Principal Network Engineer TS/SCI

gdit; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 207,000; Full time

Job summary

GDIT seeks a Principal Network Engineer to support a large DoD enterprise network with 8,000+ devices. You will lead core transport engineering, guide security and performance, and mentor junior staff.

Onsite work at the Pentagon is required, with senior-level design and troubleshooting responsibilities across routing, VPNs, and IP services. You will address complex network challenges, implement enterprise standards, and collaborate with cybersecurity teams while maintaining documentation and

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance (or Secret depending on role).
• 10+ years of IT/network engineering experience in complex, enterprise environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related technical field.
• DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification.
• One or more active certifications: CCNA, CCNP, ACSA.
• Expertise with Cisco and Juniper networking platforms.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, MPLS, OSPF, BGP, SDN, and 802.1X.
• Experience managing DNS, DHCP, IPAM, and NTP in multi-site environments.
• Familiarity with firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, and vulnerability remediation.
• Proficiency with monitoring and analysis tools and network automation scripting.
• Onsite at the Pentagon.

Responsibilities

• Serve as subject-matter expert for routing, switching, SDN architectures, and performance.
• Design, implement, and maintain network hardware, services, and configurations.
• Lead advanced troubleshooting, incident response, root-cause analysis, and on-call escalation.
• Conduct daily monitoring to ensure health and availability of critical infrastructure.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to identify vulnerabilities and remediations.
• Develop scripts and automation to streamline migration and admin tasks.

Skills

Cisco Networking Infrastructure

Firewalls Configuration

IT Troubleshooting

Juniper

Network Infrastructures

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related technical field

Tools

SolarWinds

NetScout

NetBrain

IBM NetCool

Infovista

Clearpass

Aruba

Arista

Job description

Type of Requisition:

Regular

Clearance Level Must Currently Possess:

Top Secret/SCI

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain:

Top Secret/SCI

Public Trust/Other Required:

None

Job Family:

IT Infrastructure and Operations

Job Qualifications:

Skills:

Cisco Networking Infrastructure, Firewalls Configuration, IT Troubleshooting, Juniper, Network Infrastructures

Certifications:

None

Experience:

10 + years of related experience

US Citizenship Required:

Yes

Job Description:

Principal Network Engineer

Seeking an experienced Principal Network Engineer to support and enhance a large, complex enterprise network of more than 8,000 devices. This role provides senior-level technical leadership for the Core Transport Network Engineering team, delivering expert guidance in routing, switching, network security, SDN, and performance optimization. The Principal Network Engineer will design and implement network solutions, lead troubleshooting and upgrades, ensure infrastructure security and reliability, and mentor junior engineers. Work is performed both independently and collaboratively within a high-demand DoD environment.

The Principal Network Engineer will provide comprehensive network administration, security enhancements and remediation, and troubleshooting of network devices such as routers, switches, load balancers, VPNs, 802.11 Wireless, and VoIP. This position requires an understanding of best practices pertaining to network security and may require the development, deployment, and integration of network security services. Successful candidates should be able to work both independently and as part of a team.

How our Principal Network Engineer will make an impact:

• Serve as a subject-matter expert for routing, switching, SDN architectures, and network performance.
• Design, implement, and maintain network hardware, services, and configurations aligned with enterprise standards.
• Lead advanced troubleshooting, incident response, root cause analysis, and on-call escalation efforts.
• Conduct daily monitoring to ensure the health, integrity, and availability of critical network infrastructure.
• Evaluate new technologies for compatibility with enterprise architecture and mission requirements.
• Develop and maintain installation, configuration, and operational documentation.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to identify and remediate vulnerabilities.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and customer-facing support.
• Develop scripts and automation solutions to streamline migration, integration, and administrative tasks.
• Support multiple projects, special initiatives, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Maintain current knowledge of emerging network technologies and best practices.

What you'll need to succeed:

• Active TS/SCI clearance (or Secret depending on role).
• 10+ years of IT/network engineering experience in complex, enterprise environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related technical field.
• DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification.
• One or more active certifications: CCNA, CCNP, ACSA.
• Expertise with Cisco and Juniper networking platforms.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, MPLS, OSPF, BGP, SDN, and 802.1X.
• Experience managing DNS, DHCP, IPAM, and NTP in multi-site environments.
• Familiarity with firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, and vulnerability remediation.
• Proficiency with monitoring and analysis tools such as SolarWinds, NetScout, NetBrain, IBM NetCool, Infovista, Clearpass, Aruba, and Arista.
• Strong CLI configuration and hardware troubleshooting skills.
• Experience with network automation scripting.
• Strong communication and customer service skills; ability to excel in dynamic environments.
• Onsite at the Pentagon.

Preferred Skills

• Experience supporting DoD, DISA, or JSP enterprise networks.
• Infoblox IPAM/DHCP experience.
• Experience with ServiceNow ITSM.
• Experience administering Linux, Windows, or UNIX systems.
• LDAP/PKI experience.
• Experience with Aruba/Arista network devices.
• Ability to document network topology using Visio.

GDIT IS YOUR PLACE

At GDIT, the mission is our purpose, and our people are at the center of everything we do.

• Growth: AI-powered career tool that identifies career steps and learning opportunities
• Support: An internal mobility team focused on helping you achieve your career goals
• Rewards: Comprehensive benefits and wellness packages, 401K with company match, and competitive pay and paid time off
• Community: Award-winning culture of innovation and a military-friendly workplace OWN YOUR OPPORTUNITY Explore an enterprise IT career at GDIT and you’ll find endless opportunities to grow alongside colleagues who share your desire to drive operations forward.

The likely salary range for this position is $153,000 - $207,000. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

40

Travel Required:

Less than 10%

Telecommuting Options:

Onsite

Work Location:

USA VA Arlington

Total Rewards at GDIT:

Our benefits package for all US-based employees includes a variety of medical plan options, some with Health Savings Accounts, dental plan options, a vision plan, and a 401(k) plan offering the ability to contribute both pre and post-tax dollars up to the IRS annual limits and receive a company match. To encourage work/life balance, GDIT offers employees full flex work weeks where possible and a variety of paid time off plans, including vacation, sick and personal time, holidays, paid parental, military, bereavement and jury duty leave. To ensure our employees are able to protect their income, other offerings such as short and long-term disability benefits, life, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness and business travel and accident insurance are provided or available. We regularly review our Total Rewards package to ensure our offerings are competitive and reflect what our employees have told us they value most.

Our Identity Verification Process:

As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during virtual interviews. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud. By proceeding, you authorize the collection, processing, and use of your biometric data for identity verification and security purposes.

About Our Work:

We are GDIT. A global technology and professional services company that delivers technology solutions and mission services to every major agency across the U.S. government, defense and intelligence community. Our 26,000 experts extract the power of technology to create immediate value and deliver solutions at the edge of innovation. We operate across 50+ countries worldwide, offering leading mission-ready capabilities in AI, cloud, cyber and software development.Join our Talent Community to stay up to date on our career opportunities and events at gdit.com/tc.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans