Network Architect, HIL & Test Infrastructure

Shield; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 144,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a seasoned network engineer to design, implement, and maintain scalable lab networks supporting HIL, integration, and simulation environments. You will focus on fabricing Layer 2/3 configurations, automation, and repeatable deployment of complex networks across programs.

The role requires strong Python scripting, hands-on experience with switches/routers/firewalls, and the ability to work across lab and flight-test settings. A SECRET clearance is preferred.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 3 years with a Master's degree; or equivalent practical experience in network engineering, systems integration, test infrastructure, or software development.
• Strong knowledge of Ethernet and TCP/IP networking, including switching, routing, subnetting, VLANs, multicast, DNS, DHCP, network address translation, quality of service, and common transport protocols.
• Hands-on experience configuring and troubleshooting managed switches, routers, firewalls, Linux hosts, and networked computing systems in laboratory, development, or production environments.
• Proficiency in Python or a comparable language for network automation, configuration generation, API integration, test development, data processing, or infrastructure tooling.
• Experience developing and executing structured network or system tests using tools such as Wireshark, tcpdump, iperf, traffic generators, device telemetry, and application logs.
• Experience supporting complex HIL, integration-lab, distributed-system, or test-infrastructure environments with shared resources and multiple engineering users.
• Experience with source control, configuration management, technical documentation, network diagrams, issue tracking, and disciplined change-control practices.
• Strong analytical, communication, and customer-service skills, with the ability to prioritize cross-program needs, troubleshoot under schedule pressure, and support occasional off-hours lab activities.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, configure, and maintain scalable network architectures for HIL laboratories, integration environments, simulation systems, and shared test infrastructure across multiple programs.
• Define and manage Layer 2 and Layer 3 configurations, including addressing, VLANs, routing, multicast, quality of service, access controls, redundancy, and time-synchronization services.
• Develop and maintain networking software, configuration-as-code, automation tools, and validation utilities that make lab network deployment repeatable, reviewable, and recoverable.
• Integrate switches, routers, firewalls, servers, real-time compute, simulators, flight computers, sensors, radios, and other program hardware into representative HIL and program network environments.
• Develop and execute network test plans that measure connectivity, interoperability, throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss, multicast behavior, failover, and performance under load.
• Build network observability capabilities using packet capture, device telemetry, logs, metrics, alerts, dashboards, and automated health checks to identify issues before they disrupt testing.
• Reproduce, isolate, and resolve complex network and distributed-system issues using Wireshark, tcpdump, traffic generators, device diagnostics, application logs, and controlled experiments.
• Partner with Solutions & Integration teams to reproduce deployed networking issues, translate customer and operational feedback into representative HIL network configurations and tests, and provide second-line network support for customer demonstrations, exercises, and evaluations.
• Maintain authoritative network baselines, IP address assignments, hardware inventories, cable and port maps, architecture diagrams, interface-control documentation, and change records.
• Integrate network configuration and test automation into source-control and CI/CD workflows, including peer review, automated verification, deployment, rollback, and auditability.
• Evaluate network equipment and technologies, support capacity planning and procurement, standardize reusable solutions, and provide technical guidance to lab users and program teams.

Skills

Ethernet

TCP/IP

Switching

Routing

VLANs

Multicast

DNS

DHCP

QoS

Time synchronization

Switches

Routers

Firewalls

Linux

Python

Wireshark

tcpdump

iperf

Source control

Analytical skills

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Master's degree in a related field

Tools

Ansible

Netmiko

NAPALM

Terraform

Cisco

Arista

Juniper

NVIDIA

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a seasoned network engineer to design, implement, and maintain scalable lab networks supporting HIL, integration, and simulation environments. You will focus on fabricing Layer 2/3 configurations, automation, and repeatable deployment of complex networks across programs.

The role requires strong Python scripting, hands-on experience with switches/routers/firewalls, and the ability to work across lab and flight-test settings. A SECRET clearance is preferred.