Principal Network Engineer

Description

Vaylent is a Cerberus-backed aerospace and defense manufacturing platform building the enterprise infrastructure, capabilities, and operational foundation to support a growing network of manufacturing companies, including Votaw Precision Technologies. Through its operating companies, Vaylent supports demanding aerospace, defense, and industrial programs by combining advanced manufacturing expertise with scalable business and technology infrastructure.

The Principal Network Engineer will be the senior technical owner of Vaylent's network, responsible for designing, building, and securing connectivity across existing sites and new facility standups. This hands-on, high-autonomy role will architect and mature a segmented, multi-site network designed to meet CMMC Level 2 requirements.

• Design and deliver the platform network across all Vela sites, including new facility standups — LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, firewalls, switching, and wireless.
• Establish network segmentation and isolation of shop-floor OT from enterprise IT in line with CMMC Level 2 / NIST SP 800-171 and a defense-in-depth (Purdue-model) architecture.
• Remediate site connectivity problems
  — assess current-state connectivity, resolve reliability issues, and evaluate options (including any satellite/Starlink proposal) against ITAR/CUI data-handling requirements before adoption.
• Stand up new facilities with standardized, repeatable network architecture that supports a fast acquisition-integration playbook.
• Own boundary protection (next-generation firewalls and secure remote access, including jump/bastion hosts into controlled environments). Palo Alto, Fortinet, or similar a plus.
• Partner with cloud engineering to secure connectivity between on-prem sites and AWS Gov Cloud (Direct Connect / VPN).
• Own foundational network services — including plant-floor wireless, core services (DNS/DHCP/IPAM), load balancing, and site-to-site VPN across the platform.
• Establish visibility — stand up network monitoring/NMS and maintain current network documentation and diagrams (also serving as CMMC audit evidence).
• Sustain reliability — supporting a 24/7 manufacturing operation, including participation in an escalation/on-call rotation to protect production uptime.
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to junior network engineers as the team grows.

• 10+ years of network engineering experience, including multi-site enterprise networks.
• Deep hands-on expertise with enterprise routing, switching, and next-generation firewalls (e.g., Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Fortinet, or similar).
• Proven experience designing segmented networks and OT/IT separation in manufacturing, industrial, or regulated environments.
• Working knowledge of network security controls — boundary protection, segmentation, and encryption in transit (NIST SP 800-171 / CMMC familiarity a plus).
• Strong command of core network services (DNS, DHCP, IPAM), load balancing, VPN at scale, and network monitoring.
• Experience standing up network infrastructure for new facilities from the ground up.

• Aerospace, defense, or other regulated precision-manufacturing experience.
• Hands-on OT/ICS networking and familiarity with the Purdue model.
• Experience with industrial/plant-floor wireless and ruggedized environments.
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading a small network team.
• Experience connecting on-prem environments to AWS Gov Cloud.
• Relevant certifications a plus (e.g., CCNP/CCIE, JNCIP, PCNSE, or equivalent).
• Bachelors in a technical field or equivalent hands-on experience.

• Maintain 99.9%+ network availability supporting 24/7 manufacturing operations.
• Maintain CMMC Level 2 / NIST 800-171 network security and audit readiness.
• Implement effective IT/OT and CUI segmentation across all sites.
• Deliver standardized, secure network infrastructure for new facilities and acquisitions.
• Maintain current network monitoring, documentation, and configuration standards.
• Resolve critical network issues within established SLA and production-impact targets.
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