Network Engineer – NMS and Automation; w​/active Secret

Location:

Norfolk, VA

Clearance:
Secret

Type:
Full-time, Onsite

Salary Range: $87,000 - $112,000. Salary range may vary depending on location.

Critical Solutions is seeking a Network Engineer - Network Management Systems (NMS) and Automation to support our federal customer.

• Functional Domain Tool Mechanics / Features Business & Operational Benefits Fault & Performance Monitoring
• Continuous SNMP/ICMP polling
• Real-time alerting mechanisms
• Synthetics & packet analysis
• Minimizes MTTR:
  Faster root-cause isolation lowers Mean Time to Resolution.
• Reduces Downtime:
  High-availability metrics prevent outages before they cascade
• Configuration & Change Control
• Automated backups of device configs
• Real-time configuration drift detection
• Mass configuration deployments
• Ensures Compliance:
  Restores safe baseline settings rapidly during bad changes.
• Secures Network:
  Flashes alerts on unauthorized or rogue configuration alterations.
• Traffic Analytics & Planning
• Net Flow / sFlow / IPFIX collection
• Historical data trending charts
• Dynamic topology mapping
• Cost Optimization:
  Validates bandwidth usage patterns for smarter capacity planning.
• Uncovers Bottlenecks: pinpoints bandwidth hogs and abnormal traffic spikes.

• RHEL 8 Back-End Operations & System Administration:
  • Operating System (OS) Lifecycle Management:
    Provision, configure, and maintain RHEL 8 servers hosting the core NMS applications across physical, virtual, and air-gapped environments.
  • Kernel & Performance Tuning:
    Optimize Linux kernel parameters, memory allocation, and storage subsystems to handle massive telemetry and configuration data intake (SNMP, Net Flow, Syslog, SSH, SCP) without data loss.
  • Patching & Vulnerability Mitigation:
    Leverage Red Hat Satellite or custom repositories to manage package rollouts, applying routine security errata and OS updates.
  • Automation & IaC:
    Write and maintain Ansible playbooks and other language scripts to automate server provisioning, user management, and repetitive operational tasks related to NMS tool objects.
  • Security & Compliance:
    Enforce security Linux policies, access rules, and STIG compliance to ensure the monitoring platform resists compromise.
  • Storage & File System Management:
    Configure and expand LVM (Logical Volume Manager) structures to manage high-write NMS databases and syslog partition scaling.
• NMS Application & Tool Support
  • Platform Administration:
    Deploy, upgrade, and troubleshoot enterprise-grade NMS applications (Open Text NNMi, Open Text Network Automation, Cisco Catalyst Center, Arista Cloud Vision, Aruba Airwave and others).
  • Data Integration:
    Architect and maintain integrations between NMS engines, CMDB asset databases, and ITSM platforms like Service Now via APIs.
  • Polling & Telemetry Management:
    Configure polling intervals, customize SNMP MIBs and traps, and set up Net Flow collectors to build clear network matrices.
  • Fault Isolation & Alerting:
    Construct alerting logic, thresholds, and notification profiles to minimize alert fatigue while ensuring critical outages surface instantly.

• Active Secret clearance
• Education:
  
  Bachelor's degree in computer science, IT, Network Engineering, or an equivalent technical field.
• OS Specialization:
  Hands-on experience administering RHEL 8 environments (RHCSA or RHCE certifications preferred).
• Core Linux
  
  Skills:
  
  Advanced knowledge of systemd, system logging (rsyslog, journald), and native RHEL troubleshooting utilities (top, iotop, netstat, tcpdump).
• Protocols:
  Deep knowledge of networking protocols including SNMP (v3), Syslog, SSH, ICMP, Net Flow, and TACACS+/RADIUS.
• Automation:
  Proficiency in Ansible and scripting languages (Python, Bash) to run configuration infrastructure as code
• Core Technical Skills
  • Network Engineering:
    Functional understanding of advanced multivendor routing and switching network environments. (Cisco, Arista, Brocade, Juniper, McAfee and others)
  • Network Security:
    Functional understanding of enterprise firewalls and robust Access Control Lists (ACLs).
  • Infrastructure Administration:
    Comprehensive lifecycle management and administration of diverse network nodes.
• Automation & Dev Ops
  • Network Scripting:
    Proficiency in modern scripting languages like Python, Power Shell and YAML for network task automation.
  • Infrastructure as Code:
    Proficiency in Ansible playbook development, testing, and deployment.
  • Network Automation:
    Hands-on experience with network nodes configuration management and automated provisioning.
  • Automated Policy Management:
    Ability to…