Defense Network Engineer
The job description
Tech stack. routing and switching, QoS engineering, network security, cross-domain solutions, software-defined networking, SATCOM backhaul, network modeling, Python automation, capacity planning
About the role
You will join a defense technology company building the networks that carry command, sensor, and voice traffic across theaters, over links that are contested, intermittent, and limited. The network team designs infrastructure that survives those conditions, enforces security boundaries between enclaves, and keeps priority traffic moving when everything competes for bandwidth. Your designs decide whether the network is a weapon or a bottleneck, and your measured baselines prove the performance you promised before the system ever deploys. You will also architect the cross-domain solutions that move data between security enclaves without violating policy, the hardest integration problem in defense networking.
What you will achieve
- Design a resilient tactical network architecture that reroutes around link failures in under a second with no loss of priority command traffic.
- Implement QoS policies that guarantee bandwidth for command and sensor data even when the network is saturated at 150 percent of nominal load.
- Deploy cross-domain solutions that move approved data between security enclaves with full audit logging and zero policy violations.
- Cut network configuration errors by 80 percent through templated, version-controlled configurations and automated validation.
- Deliver network performance baselines with measured latency, jitter, and loss that prove the design meets operational requirements.
What you will bring
Must-haves
- You bring 2 to 5 years of experience designing, deploying, or operating IP networks, ideally in defense or similarly demanding environments.
- You are strong in routing and switching fundamentals, including dynamic routing protocols and their behavior under failure.
- You understand network security: segmentation, firewalls, encryption, and the principles behind cross-domain solutions.
- You can engineer QoS end to end and prove with measurements that priority traffic is protected.
- You automate with Python or similar tooling instead of configuring devices by hand.
- You troubleshoot systematically with packet captures, flow data, and structured root cause analysis.
- You have designed networks for disadvantaged links, including delay-tolerant networking or store-and-forward behavior under intermittent connectivity.
Nice-to-haves
- You hold a CCNP-level certification or equivalent demonstrated expertise.
- You have worked with SATCOM backhaul, including link planning and modem configuration.
- You bring experience with software-defined networking or network virtualization.
- You are eligible for a U.S. security clearance.
- You bring experience with network emulation tools for testing designs under degraded and contested conditions.
RTX
Lockheed Martin
Northrop Grumman
Anduril
General Dynamics
BAE Systems