WAN Engineer

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a WAN Engineer based in the United States.

We are seeking an experienced Wide Area Network (WAN) Engineer to support the reliability, security, and performance of enterprise network infrastructure in a federal government environment. In this role, you will design, maintain, troubleshoot, and optimize network connectivity across geographically distributed facilities, data centers, cloud environments, and remote locations. You will work with Cisco technologies, routing and switching protocols, telecommunications circuits, and network monitoring platforms to maintain critical services. Collaborating with network operations, security, cloud engineering teams, vendors, and federal stakeholders, you will help resolve complex incidents and strengthen network resilience. This position also contributes to infrastructure modernization, security compliance, and continuous service improvement. The role is primarily remote, with local candidates near Suitland, Maryland, also welcome.

Accountabilities

As a WAN Engineer, you will oversee enterprise network operations, resolve technical challenges, and help ensure uninterrupted connectivity across mission-critical environments. You will also support infrastructure improvements, change management, security initiatives, and collaboration across technical teams.

Configure, maintain, troubleshoot, and optimize enterprise WAN infrastructure, including routers, switches, and telecommunications circuits.

Support connectivity across headquarters, regional facilities, data centers, cloud environments, and remote locations.

Monitor network availability, performance, bandwidth utilization, latency, and packet loss to identify and address service degradation proactively.

Maintain and troubleshoot MPLS, Ethernet circuits, VPNs, SD-WAN, and dedicated point-to-point connections.

Support Cisco network infrastructure, including IOS and IOS-XE platforms.

Implement network configuration changes, firmware upgrades, hardware replacements, and infrastructure improvements.

Maintain network redundancy, high availability, failover, and disaster recovery capabilities.

Act as a technical escalation resource for complex network incidents and service disruptions.

Diagnose and resolve routing, switching, circuit connectivity, and network performance issues.

Coordinate troubleshooting and service restoration with telecommunications carriers, equipment manufacturers, and internal technical teams.

Participate in incident bridges, outage investigations, and root cause analysis, contributing to After Action Reports and technical updates for management and stakeholders.

Validate network functionality following planned maintenance, emergency changes, and service restoration.

Develop and execute network changes in accordance with Change Advisory Board (CAB) and Change Control Board (CCB) procedures.

Prepare change implementation plans, impact assessments, validation procedures, and rollback documentation.

Support vulnerability remediation, network hardening, and compliance activities aligned with federal security requirements.

Use monitoring and diagnostic platforms such as SolarWinds, Datadog, and ExtraHop to assess network health and troubleshoot issues.

Maintain accurate network topology diagrams, circuit inventories, device configurations, and infrastructure documentation.

Document incidents, troubleshooting activities, and resolutions in ServiceNow or equivalent IT service management platforms.

Contribute to capacity planning, network lifecycle management, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.

Identify end-of-life and end-of-support equipment and recommend replacement or remediation strategies.

Collaborate with NOC personnel, Network Security, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, telecommunications providers, and federal stakeholders.

Support infrastructure migrations, data center transitions, technical reviews, and enterprise network modernization projects.

Participate in after-hours maintenance windows and on-call rotations, responding to critical incidents and operational escalations as required.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on enterprise networking experience, particularly with Cisco technologies and WAN connectivity. You should be comfortable managing complex technical incidents, following structured IT service management processes, and communicating effectively in a mission-critical operational environment.

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Network Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.

At least 5 years of hands-on experience supporting enterprise WAN and network infrastructure.

Strong understanding of TCP/IP, routing, switching, and enterprise network architecture.

Demonstrated experience configuring and troubleshooting Cisco routers and switches.

Working knowledge of BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP routing protocols.

Experience supporting MPLS, VPN, Ethernet, and telecommunications circuits.

Understanding of VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, access control lists (ACLs), and network redundancy.

Experience using network monitoring, diagnostics, and packet analysis tools.

Ability to troubleshoot complex network outages and performance degradation.

Familiarity with ITIL-based incident, problem, and change management processes.

Strong analytical, technical documentation, and communication skills.

Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a mission-critical environment.

Eligibility to meet federal government contract background investigation and suitability requirements.

U.S. citizenship, as required for the Public Trust background check and applicable contract eligibility.

Availability to support after-hours maintenance windows, on-call rotations, and critical incident response.

Preferred Qualifications

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise certification.

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification.

Experience supporting federal government enterprise networks.

Familiarity with AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, and hybrid cloud connectivity.

Experience with Cisco Catalyst Center and network automation tools.

Knowledge of network security principles, firewalls, and secure remote connectivity.

Familiarity with F5 load balancing technologies and enterprise data center connectivity.

Experience with network infrastructure lifecycle management and modernization projects.

Knowledge of federal cybersecurity standards, including NIST 800-53 and FISMA.

ITIL Foundation certification.

Experience supporting geographically distributed, high-availability networks.

Performance Expectations

Maintain high availability and operational stability across WAN infrastructure.

Respond promptly to network incidents, escalations, and service disruptions.

Ensure network changes are documented, tested, and validated.

Keep network diagrams, inventories, and technical documentation accurate and current.

Proactively identify infrastructure risks, performance issues, and opportunities for improvement.

Support timely incident resolution and clear communication with operational stakeholders.

Contribute to network modernization, security compliance, and continuous service improvement.

Benefits

Full-time employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits program, including:

Healthcare:
Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

Insurance coverage:
Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, disability insurance, and identity theft protection.

Retirement savings:
401(k) savings plan.

Paid time off:
Paid time off (PTO) and 11 paid holidays per year.

Flexible spending:
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).

Professional development:
Education, training, and professional development opportunities.

Employee support:
Employee Assistance Program.

Recognition:
Employee referral and merit recognition programs.

Work environment:
A collaborative culture focused on employee development, service excellence, and meaningful contributions to the community.

How Jobgether works:
We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team.
We appreciate your interest and wish you the best!
Why Apply Through Jobgether?

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