Network Architect SME

Socket.dev; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

401(k) matching

Dental insurance

Flexible spending account

Health insurance

Life insurance

Paid time off

Professional development assistance

Referral program

Tuition reimbursement

Vision insurance

Job summary

Socket.dev seeks a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Network Architect to lead enterprise and solution‑level network design for a large federal modernization program. You’ll craft secure, resilient networks across cloud and on‑prem boundaries and drive the modernization roadmap with real designs and implementations.

Based in Washington, DC with a hybrid work arrangement, the role requires U.S. citizenship and close collaboration with cloud, cybersecurity, and IT teams to deliver scalable, secure

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in network engineering with enterprise-scale architecture.
• Strong fundamentals in TCP/IP, routing, switching, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, load balancing, resiliency, performance, monitoring, and security.
• Experience producing technical network designs and supporting implementation, testing, troubleshooting, and operational transition.
• Ability to work across cloud and on-premises boundaries and through formal security/architecture review processes.
• Strong documentation and communication skills; able to present designs to engineers and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Design secure, resilient network architectures for hybrid cloud and on‑prem environments.
• Develop and maintain standards, reference patterns, and modernization roadmaps.
• Support governance, architecture reviews, and implementation readiness.
• Perform gap analyses, assess technical debt, and propose modernization plans.
• Coordinate with cross-domain teams and external providers to resolve conflicts.
• Document configurations, decisions, risks, and hand off to operations.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

TCP/IP networking

Routing & switching

DNS/DHCP/IPAM

Network security

Documentation & comms

Cloud/on-prem integration

Job description

We are seeking a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Network Architect to join our team supporting a large-scale federal modernization program. This role owns enterprise and solution-level network architecture, designing secure, resilient network environments that support mission-critical systems and shared services across both cloud and on-premises boundaries, and driving the standards, target-state direction, and modernization roadmap that keep the network ready to scale.
This is a hands-on architecture role. You'll be expected to produce real technical designs and see them through implementation, not just set direction from a distance.
This is a hybrid role based out of Washington, DC. Candidates must be U.S. citizens.

Key Responsibilities

• Network Architecture & Design

• Develop, review, and implement secure, resilient enterprise network architectures supporting mission systems and shared services.
• Produce and assess physical/logical diagrams, routing/segmentation, interfaces, connectivity, capacity, availability, and monitoring requirements.
• Design hybrid connectivity architecture spanning on-premises and cloud environments.

• Standards & Target-State Direction

• Define and maintain network architecture standards, reference patterns, and technical decisions.
• Set target-state network direction and modernization roadmap, balancing scale, security, resilience, and performance.
• Align network architecture with enterprise architecture governance and repository requirements.

• Technical Reviews & Governance

• Support technical reviews, architecture compliance reviews, phase gates, and implementation-readiness reviews.
• Evaluate proposed deviations and provide recommendations grounded in risk and architectural impact.

• Gap Analysis & Modernization

• Analyze current-state network gaps, technical debt, lifecycle risk, single points of failure, and performance bottlenecks.
• Provide recommendations for modernization, standardization, and optimization, including cost/performance tradeoffs.

• Cross-Domain Coordination

• Coordinate with cloud/platform, cybersecurity, identity, endpoint/mobility, applications, data, and ITSM teams, as well as external carriers and providers.
• Resolve complex cross-domain design conflicts under fixed milestones.

• Documentation & Operational Handoff

• Maintain standards, reference patterns, technical decisions, configurations, risks, and dependencies in approved repositories.
• Support implementation, testing, migration, and stabilization, and troubleshoot complex cross-domain problems, communicating root cause, options, and corrective actions.
• 12+ years of experience in network engineering, including significant architecture responsibility at enterprise scale.
• Strong fundamentals in TCP/IP, routing, switching, segmentation, DNS/DHCP/IPAM, load balancing, resiliency, performance, monitoring, and security.
• Demonstrated experience producing technical network designs and supporting implementation, testing, troubleshooting, and operational transition.
• Ability to work across cloud and on-premises boundaries and through formal security/architecture review processes.
• Strong documentation and communication skills, with experience presenting designs and tradeoffs to both engineers and leadership.
• U.S. Citizenship Required.

Nice to Have

• Direct federal, government, or large distributed enterprise network experience.
• Relevant Cisco, Juniper, cloud networking, SD-WAN, wireless, security, or architecture certifications.
• Experience with network automation, infrastructure as code, software-defined networking, zero trust, SASE/SSE, and observability.
• Experience with enterprise architecture repositories and technology standards/roadmaps.
• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance