Principal Network Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC

Principal Network Engineer
Location: Ft. Meade, MD
Work Type: Full Time (Hybrid)
Clearance: Secret
Job Description: The Principal Network Engineer will be responsible for advancing enterprise network innovation through the execution of strategic design and implementation efforts. This role will lead upcoming and future engineering projects such as Network Segmentation, Comply-to-Connect (C2C), and other network transformation initiatives that support the evolution of the DES enterprise architecture and improve security, reliability, and mission outcomes.
Must be willing to commute to Ft. Meade, MD 2 days per week.
Primary Responsibilities

• Principal network engineer responsible for planning, designing, and implementing enterprise network segmentation and Comply-to-Connect. This will include data-flow mapping, firewall rule set and ACL review, routing and security policy coordination, cutover sequencing, validation, and stakeholder approval.
• Drive strategic engineering projects from concept through implementation, including architecture evaluation, requirements analysis, dependency identification, design coordination, planning, execution, validation, and transition to operations.
• Develop and manage implementation plans, schedules, cutover strategies, contingency plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, stakeholder communications, and change documentation for mission-critical network changes.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and day-to-day direction to network engineers, administrators, and analysts while organizing team priorities, maintaining accountability, and ensuring execution against aggressive timelines.
• Provide thoughtful technical information to government stakeholders.
• Evaluate current network architecture, identify gaps or improvement opportunities, estimate level of effort, assess implementation risk, and develop practical engineering plans to improve enterprise capabilities.
• Partners with architecture, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and technical SME teams to resolve blockers, manage dependencies, reduce delivery risk, and ensure network projects are executed end-to-end.
• Continuously improving engineering processes, documentation standards, implementation playbooks, and execution models to accelerate delivery, reduce rework, improve operational handoff, and lower
• sustainment burden.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience and 12+ years of prior relevant experience, or Master's degree with 10+ years of experience. Specific experience, education, and training may be considered in lieu of degree.
• Significant experience leading or managing technical teams of network engineers, administrators, analysts, or implementation resources in complex enterprise environments.
• Experience leading network engineering projects from planning through implementation, including requirements analysis, dependency management, risk reduction, contingency planning, execution oversight, validation, and operational transition.
• Experience evaluating enterprise network architectures and developing improvement plans across LAN, WAN, WLAN, routing, switching, firewalls, VPN, proxies, security stacks, software-defined networking, and cloud-connected environments.
• Experience with Network Segmentation/C2C or similar secure connectivity efforts, including data-flow analysis, firewall and ACL policy review, routing changes, security-zone design, stakeholder coordination, and implementation planning.
• Demonstrated ability to organize teams, track details, manage competing priorities, meet aggressive schedules, and drive complex technical efforts to completion with a high degree of accountability.
• Experience documenting logical and physical network designs, implementation plans, risks, dependencies, decision points, and technical recommendations using tools such as Visio, PowerPoint, Cameo, or similar tools.
• Experience working with two or more of the following network technologies: Cisco, Aruba, Palo Alto, Dell, Infoblox, and Brocade.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting architecture recommendations, implementation plans, risks, dependencies, and status to technical leadership, stakeholders, and approval boards.
• Current IAT Level II or higher certification, such as Security+ or CISSP.
• Requires an active DoD Secret clearance.

Desired Qualifications

• Certified Cisco Network Professional (CCNP) or equivalent certification.
• Experience supporting DISA, DoDNet, DoD Fourth Estate, or similar large-scale federal network modernization programs.
• Experience leading enterprise network innovation efforts such as Network Segmentation/C2C, enterprise Wi-Fi modernization, IPv6 transition, automation, SDN, cloud connectivity, zero-trust-aligned networking, or security stack modernization.
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, or other project and knowledge-management tools used to coordinate technical work across distributed engineering teams.
• Experience developing repeatable engineering execution frameworks, implementation playbooks, migration runbooks, technical standards, and risk-reduction processes for enterprise network teams.
• Experience coordinating ASIs, change windows, implementation plans, test validation, and rollback procedures for mission-critical network activities.
• Understanding of Federal Government application, server, and network security requirements such as NIST, FedRAMP, FISMA, RMF, and DoD cybersecurity requirements.

Clearance: Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $150,000-$170,000 (Compensation is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, work experience, skills, education, certifications, seniority, and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.)
Benefits: Gridiron offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), disability & ADD insurance, life and pet insurance to eligible employees. Full-time and part-time employees working at least 30 hours per week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in Gridiron s benefits programs.
Gridiron IT Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status or disability status. Gridiron IT is a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area that supports our clients' missions throughout the United States. Gridiron IT specializes in providing comprehensive IT services tailored to meet the needs of federal agencies. Our capabilities include IT Infrastructure & Cloud Services, Cyber Security, Software Integration & Development, Data Solution & AI, and Enterprise Applications. These capabilities are backed by Gridiron IT's experienced workforce and our commitment to ensuring we meet and exceed our clients' expectations.