Network Security Engineer

Credence; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Credence in McLean, VA is seeking a Network Security Engineer to own enterprise network and security infrastructure across on‑prem and cloud environments, including firewall policy, VPNs, and compliance-driven controls.

The role emphasizes SSP accuracy, ISSO functions, and GCP governance, requiring 5+ years' experience, strong Windows skills, and certification readiness. It offers a mission-focused environment with security clearances for federal work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/IT or related field.
• Minimum 5+ years' hands-on network engineering or IT admin experience.
• Strong Windows OS knowledge.
• Experience with enterprise firewall administration.
• Familiar with configuration management and documentation tools.
• Ability to communicate with technical and non-technical staff.

Responsibilities

• Own enterprise network and security infrastructure across on-prem and cloud.
• Administer multiple firewall platforms and VPNs.
• Support CMMC Level 2 and SOC 2 readiness.
• Develop and maintain SSP documentation and change management.
• Collaborate with Systems Admins for patching and vulnerability remediation.
• Produce network diagrams and technical docs.
• Assist in disaster recovery planning.

Skills

Windows OS

Networking fundamentals

Firewall administration

Palo Alto NGFW

FortiGate VM

Cisco routing/switching

Cloud networking

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Palo Alto NGFW

FortiGate VM

Cloud NAT

GCP networking

Job description

Overview

Join a team where innovation meets mission. Our AI, cloud, cyber, and modernization solutions save agencies thousands of hours, safeguard national security, and strengthen health and humanitarian missions worldwide. With more than 1,700+ team members, 1,500+ AI & data experts, and 100+ prime contracts, we deliver at scale and with purpose.

We’ve been recognized as a Top Workplace by The Washington Post for six consecutive years and named to the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in 13 of the past 14 years. Credence is a welcoming environment for those looking to grow and make a meaningful impact. We encourage employees to push boundaries and help solve critical, world-changing federal challenges.

Position Summary

Credence has an immediate opening for a Network Security Engineer to join our internal IT team. This individual will own enterprise network and security infrastructure across physical and cloud-hosted environments, administer multi-vendor firewalls, and maintain compliance-aligned controls within a CMMC Level 2 and SOC 2 audit environment. The role carries meaningful responsibility for SSP accuracy, ISSO support functions, and GCP organization-level governance. The ideal candidate combines deep network security expertise with documentation discipline and a proactive, compliance-first mindset

Responsibilities:

Network Infrastructure & Operations

• Provide technical ownership of the corporate WAN, LAN, and wireless infrastructure, including planning, implementation, expansion, and lifecycle management.
• Monitor and maintain network performance and reliability, ensuring a minimum of 99% uptime for corporate systems, phone systems, and connectivity.
• Configure and manage routing, switching, firewalls, and VPNs across Palo Alto NGFW (HQ and branch), Palo Alto VM-Series (AWS Commercial), and FortiGate VM (Azure Government).
• Serve as primary administrator across all firewall platforms, including policy management, rule additions and modifications, allow-list maintenance, and configuration backups; maintain privileged access under a documented change-controlled process.
• Oversee network configuration management and backups to ensure recoverability and business continuity.
• Analyze and resolve escalated Tier 2+ network support tickets.
• Administer enterprise wireless infrastructure across multiple vendor platforms including Cisco, Aruba, and Ubiquiti; manage access point provisioning

Security & Compliance

• Identify, assess, and mitigate network vulnerabilities through proactive monitoring and remediation.
• Implement and manage network security controls including firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, antivirus, and secure access solutions.
• Collaborate with Systems Administrators on vulnerability scanning, patch management, and remediation efforts (e.g., Nessus scan results, OS hardening).
• Support audit readiness and compliance for CMMC Level 2 and SOC 2, including maintaining network-layer controls in the System Security Plan (SSP), providing firewall and network evidence for assessments, and contributing to ISSO functions as needed.
• Coordinate firewall rule changes and network modifications through a documented change management process, maintaining an audit-ready record of all changes for SOC 2 and CMMC assessment cycles.

Collaboration & Support

• Work in coordination with Systems and Security administrators to ensure smooth systems and network integration across on-prem and cloud environments.
• Provide training, documentation, and knowledge sharing to IT staff on new network technologies and processes.
• Assist in disaster recovery planning and implementation of secure, redundant connectivity solutions.
• Write and maintain technical documentation, including network diagrams, cabling layouts, and internal knowledge base articles.
• Contribute to internal IT automation and tooling initiatives, including scripting, infrastructure-as-code, and network-layer input on expanding internal platforms and dashboards.

Cloud Infrastructure & GCP Governance

• Serve as the GCP organization owner, maintaining folder hierarchy, org policies, IAM governance, and network configurations across all projects and access boundaries.
• Administer cloud-hosted network infrastructure including Palo Alto VM-Series in AWS Commercial and FortiGate VM in Azure Government; design and maintain hybrid connectivity patterns across cloud environments.
• Support GCP cloud networking operations including Cloud NCC hub-and-spoke architecture, HA-VPN with BGP over IKEv2, Cloud Router, and Cloud NAT.

• Must be a U.S. Citizenship
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Must have a minimum of 5+ years of hands-on working experience in network engineering, IT administration, or a related technical role.
• Must have a strong knowledge of Windows operating systems and enterprise networking fundamentals.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise firewall administration; Palo Alto NGFW experience and Cisco or equivalent routing and switching experience required.
• Must be proficient in managing network security tools (firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, antivirus).
• Must be familiar with configuration management, monitoring, and documentation tools.
• Must have 5+years of demonstrated ability to maintain and update network security documentation including firewall rule baselines, network diagrams, and SSP network control contributions.
• Must have the ability to troubleshoot complex issues and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical staff.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as Palo Alto PCNSE, FortiGate NSE 4 or higher, CCNA, CCNP, Security+, or equivalent.
• FortiGate experience, including FortiGate VM in Azure Government, preferred; candidates with strong enterprise firewall experience may ramp up on FortiGate with internal support.
• Experience supporting Microsoft 365, Azure Government (GCC High), AWS Commercial, and GCP environments; familiarity with compliance boundaries specific to Azure Gov and GCC High preferred.
• Familiarity with VoIP, secure mail flow, and endpoint management integration.
• Experience contributing to IT/security-related project initiatives.