network Engineer
2. 3-5 Years of Experience working in an Enterprise level Environment
3. Sec+ + Secret Clearance REQUIRED, CCNP Preferred
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
group id: 10105424
