Network Engineering Lead

Salary Range: 145000 to 175000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)

Key Tasks & Responsibilities

Lead engineering support for USMEPCOM WAN, LAN, SD-WAN, circuit, wireless, cloud-connectivity, and network-management environments, including architecture planning, integration, and performance optimization.
Gather and validate requirements, establish technical priorities, develop implementation schedules, estimate rough-order costs, and prepare high-level concepts of operations.
Design, configure, and troubleshoot EIGRP, OSPF, and BGP routing, and support routers, switches, firewalls, virtual routing, subinterfaces, VLAN routing, and QoS policies.
Support ordering, installation, activation, migration, and monitoring of circuits, coordinating end-to-end connectivity with Government personnel, DISA, carriers, and local service providers.
Install, refresh, and troubleshoot SD-WAN devices, and support secure integration between cloud services and Government networks.
Configure and maintain wireless controllers and access points; perform coverage analysis using heat maps and surveys and recommend corrective actions.
Ensure devices are securely configured and tested before connection; coordinate OS, firmware, and security updates and implement applicable DISA STIGs.
Develop and operate network-monitoring capabilities for availability, capacity, fault, and performance management, and resolve complex connectivity, routing, VPN, firewall, and cloud-integration issues.
Support remote MEPS, Recruiting Processing Stations, and virtual MEPS with WAN, circuit, firewall, VPN, ISP, and cloud-connectivity issues, coordinating with external providers beyond USMEPCOM-controlled boundaries.
Support the Outage Response Team with diagnosis, restoration recommendations, workarounds, and root-cause input; coordinate vendor escalation, maintenance, refreshes, and replacement of failed devices.
Support cabling, rack, patch-panel, and network-drop planning; conduct site surveys and support network-equipment relocation for new or relocated MEPS facilities.
Maintain network diagrams, as-built drawings, rack layouts, inventories, ATO-supporting documentation, SOPs, and knowledge articles; mentor network administrators and support personnel.

Education & Experience

Required:

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Networking, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant network engineering, network architecture, network administration, or enterprise infrastructure experience.

Ability to work a hybrid schedule in N. Chicago, IL.

Preferred:

Experience leading network-engineering activities in a federal or DoD environment.

Advanced experience designing and troubleshooting enterprise WAN, LAN, and SD-WAN environments, with advanced knowledge of EIGRP, OSPF, BGP, VLANs, ACLs, and QoS.

Experience ordering, activating, and troubleshooting Government and commercial circuits with DISA, carriers, and ISPs.

Experience performing wireless surveys, heat-map analysis, and access-point placement.

Experience designing secure connectivity between cloud environments and Government networks.

Experience applying DISA STIGs and supporting DoD RMF, ATO, IAVA, CND Directive, and POA&M requirements.

Strong technical leadership, vendor-management, and stakeholder-communication skills.

Certifications

Required: Current Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certification.
Preferred: CCNP Enterprise or CCNP Security, CompTIA Security+ or Network+, Cisco Certified Design Expert, Certified Wireless Network Professional, AWS Advanced Networking, ITIL Foundation, or equivalent credentials.

Security Clearance

• Active Secret clearance or higher is required.

Other (Travel, Work Environment, DoD 8570 Requirements, Administrative Notes, etc.)

Work Environment / Travel:

Hybrid position based in N. Chicago, IL.

After-hours availability may be required during outages, implementations, maintenance windows, or other mission-critical activities.

Administrative Notes:

Period of Performance: March 1, 2027 – February 28, 2033

Contract Start Date: March 1, 2027

Note: By applying to this position, the candidate acknowledges and consents to having their resume included in an active competitive Government contract bid.