Telecom Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Principal Network & Telecom Engineer
Location: Silver Spring, MD with frequent visits to lab in Sterling, VA
Clearance Required: Public Trust Eligible
Salary: $120k-$140K (based on years of experience)
Application Deadline: July 31, 2026

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Description:

Background
The ASOS program is an essential, joint mission support effort of NOAA/NWS Department of Commerce (DOC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Defense (DoD). The NWS ASOS is the nation''''''''''''''''s principal system for collecting and reporting surface weather observations, primarily at airports, in support of aviation operations as well as weather forecasting and the timely issuance of warnings. The ASOS directly supports: (1) Air Traffic Controllers relying on surface observations to provide airport weather parameters to safely support National Aerospace System (NAS) operations; (2) surface weather observations at airports required for dispatch of commercial aircraft; (3) surface observations required for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations; (4) surface observation data required by the Office of Operational Systems and used by the NWS to produce weather forecast models and products; (5) dial-in services to the aviation community and general public for automated voice weather reports; and (6) Ground-to-Air (GTA) radio broadcasts of automated voice weather reports.
Major hardware and software components of the ASOS system are rapidly approaching the end of service life and require a SLEP to maintain the high reliability and continuity of operations required of this critical system. ASOS systems are installed throughout the United States and foreign military bases around the world with a total of approximately 1000 systems. The original ASOS software was written in the late 1980s and early 1990s using a proprietary operating system and associated applications. The software has been modified and maintained through the life of the program. The operating system has not been supported since 1999, making that software maintenance increasingly difficult. The FAA has been responsible for design of new software for the SLEP components, and the NWS has modernized the ASOS component hardware and prepared and validated production drawings.
The Telecom Engineer/Network Engineer on the ASOS SLEP would play a critical role in ensuring the seamless integration and modernization of communication systems. The Network Engineer''''''''s contributions will be crucial for ensuring the upgraded systems operate efficiently and reliably, while laying the groundwork for future ASOS 2.0 deployments. Their responsibilities would include:
1. Infrastructure Design and Implementation
Assist the government and its designated telecom vendor in designing and implementing modern IP communications systems to support ASOS data transmission.
Assist the government telecom PM in ensuring compatibility between the upgraded ACU/DCP systems and existing telecommunications infrastructure.
2. Telecommunications Contract Management
Coordinate with the government''''''''s telecommunications vendor for the ordering, processing, approval, scheduling and provisioning of telecommunications circuits to replace existing copper circuits.
Track burn rates for contracted EIS services and recommend funding amount to the government PM for current and out year budget requirements.
Act as the focal point for all EIS contract task order processing for all NWS, US Navy and FAA sites converting to 1.5 communications
3. Risk Management and Redundancy
Assist the government communications PM in identifying potential risks, such as communication outages, and implementing redundancy mechanisms to maintain system uptime.
Assist the government communications PM Ensuring that solutions are resilient against disruptions, such as adverse weather or hardware failures.
Proactively stay abreast of technologies that have the potential to support ASOS communications.
4. Operations and Support
Maintain the database of all NWS and FAA ASOS telecom circuits including any hard cabling connections, their airport ident location and site meta data.
The telecom circuits can be used for comparison to vendor billing in EIS to ensure service lapses are avoided.
Collate, analyze, and prepare EIS vendor usage, bandwidth and outage service data (trends) for presentation to the ASOS PM.
5. Cloud Network Engineering & Operations
Design, implement, and manage secure, scalable, and highly available AWS network architectures, including VPCs, subnets, routing, and connectivity (e.g., Direct Connect, VPN, Transit Gateway).
Configure and optimize AWS networking services such as Route 53, ELB (ALB/NLB), CloudFront, and Global Accelerator for optimal performance and cost-efficiency.
Implement and enforce network security using Security Groups, AWS WAF, and Firewall Manager, integrating with Cloudflare for enhanced perimeter security, DDoS protection, and content delivery, ensuring compliance with security best practices and regulatory requirements.
Monitor cloud network health, performance, and utilization using AWS CloudWatch and VPC Flow Logs, actively troubleshooting and resolving network Incidents.
Develop automation scripts (e.g., Python, CloudFormation, Terraform) for efficient provisioning and management of cloud network resources, embracing Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
6. Collaboration & Documentation
Provide expert guidance and collaborate with development, operations, and security teams on cloud network solutions and best practices.
Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for all cloud network designs, configurations, and operational procedures.
Support application deployments and migrations by ensuring robust network connectivity and performance within the AWS environment.
Education
Primary Degree: A Bachelor''''''''''''''''s Degree in Computer Science, Network Engineering, Information Technology, or a closely related field is a standard requirement for senior-level roles.
Advanced Degree: For a Level 4 position, a Master''''''''''''''''s Degree in Information Systems or Network Architecture is often preferred and can sometimes substitute for 2–3 years of experience.
Required Certifications
A senior engineer in this role needs a combination of expert-level networking and specialized cloud credentials:
Expert Networking: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise is highly recommended for high-level infrastructure design.
Cloud Specialization: AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty is essential for designing secure, scalable AWS network architectures like Transit Gateways and Direct Connect.
Government/Security Compliance: DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II/III (e.g., Security+, CASP+, or CISSP) is often required for government-contracted positions involving NWS or FAA sites.
Key Technical Skills
Based on your specific project requirements, the candidate should demonstrate mastery in:
 Infrastructure & Telecom:
Design and implementation of modern IP communication systems to replace legacy copper circuits.
Experience with EIS (Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions) contract task order processing and billing analysis.
Proficiency in routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP) and Layer 2/3 switching.
Cloud & Automation:
Advanced AWS networking (VPCs, Route 53, ELB, CloudFront, Global Accelerator).
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform, CloudFormation, or Python for network automation.
Perimeter security integration with Cloudflare and AWS WAF/Firewall Manager.
 Risk & Operations:
Disaster recovery planning and implementing redundancy mechanisms for high-uptime systems.
Network monitoring and troubleshooting using AWS CloudWatch and VPC Flow Logs.
Maintaining detailed circuit databases and site metadata for vendor billing comparison.

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