Senior Network Engineer

ADNET Systems
Greenbelt, MD
28 Nov 2024

Vacancy expired!

We are looking for a full-time Senior Network Engineer to support the High-End Computer Networking (HECN) task under NASA's Space and Earth Science Data Analysis (SESDA) contract. The HECN team operates high-performance networking solutions for science at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The work location will be at NASA GSFC in Greenbelt, MD - both remote and in-person work at the facility is required.

The focus of this position is on Network support (both hardware and software with an emphasis on software) including configuring, troubleshooting, and performance-tuning network equipment, including but not limited to routers, switches, firewalls, etc. Candidates will be expected to support the operational network through maintenance and troubleshooting. In addition, the candidate will participate in designing and building high-end, customized networking and server solutions using cutting-edge technology to meet emerging requirements.

This is an ideal position for an experienced network engineer who is well-organized and reliable to contribute to and be a part of an established team of highly experienced networking engineers to build and operate high-performance solutions for science. Candidates should be willing to take ownership of assigned tasks, meet deadlines, be willing to learn, adapt quickly to changing requirements, and work both independently and as a part of a team. In addition, applicants will interact with customers so good communications skills are essential. We have an exceptionally supportive environment that is great for learning new skills and provides an excellent career path with increasing responsibilities.

Duties of the position include:

  • Work closely with the existing HECN members to carry out network and server software management tasks
  • Support the high performance networking requirements of the Goddard science and engineering community, including the LAN, MAN, and WAN environments, and the high speed network connectivity to the Internet2 R&E community
  • Collaborate with the HECN team on designing, planning, implementing, and maintaining evolutionary changes to the network infrastructure, to add new capabilities, new customer projects, and to increase performance, and increase the redundancy and reliability of the network
  • Utilize knowledge of IPv4 and IPv6 OSPF and BGP routing protocols, Ethernet and TCP/IP protocols, Linux network tools such as ethtool, netstat, ip, nslookup, and whois, and diagnostic tools such as ping, traceroute, nuttcp, and tcpdump, to diagnose and resolve network connectivity, latency, and performance issues
  • Research new network equipment, and test and evaluate those that are deemed to be potentially useful for incorporation into the existing network infrastructure
  • Work with multiple network vendors equipment, including Dell, Juniper, Edgecore, Cisco, Arista, and Extreme, in support of the daily operation and management of the production network environment
  • Develop and maintain scripts (shell, perl, python, ruby, etc) for monitoring the network using SNMP, sFlow, NetFlow, and the ARP, routing (IPv4 and IPv6), and MAC address tables maintained by the network switches and routers
  • Work with collaborating enterprises on performing network R&D that will be beneficial to the evolution of the network and its customer base
  • Implement and enforce mandated NASA/Federal network and system security requirements, while minimizing the impact to the user community to the extent possible
  • Installing, configuring, and maintaining network equipment such as routers, switches, and firewalls
  • Installing, configuring, and maintaining server hardware and Linux operating system and associated application software
  • Provide quality and timely network user support (end system to end system)
  • Deploying critical patches and upgrades to ensure that operating systems and software applications are compliant with Information Technology (IT) security requirements
  • Enforcing computer and network access controls consistent with GSFC IT security policies
  • In-person facility support work as required

Required Experience:

  • Ten or more years of hands-on network engineering experience, or equivalent, including designing network architectures
  • Extensive experience with installing, configuring, and troubleshooting network routers and switches
  • Experience with troubleshooting network problems in the LAN, MAN, and WAN environments, including connectivity, latency, and performance issues
  • In depth understanding of and significant experience with IPv4/IPv6 networking protocols including routing protocols (OSPF, OSPFv3, BGP, HSRP, and VRRP) and switching, and firewalls
  • In depth knowledge of and experience with Layer2 technologies such as VLANs, VLAN trunking, LAGs, QinQ, STP, and 802.1x
  • Experience with network and system scanning and reporting tools such as SNMP, nuttcp, sFlow, MRTG, PRTG, and others
  • Experience with C coding language, scripting languages (such as shell, perl, python, or ruby) and Linux tools. Familiarity with Open-Source software
  • Experience with software engineering best practices
  • Extensive knowledge of system and network security best practices, and experience implementing them
  • A flexible/adaptive mindset with a willingness to learn, a team-oriented approach, and great customer service skills
  • ship required

Desired Experience:

  • Experience with multiple vendors network equipment is highly desirable
  • Familiarity with Cisco ISE for Network Access Control (NAC), system vulnerability scanning tools such as Nessus, and CDM/BigFix
  • Experience with productivity suites (especially Office365)
  • Familiarity with NASA IT environments, Federal IT requirements and guidelines (FISMA, NIST) and awareness of industry best practices (CIS Benchmarks, FDCC/USGCB) would be useful