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Wan Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Enterprise WAN Engineer

Arlington, VA ยท On-site

$123K - $153K/yr

You are a senior-level to staff-level enterprise WAN engineer and networking SME with deep experience designing, implementing, integrating, and modernizing global WAN and mission communications ...

WAN ENGINEER

Newark, NJ ยท On-site

WAN Engineer Start Date: ASAP Location: Newark, NJ Duration: 9-12+ months Required Skills, Competencies, Education or Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or a related field and at ...

Own and optimize the enterprise WAN and SD-WAN environment, ensuring resilient, high-performance connectivity across geographically distributed locations and critical business operations. * Serve as ...

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$96K

$167.5K

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How much do wan jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for wan in the United States is $167,533.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $141,000.00 and $192,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are common challenges faced by WAN engineers when managing large-scale networks?

WAN engineers often encounter challenges related to network latency, bandwidth optimization, and ensuring consistent connectivity across geographically dispersed sites. Managing security, troubleshooting intermittent connectivity issues, and maintaining compliance with evolving industry standards are also frequent concerns. Collaboration with IT teams, service providers, and end-users is essential to identify bottlenecks and implement solutions that maintain high network performance and reliability.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a WAN (Wide Area Network) Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a WAN Engineer, you need a strong understanding of network protocols, routing, switching, and WAN optimization, usually supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools such as Cisco IOS, Juniper routers, network monitoring systems, and certifications like CCNA or CCNP is highly valued. Excellent problem-solving, attention to detail, and effective communication are important soft skills for diagnosing issues and collaborating with teams. These skills and qualities are essential to maintain reliable, secure, and high-performing network infrastructures across multiple locations.

What are WAN engineers?

WAN engineers are IT professionals who design, implement, and maintain Wide Area Networks (WANs) that connect multiple locations of an organization over large geographical areas. They ensure secure, efficient, and reliable data communication between offices, data centers, and remote users. WAN engineers troubleshoot network issues, manage network hardware, optimize performance, and often work with technologies such as MPLS, VPNs, and SD-WAN. Their expertise is crucial for businesses that rely on seamless connectivity across different sites.

What is the difference between Wan vs Network Technician?

AspectWanNetwork Technician
CertificationsCCNA, CompTIA Network+CCNA, CompTIA Network+
Work EnvironmentLarge-scale networks, ISPs, data centersOffice, client sites, small to medium networks
Industry UsageTelecommunications, internet providersIT support, network setup and maintenance

Wan (Wide Area Network) specialists focus on large-scale network infrastructure connecting multiple locations over long distances, often working with ISPs and data centers. Network Technicians handle day-to-day network setup, troubleshooting, and maintenance within smaller networks or client sites. While both roles require similar certifications and work in related environments, Wan roles are more specialized in large network architecture, whereas Network Technicians focus on operational support and implementation.

More about Wan jobs
What cities are hiring for Wan jobs? Cities with the most Wan job openings:
What states have the most Wan jobs? States with the most job openings for Wan jobs include:
Infographic showing various Wan job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 94% Full Time, 1% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 8% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $167,533 per year, or $80.5 per hour.
Enterprise WAN Engineer

$123K - $153K/yr

Full-time

Posted 22 days ago


Job description

About Us:
VT-ARC, a technical services and applied research company, has built an organizational culture marked by four primary values: Teamwork, Integrity, Excellence, and Service. Integral to our success is our staff's enthusiasm for solving tough problems by working together in teams to get the job done. We foster a culture where every employee's contribution is valued and performed with integrity while maintaining a fun work environment. VT-ARC strives for excellence in all that is done for our clients, and such achievement is recognized through service/merit awards. Moreover, we promote a sense of community larger than VT-ARC alone, where staff and institutional resources can be applied in service to our country.
We are proud to be the recipient of the Best Workplace in Defense Award by Emergent Magazine, an honor that recognizes companies with positive cultures that not only impact their people but also make a meaningful difference in the community.
About You:
You are a senior-level to staff-level enterprise WAN engineer and networking SME with deep experience designing, implementing, integrating, and modernizing global WAN and mission communications infrastructures in high-assurance, classified environments.
You bring broad hands-on depth across routing, transport, QoS, segmentation, SD-WAN, VPN, carrier services, secure enclave connectivity, and air-gapped network environments. You understand how to translate enterprise architecture objectives into executable WAN designs, implementation plans, configuration baselines, and operationally supportable solutions.
You are adaptable and comfortable owning complex WAN design and implementation efforts while working closely across technical teams and leads. You remain hands-on with deployment, troubleshooting, validation, documentation, and operational transition. You have a mission focus and take pride in building systems the right way and supporting them end-to-end.
Position Overview:
VT-ARC is seeking a Senior or Staff Enterprise WAN Engineer to provide technical leadership for enterprise WAN engineering, transport integration, secure routing, implementation, and modernization supporting mission-critical programs within TS/SCI environments.
This role is focused on domain-level WAN ownership across the full network lifecycle, from requirements interpretation and architecture input through detailed design, implementation planning, integration, validation, and transition to operations. The role is broader than SD-WAN alone and includes holistic WAN engineering across multiple transport layers, multi-enclave environments, classified networks, internet-connected networks, and fully air-gapped operating environments.
The Enterprise WAN Engineer will partner with programmatic staff and technical leads to deliver secure, resilient, interoperable, and mission-aligned WAN solutions. You have a mission focus and take pride in building systems the right way and supporting them end-to-end.
Active Top Secret/SCI clearance is required.
Duties/Responsibilities:
  • Lead end-to-end enterprise WAN engineering activities, including architecture input, detailed design, implementation planning, integration, validation, and operational transition.
  • Design, implement, and modernize global WAN infrastructures across MPLS, carrier Ethernet, commercial internet, private transport, SD-WAN, cloud interconnect, satellite, classified, multi-enclave, and air-gapped environments.
  • Develop and validate WAN designs that account for routing, transport diversity, QoS, resiliency, segmentation, encryption dependencies, traffic engineering, monitoring, and sustainment.
  • Implement and troubleshoot enterprise routing and transport technologies, including BGP, OSPF, MPLS, QoS, VPN, SD-WAN, route redistribution, overlay/underlay architectures, and high-availability designs.
  • Coordinate WAN design dependencies with inline encryption, UC, LAN, identity, cybersecurity, cloud, and mission application teams.
  • Support cross-domain, multi-enclave, and secure network integration approaches for classified and high-assurance mission environments.
  • Develop implementation plans, test plans, configuration standards, technical diagrams, migration runbooks, and operational transition materials.
  • Participate in lab validation, proof-of-concept demonstrations, technical pilots, network cutovers, and integration events.
  • Mentor junior engineers and help establish engineering standards, configuration baselines, and operational best practices.

Required Education, Certification, Skills, Capabilities:
  • Demonstrated senior or lead-level experience designing, implementing, and modernizing enterprise WAN environments in mission-critical or high-assurance settings.
  • Hands-on expertise with enterprise routing, transport, WAN segmentation, QoS, VPN, SD-WAN, and high-availability network design.
  • Experience with multi-vendor enterprise networking technologies, including platforms such as Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, Fortinet, Palo Alto, F5, or equivalent technologies.
  • Experience supporting classified, TS/SCI, multi-enclave, internet-connected, or air-gapped network environments.
  • Strong practical knowledge of BGP, OSPF, MPLS, QoS, IPsec, GRE, route redistribution, network address translation, and WAN troubleshooting.
  • Ability to translate architecture objectives and mission requirements into executable WAN designs, deployment plans, configuration baselines, and validation approaches.
  • Experience supporting RMF processes, ATO documentation, STIG compliance, security controls, or equivalent cybersecurity compliance activities for network infrastructure.
  • Ability to produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, implementation guides, and operational procedures.

Desired Education, Certification, Skills, Capabilities:
  • Professional certifications such as CCNP, JNCIP, Aruba Certified Professional, Security+, CISSP, or equivalent technical credentials.
  • Experience with Cisco Viptela, Juniper, Aruba, VMware/VeloCloud, Fortinet, or equivalent SD-WAN platforms.
  • Experience integrating WAN transport with Type 1 inline encryption, mission communications, voice/video, cloud, and data center services.
  • Experience with network automation, scripting, APIs, Ansible, Python, Git, or related tools.
  • Experience with network modeling, lab validation, traffic analysis, packet capture, or performance engineering tools.
  • Familiarity with DoD networking standards, DISA STIGs, Zero Trust principles, and systems engineering lifecycle reviews.

Primary Work Location: Work is expected to be fully onsite in Arlington, VA.
Special Work Conditions: Occasional travel may be required; up to 10%
Security:
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen
  • Active Top Secret/SCI clearance is required

Competitive Salary: VT-ARC offers a competitive salary and benefits package designed to attract and retain senior technical talent supporting mission-critical programs.
Salary: $190,000-$230,000/yr., based on skills, experience, clearance, technical depth, and mission alignment.
Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation: VT-ARC is a 501(c)(3), non-profit R&D organization affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech or VT). Our mission is to provide superior analytic and technology solutions across multiple domains by leveraging Virginia Tech's multidisciplinary research and innovation ecosystem. With unique access to the broad and rich research enterprise found at Virginia Tech, VT-ARC forms multi-disciplinary teams to apply innovative solutions to the real-world problems that strain our social, political, industrial, and economic foundations.
To learn more about VT-ARC's Benefits, Perks, Culture & more visit our Careers page: https://vt-arc.org/careers/
Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. As a federal contractor, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunity and affirmative action for qualified individuals with disabilities under Section?503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact Human Resources at hr@vt-arc.org
Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.E-Verify.gov.