Purdue Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

The Operational Technology (OT) Network Administrator will provide senior-level network engineering, administration, cybersecurity, and technical support for Facility-Related Control Systems (FRCS), Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Building Management Systems (BMS), and related Operational Technology environments supporting Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Marianas (NAVFACMAR).

This position is responsible for designing, managing, securing, and troubleshooting complex industrial and building automation network infrastructure supporting mission-critical facility operations. The environment includes Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Direct Digital Controllers (DDCs), HVAC systems, power distribution systems, life-safety sensors, and other facility control technologies.

The successful candidate will possess advanced knowledge of OT network architecture, industrial routing and switching, network segmentation, firewall administration, industrial protocols, cybersecurity controls, and DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF) requirements. All network administration activities must follow an OT-safe, safety-first approach designed to maintain deterministic network performance, high availability, and continuity of critical physical processes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Configure, administer, secure, and troubleshoot industrial and OT network infrastructure, including switches, routers, firewalls, Data Diodes, and related technologies.
• Design, maintain, and support resilient Layer 2 and Layer 3 network architectures for FRCS, ICS, SCADA, and BMS environments.
• Manag industrial network redundancy and resiliency technologies, including Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP), Device Level Ring (DLR), and similar technologies supporting rapid failover and deterministic traffic flow.
• Implement and maintain network segmentation and micro-segmentation using the Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture/Purdue Model.
• Configure and manage OT-specific Next-Generation Firewalls, access control lists, and Unidirectional Gateways/Data Diodes.
• Manage Ports, Protocols, and Services Management (PPSM) requirements across IT/OT boundaries.
• Support industrial and building automation protocols including BACnet/IP, LonWorks, Modbus TCP, DNP3, CIP, Fox Protocol, and related technologies.
• Apply and maintain network-specific Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) using OT-safe methodologies that minimize the risk of disruption to physical equipment and facility operations.
• Serve as the Tier III escalation point for complex network outages, packet loss, routing failures, connectivity issues, and other network degradation affecting OT systems.
• Perform advanced packet and protocol analysis using tools such as Wireshark to identify and resolve network issues affecting physical machinery and facility control systems.
• Coordinate troubleshooting and remediation activities with facility engineers, mechanical engineers, SCADA/BMS vendors, cybersecurity personnel, and other technical stakeholders.
• Evaluate network capacity, performance, latency, jitter, bandwidth utilization, and equipment lifecycle requirements.
• Develop and maintain network topology diagrams, hardware/software inventories, system baselines, configuration documentation, and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Maintain comprehensive backups of industrial switches, routers, firewalls, and other critical network device configurations.
• Support DoD Risk Management Framework activities for Platform IT and FRCS environments, including development and maintenance of technical artifacts, PPSM documentation, topology diagrams, vulnerability scan information, system inventories, and POA&M support.
• Participate in Military Construction (MILCON), Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (SRM), and facility modernization design reviews at applicable design phases.
• Review proposed network architectures, Bills of Materials, firewall requirements, and PPSM submissions for compliance with NAVFAC, DoD cybersecurity, and OT architecture requirements.
• Provide subject matter expertise during system integration, testing, cybersecurity commissioning, and commissioning of new control systems and building automation systems.
• Support incident root-cause analysis and develop corrective actions designed to prevent recurrence of OT network outages or service degradation.
• Maintain all network activities in accordance with applicable DoD, Department of the Navy, NAVFAC, cybersecurity, CUI, and information safeguarding requirements.

Required Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Minimum of five (5) years of advanced network administration experience.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience specifically supporting ICS, SCADA, BMS, FRCS, or comparable IT/OT network environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in Operational Technology network administration, network segmentation, firewall rule development, routing, switching, and industrial network protocols.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Purdue Model/Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture and its application to secure IT/OT network segmentation.
• Experience supporting industrial protocols such as BACnet/IP, Modbus TCP, DNP3, CIP, or similar facility and industrial control protocols.
• Knowledge of DoD cybersecurity requirements and NIST SP 800-82 concepts applicable to Industrial Control Systems and Operational Technology.
• Ability to apply cybersecurity controls, monitoring, patching, and network configuration changes using OT-safe methodologies that avoid disruption to mission-critical facility systems.
• Experience troubleshooting complex Layer 2/Layer 3 networking, routing failures, packet loss, firewall issues, and connectivity problems.
• Experience with network and protocol analysis tools such as Wireshark.
• Ability to develop technical documentation, Standard Operating Procedures, network diagrams, reports, system baselines, and other engineering documentation.
• Strong oral and written English communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical information to Government personnel, engineers, cybersecurity professionals, vendors, and contract management.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Must satisfy the DoD Cyberspace Workforce foundational qualification requirements established under DoDM 8140.03 for Work Role Code (WRC) 441, FRCS Network Administrator, Intermediate proficiency level.
• Must possess and maintain at least one approved qualifying certification prior to onboarding. Intermediate-level qualifying certifications include CEH, Cloud+, GCIH, GICSP, GSEC, Security+, or SSCP. Approved higher-level certifications that automatically satisfy the requirement include SecurityX (CASP+), CCNA, CCNP Security, CCSP, GCED, GCIA, GCLD, GDSA, and GFACT.
• Must maintain required certifications in active and good standing and complete required Continuous Professional Development (CPD), including a minimum of 20 hours annually or the minimum required to maintain the applicable commercial certification, whichever is greater.
• Ability to work in mechanical and facility environments and lift or move equipment weighing up to 25 pounds.

Preferred Certifications

Relevant computing environment, networking, routing/switching, industrial networking, and firewall certifications are highly desirable, including:

• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
• Cisco CCNP Security
• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA)
• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE)
• Juniper Networks Certified Associate (JNCIA)
• Juniper Networks Certified Specialist (JNCIS)
• Cisco Managing Industrial Networks with Cisco Networking Technologies (IMINS)
• Other current certifications relevant to industrial networking, OT cybersecurity, routing and switching, or enterprise firewall administration

Preferred Experience

• Experience supporting DoD, Department of the Navy, NAVFAC, or other Federal Government OT environments.
• Hands-on experience with FRCS, ICS, SCADA, BMS, HVAC controls, PLCs, DDCs, or related facility control systems.
• Experience with Cisco Industrial Ethernet, Allen-Bradley Stratix, Ruggedcom, Palo Alto firewalls, Data Diodes, or comparable OT networking technologies.
• Experience implementing Purdue Model segmentation, IT/OT boundary security, PPSM, firewall rules, and industrial network resiliency technologies.
• Experience supporting RMF, STIGs, vulnerability remediation, POA&M, and system authorization activities.
• Experience supporting MILCON, SRM, facility modernization, technical design reviews, integration, testing, or commissioning.
• Experience working in mission-critical OT environments where network changes must be carefully controlled to prevent disruption to physical or life-safety systems.

Security clearance requirements

• Must possess an active Tier 5 (T5) Top Secret security clearance or be able to obtain an interim T5 clearance prior to onboarding and the start of performance.
• The required security clearance must be maintained in active and good standing throughout the period of contract performance.
• Personnel must comply with all applicable DoD, Department of the Navy, NAVFAC, and site-specific information security and safeguarding requirements.