Principal Network Engineer

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All Full Time Fort Meade, MD, US

Salary Range: $ To $ Annually

GES is seeking a Principal Network Engineer – Wireless to lead engineering, deployment, and modernization of a large-scale, geographically distributed enterprise wireless network supporting a Department of Defense environment. The engineer will provide technical leadership for Aruba wireless architecture, RF performance, secure network access, integration, troubleshooting, and transition to operations.

The environment includes Aruba AOS 10, Aruba Central On-Premises, distributed Aruba Clear Pass, Cisco ISE coexistence, certificate-based 802.1X authentication, Comply-to-Connect enforcement, wireless intrusion detection and prevention, and enterprise monitoring. The engineer will collaborate with network, identity, cybersecurity, and operations teams to deliver secure, reliable wireless services at scale.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT:

Must have an active DoD Secret clearance. (US Citizenship required)

• Design, deploy, configure, and optimize enterprise Aruba wireless infrastructure, including access points, gateways, management platforms, redundancy, and lifecycle upgrades.
• Engineer and sustain Aruba Central On-Premises and AOS 10 configurations, provisioning workflows, high availability, and enterprise configuration standards.
• Lead RF design, site surveys, channel and power planning, capacity analysis, roaming optimization, and wireless QoS for voice and mission-critical applications.
  Network Access Control and Security
• Integrate Aruba Clear Pass and Cisco ISE with 802.1X/EAP-TLS, RADIUS, certificate-based authentication, endpoint profiling, and Comply-to-Connect policies.
• Engineer wireless security controls, including network segmentation, WPA3, WIDS/WIPS, secure guest access, and approved cryptographic configurations.
• Coordinate with cybersecurity teams on applicable DoD security controls, STIGs, vulnerability remediation, testing, and accreditation evidence.

• Integrate wireless services with wired switching, VLANs, routing, DNS/DHCP, firewalls, identity systems, and enterprise monitoring platforms.
• Lead complex troubleshooting and root cause analysis involving RF, client connectivity, roaming, authentication, certificates, and network performance.
• Provide technical direction and mentoring to engineering teams; review designs and implementation plans and communicate technical risks and recommendations to program and government stakeholders.
• Plan and execute engineering changes, upgrades, testing, deployment waves, and operational handoffs with validation and rollback procedures.

• Develop and maintain wireless architecture and RF designs, configuration baselines, access-control and security designs, implementation and test plans, site-survey results, troubleshooting guides, standard operating procedures, and as-built/transition documentation.

• Active DoD Secret clearance; ability to obtain additional access if required by the assigned environment.
• Must meet applicable DoD cybersecurity workforce qualification requirements for the assigned position.

The successful engineer combines hands-on Aruba and RF expertise with the ability to lead complex deployments, isolate problems across wireless, wired, and identity layers, and deliver a secure, reliable service that operations teams can sustain.

• Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s degree with 10+…