
SME Network Engineer
Ashburn, VAFull-time$121–266K/yrSeen 2 days agoSeen in employer's feed 2 days ago
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At a glance
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Requirements
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Job overview
CACI seeks a SME Network Engineer for its Global Mission Operations Support contract supporting the Department of State. The role provides technical leadership for enterprise network architecture, modernization, high availability, disaster recovery, and DevSecOps initiatives across a geographically distributed federal environment. The engineer will guide teams, advise on complex technical challenges, and align network strategy with federal requirements and Department of State objectives.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Job Title: SME Network Engineer
Job Category: Information Technology
Time Type: Full time
Minimum Clearance Required to Start: Secret
Employee Type: Regular
Percentage of Travel Required: Up to 10%
Type of Travel: Local
The Opportunity:
CACI is seeking a SME Network Engineer for the Global Mission Operations Support (GMOS) contract, supporting the Department of State. This role offers a unique opportunity to enhance national security through advanced IT solutions. You will collaborate with experienced professionals in an innovative environment, guiding a high-performing team to deliver excellence. The GMOS contract aims to provide world-class IT support by modernizing and maintaining applications and infrastructure using an integrated IT Service Management approach. Join us to make a meaningful impact on a program of national importance.
Responsibilities:
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Provide subject matter expertise and strategic guidance on high-availability network architectures including load balancing, denial of service detection, and dynamic service health checks to maximize availability of public-facing websites
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Serve as technical authority for network upgrade initiatives across WAN links connecting CONUS and OCONUS facilities, ensuring modernized connectivity standards and seamless integration with 42+ external partner agencies
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Act as senior technical advisor for Enterprise Operations Center (EOC) critical incident management, providing expert consultation to DT ENMOC and delivering strategic crisis management guidance for domestic or world events
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Establish and govern network standards, procedures manuals, and performance management frameworks while providing expert guidance on component tuning in accordance with change management procedures
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Define technical strategy and best practices for Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) network technologies, guiding implementation approaches that optimize resource allocation and strengthen security through policy-driven automation
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Provide authoritative consultation on disaster recovery (DR) network infrastructure design including 2N redundancy strategies, automated failover architectures, continuous monitoring frameworks, and quarterly DR testing protocols
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Demonstrate mastery of DevSecOps tooling (e.g., Ansible, Terraform, SonarQube) and advise on CI/CD pipeline architecture with expertise in continuous build, test, security validation, and results analysis automation
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Lead enterprise network architecture planning and roadmap development, aligning network modernization initiatives with Department of State strategic objectives and federal requirements
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Provide technical leadership for complex network engineering projects spanning 350+ global facilities, ensuring adherence to security policies, performance standards, and operational excellence
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Serve as recognized technical authority with deep expertise across key domains, evaluating and resolving highly complex technical challenges, influencing enterprise-wide technical direction, mentoring engineering teams, and driving innovation across multiple strategic initiatives
Qualifications:
Required –
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Bachelor's degree + 13 years of experience in related fields, such as network engineering, network architecture, enterprise architecture, infrastructure design, or IT operations leadership; equivalencies considered.
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Active Secret Clearance
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Proven experience providing strategic leadership for enterprise network engineering across large-scale, geographically distributed federal environments
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Demonstrated expertise in high-availability network architectures, Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) technologies, and disaster recovery network design
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Proven experience with Zero-Trust Network Architectures and systems (e.g. zScaler, Cloudflare, NSX-T, Illumio, Cisco, Palo Alto)
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Excellent leadership abilities with proven experience serving as a technical authority, influencing enterprise strategy, mentoring engineering teams, and driving innovation across multiple strategic initiatives
Desired –
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Prior experience supporting federal agencies, especially the Department of State
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Professional certifications such as Cisco CCIE, Palo Alto Networks PCN
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Strong proficiency with DevSecOps tools and advanced CI/CD pipeline architecture, particularly with Ansible, Terraform, and enterprise automation frameworks
What You Can Expect:
A culture of integrity.
At CACI, we place character and innovation at the center of everything we do. As a valued team member, you’ll be part of a high-performing group dedicated to our customer’s missions and driven by a higher purpose – to ensure the safety of our nation.
An environment of trust.
CACI values the unique contributions that every employee brings to our company and our customers - every day. You’ll have the autonomy to take the time you need through a unique flexible time off benefit and have access to robust learning resources to make your ambitions a reality.
A focus on continuous growth.
Together, we will advance our nation's most critical missions, build on our lengthy track record of business success, and find opportunities to break new ground — in your career and in our legacy.
Pay Range :
There are a host of factors that can influence final salary including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications. Our employees value the flexibility at CACI that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives. We offer competitive compensation, benefits and learning and development opportunities. Our broad and competitive mix of benefits options is designed to support and protect employees and their families. At CACI, you will receive comprehensive benefits such as; healthcare, wellness, financial, retirement, family support, continuing education, and time off benefits.
The proposed salary range for this position is:
$120,800 - $265,800
CACI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic.
How this job compares
Set against the 4,184 open Network Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$121–266K/yr
- Virginia median$120–183K/yr317 salary ranges
- US median$113–187K/yr3,274 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $193K, is 29% above the Virginia median midpoint ($150K) — in the top quarter of Network Engineer salary ranges in Virginia.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 397 open Network Engineer jobs in Virginia and 4,184 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Virginia
- Amazon34 open
- Leidos25 open
- General Dynamics Information Technology22 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 13 years of experience — more than three in four Network Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 3,614 postings).
- Education
- 1,164 of the 4,184 open Network Engineer jobs (28%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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