Network Engineer III

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.; Town of Texas, Northern (WI, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Parental leave

Education reimbursement

Flexible PTO

Short-term disability

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a Network Engineer to design, deploy, and secure our mission‑critical networks supporting launch and spaceflight operations. The role focuses on campus, data center, and WAN networks, including automation and modern security practices.

The position is 100% onsite at Briggs, Texas, with opportunities to influence critical telemetry and control systems. The ideal candidate brings 5+ years of network design and troubleshooting, hands‑on experience with

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing, monitoring, and troubleshooting campus, datacenter, and WAN networks.
• Strong knowledge of LAN/WAN, routing, switching, QoS, and network security.
• Experience with network automation and scripting (e.g., Ansible, Python).
• Familiarity with Cisco, Juniper, Arista hardware and Palo Alto firewalls.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and troubleshoot network solutions based on business requirements.
• Manage network projects including upgrades and migrations with technical direction and user support.
• Design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot firewall rules for network security, ensuring FIPS compliance.
• Identify, propose, and implement improvements to network architecture for resilience and performance.
• Conduct regular network assessments and plan necessary upgrades.
• Collaborate with IT and engineering teams to deliver network services and automation.
• Document network environment and operational procedures; prepare findings and solutions.

Skills

Network design

Troubleshooting

Team collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT or related

Tools

Cisco

Juniper

Arista

Palo Alto

Ansible

Python

Zabbix

Grafana

AWS networking

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

This World Space Week, remember to look up and ...

This World Space Week, remember to look up and ...

The engine powering Alpha`s first stage is truly ...

The engine powering Alpha`s first stage is truly ...

825 4

More cleanroom space. More spacecraft in ...

More cleanroom space. More spacecraft in ...

Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives ...

Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives ...

355 1

In this Manufacturing Minute, our Tooling ...

In this Manufacturing Minute, our Tooling ...

319 9

Our Values

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

• Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
• 3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• Mental health services
• Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

• 12 weeks paid maternity leave
• 4 weeks paid spouse leave
• $20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
• Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

• $10k/year towards trade school or college
• Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills
  • Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
  • 4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
  • $10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

About this Role

The Network Engineer is responsible for the digital infrastructure that connects mission control to launch pads or test stands, engineering teams to spacecraft, and our entire enterprise to the stars and beyond. This isn't just about keeping networks running — it's about ensuring that when our rockets ignite and our spacecraft separate, every bit of telemetry flows flawlessly, every command reaches its destination, and every mission‑critical system stays online. This role supports infrastructure and operations where downtime or poor performance could mean mission failure.

The ideal candidate is someone who thrives under pressure, thinks strategically about resilience and security, and understands that rockets and spacecraft don’t get a free second attempt.

This position will be 100% onsite at our test and manufacturing location in Briggs, Texas.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and troubleshoot network solutions based on business requirements.
• Manage network projects, including upgrades and migrations, providing technical direction and user support.
• Design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot firewall rules for network security, ensuring FIPS compliance.
• Identify, propose, and implement improvements to network architecture to increase resilience and performance.
• Conduct regular network assessments and plan necessary upgrades.
• Collaborate with IT teams to develop and implement network services and automation scripts.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to design and deliver network solutions for Launch and Spacecraft vehicles to support critical mission operations.
• Create and maintain documentation of the network environment and operational procedures.
• Prepare reports and documentation outlining findings and proposed solutions.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in designing, monitoring, and troubleshooting campus, datacenter, and WAN networks.
• Extensive knowledge of network protocols, including LAN/WAN technologies, routing, switching, QoS, network security, traffic flow analysis, BGP, OSPF Routing, VXLAN, and network automation.
• Experience with automation and scripting tools (e.g., Ansible, Python).
• Expertise with network infrastructure hardware and software (e.g., Cisco, Juniper, Arista).
• Proficiency in firewall configuration and network security protocols (e.g., Palo Alto).
• Experience with network monitoring systems (e.g., PRTG, Zabbix, Grafana).
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in a fast‑moving, dynamic work environment.
• Excellent problem‑solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to resolve mission‑critical, high‑risk issues quickly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or equivalent experience.
• Professional certification (e.g., CCNP, CCIE).
• Experience with AWS network infrastructure.
• Experience with Industrial Network devices and infrastructure.
• Familiarity with Docker or Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with virtualization technologies.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Windows Server and Linux.
• Familiarity with agile/scrum methodologies.
• Understanding of FIPS compliance requirements.

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.