Principal Systems Engineer III (Network) Top Secret Clearance

Principal Network Engineer III (Top Secret Clearance)

Location: Onsite in Pocatello, ID
Salary: $160K
Clearance: Active Top Secret Required (Must be willing to sit for CI Poly)
Certification: CCNA or higher required within 6 months of hire
Experience: 6+ years of networking experience

Position Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Principal Network Engineer III to support a long-term FBI contract. This role is responsible for the design, deployment, testing, certification, patching, and troubleshooting of network components, including switches, firewalls, load balancers, software-defined networking (SDN), and private cloud infrastructure. The ideal candidate will serve as a subject matter expert in data center networking, ensuring high availability, security, and performance across the enterprise.

Key Responsibilities:

• Network Infrastructure Design & Support
• Design, implement, and maintain networking infrastructure within and between data centers.
• Configure and manage LAN, WAN, VLAN, SDN, firewalls, and load balancers for bare-metal and virtual environments.
• Ensure network security, availability, and scalability across all systems.
• Evaluate, improve, and maintain information security for the data center network.
• Provide 4th-level support for complex networking issues.

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

Identify, diagnose, and resolve critical network issues and bottlenecks.

Develop and implement proactive monitoring and alerting solutions.

Establish network recovery processes to minimize downtime.

Work closely with vendors and internal IT teams for problem resolution.

Automation & Optimization

Write and maintain custom scripts to enhance efficiency and automation.

Implement Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions for automated provisioning of addresses and VLANs.

Optimize application performance and assist developers with network-related improvements.

Documentation & Compliance

Maintain up-to-date technical documentation, including inventory, patch levels, IP addresses, hostnames, security certificates, and service accounts.

Ensure compliance with security policies and best practices.

Conduct regular audits and updates to keep infrastructure aligned with business and security requirements.
Required Qualifications:

• Active Top Secret clearance (must be willing to sit for CI Poly).
• 6+ years of networking experience, with expertise in network design, configuration, and troubleshooting.
• CCNA or higher certification required within 6 months of hire.
• Strong experience with data center networking, SDN, firewalls, and load balancing.
• Hands-on experience with network monitoring, security best practices, and automation.
• Proficiency in writing custom scripts for automation and network optimization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• Experience with FBI, DoD, or other federal agencies.
• Advanced networking certifications (CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP, or equivalent).
• Experience with cloud networking solutions (AWS, Azure, or private cloud).

Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:
3 weeks paid time off
2 weeks of holiday pay
Medical, dental, and vision coverage
Short-term and long-term disability (STD/LTD)
Life Insurance & AD&D
401(k) with up to 4% match
End-of-year profit sharing paid into 401(k)

If you are a highly skilled network engineer looking for an exciting opportunity to support a mission-critical program, apply today!

Ref: #850-Rockville (ALTA IT)