Location: Onsite (5 days per week) in Atlanta, GA 30326
Employment Type: 12 month contract-to-hire (W-2 or 1099/IC).
Conversion Salary: Up to $160k (depending on experience)
Contract Compensation: Up to $76/hour W-2 or $85/hour 1099
Independent Contractors: open to individuals who have an LLC or S-Corp (not 3rd party eligible)
Work Authorization: Due to the nature of the work, candidates must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Green Card holders. Visa sponsorship or other work authorization types are not eligible for this position.
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, LTD/STD, HSA/FSA, term life, and supplemental health insurances (e.g., Aflac) for all employees (and their families if needed), 401k
This senior, hands-on network engineering role focuses on keeping a mature enterprise network secure, stable, and well-supported day to day. Success is measured by fast, accurate troubleshooting, disciplined change execution, and reliable operation of Cisco routing/switching, Palo Alto firewalls, and Cisco ISE in a production environment. You will be a key contributor for operational support, maintenance, upgrades, and documentation, with an emphasis on access control and security-aware network administration.
Responsibilities:
- Operate and support enterprise LAN/WAN, VPN, and wireless services, ensuring availability and performance in a production environment.
- Troubleshoot complex network incidents end to end, isolating root cause across routing, switching, firewall, and authentication components and driving issues to resolution.
- Administer Cisco routers and switches, including configuration management, software upgrades, patching, and lifecycle maintenance.
- Configure and maintain Palo Alto firewalls, including policy changes, NAT, VPN, logging/visibility, and troubleshooting connectivity and security rule issues.
- Administer Cisco ISE for network access control, including 802.1X authentication workflows, RADIUS/TACACS+ integration, endpoint access policies, and authorization troubleshooting.
- Execute planned changes using disciplined change control, validating impact, documenting results, and performing rollback when needed.
- Monitor network health and security signals, analyze logs and telemetry, and implement corrective actions to reduce recurring incidents.
- Maintain accurate network documentation (topologies, configurations, runbooks, and standards) to support auditability and repeatable operations.
- Partner with security and operations stakeholders to align network configurations with governance expectations and support clearance-related compliance requirements.
- Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders during incidents and maintenance windows, providing concise status updates and post-incident summaries.
Required Skills:
- Current CCNA (or higher) certification is required.
- 8+ years of enterprise network administration/engineering experience.
- Hands-on experience administering and troubleshooting Cisco routers and switches across LAN/WAN, VPN, and wireless networks, including maintenance, upgrades, and production support.
- Hands-on experience configuring, administering, and troubleshooting Palo Alto firewalls in a production environment.
- Hands-on Cisco ISE / network access control experience, including RADIUS, TACACS+, 802.1X, and related access-control technologies.
- Ability to independently troubleshoot network issues, produce clear documentation, support established environments, and communicate effectively during operational events.
- Ability to meet key personnel requirements, including eligibility to obtain a Public Trust clearance prior to conversion.
Preferred Skills:
- CCNP or CCIE certification.
- Experience supporting federal environments and/or working within a SOC-aligned operating model.
- Working familiarity with CIS Controls, NIST 800-53, and/or DISA STIGs and the ability to apply requirements to network operations.
- Exposure to Prisma, SIEM platforms, and/or cloud security concepts that impact network visibility and policy enforcement.
- Experience with vulnerability management processes and/or incident response support, including remediation validation and evidence gathering.
- Scripting or automation experience using Python and/or PowerShell for operational tasks (e.g., data collection, config validation, reporting).
- Mentoring or technical leadership experience, including guiding peers through troubleshooting approaches and operational best practices.