Fortinet Engineer

IBSS; Silver Spring (MD); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401K with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off and holidays

Flex-Spending (FSA)

Job summary

IBSS is seeking a Fortinet Engineer to support NOAA MACC at OMAO in Silver Spring, MD. The role administers Fortinet environments, FortiGate firewalls, FortiManager, and related security fabrics, ensuring the performance, availability, and protection of critical data networks.

You will work hybrid, on-site three days a week, participate in on-call rotations for Severity 1 outages, coordinate with the NOC and vendors, and help implement firewall policies, VPNs, and network segmentation while

Qualifications

• 3+ years of network security or network engineering experience, including FortiGate administration.
• Associates Degree.
• Fortinet Certified Professional (FCP) or NSE 4 certification.
• Hands-on experience with FortiManager, policy and object management, IPsec/SSL VPN, NAT, and security profiles.
• Working knowledge of routing (BGP, OSPF), VLANs, DNS/DHCP, and network monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with FISMA/NIST 800-53 and change-controlled environments.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a High Risk Public Trust background investigation; U.S. citizenship required for clearance.
• On-site work in Silver Spring, MD, 3 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Administer, configure, and maintain FortiGate firewalls and related Fortinet Security Fabric components across OMAO facilities.
• Use FortiManager to centrally manage firewall policies, objects, address groups, and device configurations.
• Develop, implement, and troubleshoot firewall policies, NAT, security profiles, network segmentation, and security zones.
• Configure and support site-to-site IPsec and remote access VPNs, including SSL/IPsec VPN with FortiClient.
• Plan and execute FortiOS firmware upgrades and security patches with minimal disruption to operations.
• Configure routing (static, BGP, OSPF), SD-WAN, and VLANs on Fortinet devices; document IP addressing and DNS/NAT.
• Monitor firewall and network performance, logs, and throughput using FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager; support audit logs and quarterly networks reports.
• Support 99.9% core network availability and restore service within targets (Sev 1: 1h, Sev 2: 4h).
• Coordinate circuit troubleshooting with NWave, NOAA NOC, carriers, and ISPs.
• Maintain documentation including firewall policies, topologies, and interconnection security agreements.
• Recommend improvements based on Fortinet best practices; contribute to modernization roadmap.
• Participate in on-call rotation for Sev 1 outages and after-hours maintenance; travel to field sites may be required.

Skills

FortiGate administration

FortiManager

VPN configuration

NIST 800-53 compliance

On-site collaboration

Education

Associates Degree

Tools

FortiManager

FortiOS

FortiAnalyzer

FortiSwitch

FortiAP

Job description

Job Title: Fortinet Engineer

Location: Silver Spring, MD (Hybrid - 3 days a week on-site)

Clearance Required: Ability to obtain and maintain Public Trust

Salary Range: $90K-$110K (based on experience)

Application Deadline: November 30, 2026

Description

IBSS is seeking a Fortinet Engineer to support the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Marine and Aviation Cyber Center (MACC). OMAO operates NOAA's fleet of research ships, specialized aircraft, and uncrewed systems. MACC is responsible for the performance, availability, and security of OMAO's data network across headquarters, field centers, and operational platforms.

The Fortinet Engineer will administer OMAO's Fortinet environment, including FortiGate firewalls managed through FortiManager. The role maintains firewall policies, VPNs, network segmentation, and security zones. It also coordinates connectivity between the NOAA2220 enterprise system and mission systems with the NOAA Network Operations Center (NOC), NWave, and carrier partners. This role requires participation in on-call rotation for Severity 1 outages, with surge support during hurricane and field seasons.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer, configure, and maintain FortiGate firewalls and related Fortinet Security Fabric components (e.g., FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiSwitch, FortiAP) across OMAO facilities and platforms.
• Use FortiManager to centrally manage firewall policies, objects, address groups, and device configurations.
• Develop, implement, and troubleshoot firewall policies, NAT, security profiles, network segmentation, and security zones in accordance with approved change management procedures.
• Configure and support site-to-site IPsec and remote access VPNs, including SSL/IPsec VPN with FortiClient.
• Plan and execute FortiOS firmware upgrades and security patches with minimal disruption to mission operations. Work with the ISSO to remediate vulnerabilities identified through Nessus/Tenable scanning.
• Configure and troubleshoot routing (static, BGP, OSPF), SD-WAN, and VLANs on Fortinet devices. Document IP addressing, routing configurations, and DNS/NAT assignments for NOAA2220.
• Monitor firewall and network performance, logs, and throughput using FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, and other approved tools (SolarWinds, Nagios, ManageEngine). Support audit log collection and the quarterly Network Performance Report.
• Support 99.9% core network availability and restore service within contract targets (1 hour for Severity 1 outages, 4 hours for Severity 2).
• Prepare Change Requests and complete approved changes on time and without rework (routine changes within 24 hours, urgent changes within 4 hours).
• Coordinate circuit troubleshooting and outage resolution with NWave, the NOAA NOC, public carriers, and internet service providers.
• Maintain documentation, including firewall policy and object records, network topologies, routing diagrams, IP addressing tables, and Interconnection Security Agreements.
• Recommend firewall and segmentation improvements based on Fortinet and industry best practices, and contribute to the network modernization roadmap.
• Participate in primary/alternate on-call rotation for Severity 1 outages and perform scheduled maintenance after hours or on weekends as approved by the Government. Occasional travel to OMAO field sites may be required.

Required Skills /Education/ Certifications & Qualifications

• 3+ years of network security or network engineering experience, including at least 2 years administering FortiGate firewalls in an enterprise environment.
• Associate's Degree.
• Fortinet Certified Professional (FCP) in Network Security, or legacy NSE 4 certification.
• Hands-on experience with FortiManager, FortiOS policy and object management, IPsec/SSL VPN, NAT, and security profiles.
• Working knowledge of routing (BGP, OSPF), VLANs, DNS/DHCP, and network monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with federal IT security requirements (FISMA, NIST 800-53) and change-controlled environments.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a High Risk Public Trust background investigation through the Department of Commerce. U.S. citizenship is required for any position requiring a security clearance.
• Ability to work on-site in Silver Spring, MD, 3 days a week.

Desired Skills

• Fortinet Certified Solutions Specialist (FCSS) in Network Security or Enterprise Firewall.
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and experience with Cisco or Arista switching.
• Experience with FortiAnalyzer, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, or Fortinet SD-WAN.
• Experience supporting maritime, aviation, or remote field networks with limited or satellite connectivity.
• Familiarity with Zero Trust network concepts and ServiceNow change management.

About IBSS Corp

Since 1992, IBSS, a woman-owned small business, has provided transformational consulting services to the Federal defense, civilian, and commercial sectors. Our services include cybersecurity and enterprise information technology, environmental science and engineering (including oceans, coasts, climate, and weather), and professional management services.

Our approach is to serve our employees by investing in their growth and development. As a result, our employees bring greater capabilities and provide exceptional service to our clients. In addition to creating career development opportunities for our employees, IBSS is passionate about giving back to the community and serving the environment. We strive to leave something better behind for the next generation.

We measure our success by the positive impact we have on our employees, clients, partners, and the communities we serve. Our tagline, Powered by Excellence, is a recognition of the employees that make up IBSS and ensures we deliver results with quality, applying industry best practices and certifications.

IBSS offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage with a company-paid deductible, paid time off, federal holidays, a matching 401K plan, tuition/professional development reimbursement, and Flex-Spending (FSA)/Dependent Care Account (DCA) options.

IBSS is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. Click https://www.eeoc.gov/poster to see that the EEO is the law. Please direct any inquiries to the HR Department email at [e-mail].

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to the Talent Acquisition department at [e-mail].