SME Network Engineer

SME Network Engineer

Location: Lorton, VA (22079)
Citizenship: U.S. Citizen (required for access to DHS IT systems)
Clearance: Must be able to obtain and maintain DHS Public Trust
Schedule: Full-time; 8-hour workdays with on-call support as needed.
Hybrid Work: Lorton, VA roles may telework up to 2 days per week; 3 days onsite required (subject to mission needs)
Travel: Occasional CONUS travel; local travel within 50 miles is not reimbursable
Salary Range: $130-160k DOE

Role Overview

Revolutional is seeking an experienced SME Network Engineer to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This role provides hands-on leadership across all network engineering functions, including architecture, routing, switching, firewall engineering, VPN and PKI integration, segmentation design, troubleshooting, and IA/accreditation-grade documentation. The SME ensures the integrity, resilience, and performance of mission-critical networks and collaborates closely with Systems, Virtualization, Storage, and Field Engineering teams to ensure end-to-end operational success.

This position supports DHS’s mission while contributing to Revolutional's overarching goals: delivering premier technology services, driving mission-focused innovation, sustaining organizational excellence, and being an employer of choice for skilled professionals.

Responsibilities

Network Architecture & Design

• Design, document, and maintain network architecture, including:
• Layer 2/Layer 3 topology
• IP address schema and subnetting
• VLAN/VRF segmentation
• Routing design (OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, static routing)
• Firewall zoning, NAT policies, and security segmentation
• VPN tunnels, encrypted transport paths, and PKI integrations
• COOP/DR network routing and failover paths
• Produce and maintain authoritative network diagrams, data flows, trust boundaries, and configuration baselines.
• Evaluate, recommend, and implement enhancements to improve security, availability, and performance.

Network Operations & Troubleshooting

• Serve as the primary network engineer for diagnosing, resolving, and preventing outages across the enterprise.
• Perform packet-level analysis (Wireshark/tcpdump), flow analysis, and log correlation to identify and remediate issues.
• Lead network upgrades, configuration changes, ACL/policy adjustments, and planned maintenance.
• Monitor network performance and availability; tune routing, firewall, and VPN parameters as needed.

Firewall, Security & Accreditation Support

• Engineer and maintain firewall policies and segmentation (Palo Alto preferred; Fortinet/Cisco ASA experience acceptable).
• Support security hardening, vulnerability remediation, and IA/ATO documentation requirements.
• Produce accreditation-ready artifacts, including boundary diagrams, data-flow representations, rule documentation, and enclave segmentation maps.
• Collaborate with ISSO and security teams to address findings and strengthen compliance posture.

Interoperability & Cross-Domain Integration

• Document and support network dependencies across Active Directory, DNS/DHCP, VMware/vSphere, SAN/iSCSI/NFS storage, and application tiers.
• Validate end-to-end system functionality after network changes.
• Partner with Systems, Virtualization, Storage, and Field SMEs to maintain seamless operations across sites.

COOP/DR & Lab Engineering

• Contribute to COOP/DR planning, design, and testing to ensure high availability and rapid failover capabilities.
• Support lab environment setup for replication, patch validation, and network simulation.

Documentation & Mission Coordination

• Maintain technical documentation, diagrams, IP plans, SOPs, and configuration repositories.
• Coordinate with Revolutional and DHS technical leads to resolve issues, support field operations, and sustain mission readiness.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Engineering, or related field OR +5 years equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of enterprise network engineering experience with increasing responsibility.

Technical Proficiency

• Deep hands-on experience with:
• Cisco routing/switching (3k–9k platforms)
• Palo Alto or Fortinet firewalls and policy design
• VPN architecture, IPsec tunneling, PKI integration
• Network segmentation using VLANs, VRFs, and security zones
• Packet capture and analysis
• Network monitoring and telemetry tools (SolarWinds, NetFlow, Splunk, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to produce complete network diagrams and architecture documentation based solely on device configuration, logs, and analysis.
• Strong understanding of cross-domain interactions (DNS, AD, VMware networking, SAN connectivity).

Preferred Certifications

• CCNA, CCNP Enterprise or CCNP Security
• PCNSE
• Fortinet NSE4/NSE5
• CCIE-level competency (or equivalent expertise)

Additional certifications may be required after hire and must be obtained within designated timelines.

Professional Competencies

• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work independently in high-pressure, mission-critical environments.
• Strong analytical, investigative, and documentation skills.

Preferred Experience

• Experience supporting federal law enforcement IT systems or aligned mission operations.
• Hands-on participation in COOP/DR architecture or failover site execution.
• Experience with VPN transitions, network segmentation, and multi-site resiliency.
• Familiarity with Kubernetes/container environments (e.g., JSI platforms).
• Experience supporting 24/7 high-availability operations.

Soft Skills

• Strong initiative and attention to detail.
• Adaptability to evolving mission requirements and operational tempo.
• Collaborative approach with technical teams, vendors, and government partners.
• Alignment with Revolutional's principles of excellence, collaboration, curiosity, and integrity.

Physical Demands / Work Environment

• Must regularly lift/move up to 50 lbs.; occasionally up to 80 lbs. using a hand truck or lift cart.
• Requires standing, kneeling, crouching, and navigating server-room environments.
• Normal vision and hearing required; moderate server-room noise.

#LI #DICE #CJ