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 beU.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) certificationis 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.
