Tier 3 Network Engineer (Top Secret)

Zachary Piper Solutions; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 158,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

PTO

Paid holidays

Job summary

Zachary Piper Solutions seeks a Network Engineer Tier 3 to support a federal program with DOE/NNSA in Washington, DC onsite. The role requires advanced network engineering, administration, and troubleshooting for secure enterprise environments, ensuring performance, reliability, and security of critical infrastructure.

Responsibilities include configuring LAN/WAN, Cisco IOS/NX-OS, Palo Alto NGFWs, VPNs, and F5 GTM/Big-IP DNS; monitoring performance; supporting data centers and security

Qualifications

• Active DOE Q Clearance or Top Secret required.
• 7+ years in network engineering for enterprise/government.
• Hands-on Cisco routing/switching IOS/NX-OS.
• Experience with Palo Alto NGFWs, VPNs, F5 GTM/Big-IP DNS.
• Experience with TACLANE devices and GEMOne network solutions.
• Strong knowledge of Layer 2/3, BGP, VLANs, DNS, IPsec, TLS/SSL, SSH, 802.1x, NTP.
• Experience with Windows and Linux, security, vulnerability management, incident response.
• Eligible to work in the United States and obtain government clearances.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, maintain, and optimize LAN/WAN infra (Cisco, Palo Alto, VPNs).
• Monitor and resolve complex network performance, routing, switching issues.
• Support data center networks, virtualization, upgrades, expansions.
• Implement security controls, apply patches, support DR and continuity.
• Provide recommendations, maintain inventories, generate reports, collaborate with teams.

Skills

Network engineering

Clearance needed

Cisco IOS/NX-OS

Palo Alto

F5 Load Balancers

VPN technologies

Windows/Linux

Security

Incident response

BGP/VLAN/DNS

Tools

TACLANE devices

GEMOne

Big-IP DNS

GTM

Job description

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Network Engineer Tier 3 to support a federal program with the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in Washington, DC (Onsite). The Network Engineer Tier 3 will provide advanced network engineering, administration, and troubleshooting support for secure enterprise environments, ensuring the performance, reliability, and security of critical infrastructure.

Network Engineer Tier 3 - Location: Washington, DC (Onsite)

Responsibilities of the Network Engineer Tier 3 include:

• Install, configure, maintain, and optimize LAN/WAN infrastructure including Cisco routers, switches, Palo Alto firewalls, VPNs, F5 load balancers, and security appliances
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve complex network performance, routing, switching, voice, video, and data service issues
• Support data center network infrastructure, virtualization environments, infrastructure upgrades, and expansion projects
• Implement network security controls, apply security patches, and support disaster recovery and continuity initiatives
• Provide technical recommendations, maintain network asset inventories, generate reports, and collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams

Qualifications for the Network Engineer Tier 3 include:

• Active DOE Q Clearance or Active Top Secret Clearance required
• 7+ years of network engineering experience supporting enterprise or government environments
• Hands-on experience with Cisco routing and switching (IOS/NX-OS), Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls, VPN technologies, and F5 Load Balancers (GTM/Big-IP DNS)
• Experience with General Dynamics TACLANE devices and/or GEMOne network management solutions
• Strong knowledge of Layer 2/Layer 3 networking, BGP, VLANs, DNS, IPsec, TLS/SSL, SSH, 802.1x, LACP, LLDP, NTP, and encryption technologies
• Experience supporting Windows and Linux/Unix operating systems, network security, packet analysis, vulnerability management, systems hardening, and incident response
• Proven experience with network design, implementation, troubleshooting, and performance optimization
• Must be eligible to work in the United States and obtain and maintain required government security clearances

Compensation for the Network Engineer Tier 3 includes:

• $175,000
• Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), PTO, Sick Leave if required by law, and Paid Holidays

This job opens for applications on October 20, 2026. Applications for this job will be accepted for at least 30 days from the posting date.

Keywords:

Network Engineer, Network Specialist, Cisco IOS, Cisco NX-OS, Palo Alto Firewall, VPN, F5 Load Balancer, GTM, Big-IP DNS, TACLANE, GEMOne, LAN, WAN, Routing, Switching, BGP, VLAN, DNS, IPsec, TLS, SSH, Network Security, Incident Response, Windows, Linux, Data Center, NNSA, DOE, Top Secret Clearance, DOE Q Clearance, Washington DC, Government Contracting.

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