Description

The DarkStar Group is seeking a Network Engineer with a TS/SCI Poly clearance (applicable to this customer) to join one of our top projects in Herndon, VA. Below is an overview of the project, as well as information on our company, our benefits, and our $25,000 referral program.

THE PROGRAM

The DarkStar Group is a member of 100% of the winning teams for the largest technology program in the Intel Community. We've been supporting this customer on many different sub-projects of this program since our founding in 2013. We've grown on this effort by providing the customer with Engineers who have done exceptional work, and we've retained our staff by paying very strong salaries, and working hard to ensure each Engineer is doing work that aligns with their career interest.

THE PROJECT

The Sponsor organization provides network engineering and support to a variety of Sponsor programs. The Sponsor supports several mission networks, provides innovative ways to achieve operational excellence and identifies and resolves network issues as needed. The Sponsors organization provides full lifecycle cradle to grave tier 1-4 engineering. The organization has a global Bridging Gateway Protocol (BGP) MPLS transport network for its WAN connectivity, running on Juniper equipment and several mission LANS running Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) & Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) on Cisco equipment, which rides on the WAN network in VPNs. Behind the LANS there is a data sharing enclave running several Juniper firewalls serving as the controlled interface to other programs. The Sponsors organization has a large effort to collapse several different mission centers into a single unified center. As such, the network will unify multiple mission LANS becoming a single but larger network, still on multi-vendor equipment while going from OSPF to BGP-MPLS.

THE ROLE

• The Contractor shall perform moderately complex network designs using existing technology with limited guidance.
• The Contractor shall plan network configurations for integration into the network, using knowledge of the performance characteristics of the systems being added to the network and the specifications for network interfaces to insure effective integration and optimal network performance.
• The Contractor shall prepare technical proposals for presentation to the engineering review boards to add new technologies to the network and for upgrading existing technologies.
• The Contractor shall perform moderately complex Operations and Maintenance (O&M) activities with limited guidance.
• The Contractor shall utilize network monitoring and analysis tools to identify performance problems in the network.
• The Contractor shall diagnose network issues.
• The Contractor shall follow troubleshooting procedures for restoring the network to optimal performance levels.
• The Contractor shall assist senior technical staff in preparing troubleshooting procedures for restoring the network to optimal performance levels.
• The Contractor shall repair network issues as needed.
• The Contractor shall perform routine to moderately complex network upgrades with limited guidance.
• The Contractor shall review user requests for upgrades or additions to the network to assess impact on network performance.
• The Contractor shall provide advice and guidance on the most practical technical approach to meeting user requirements.
• The Contractor shall plan upgrades to existing network configurations, using knowledge of the performance characteristics of the systems being upgraded and the specifications for network interfaces to insure effective integration and optimal network performance.
• The Contractor shall deploy and maintain network systems.
• The Contractor shall perform network engineering on specific sensitive Sponsor mission systems.
• The Contractor shall maintain up to date network topology drawings and configurations such as scripts.
• The Contractor shall support network life cycle stages such as design, configure, test, deploy, and maintain.
• The Contractor shall provide on-call support for off-duty hours and weekends on a rotational basis.
• The Contractor shall provide necessary support in accreditation activities.

Required Skills

• Demonstrated experience working with TCP IP protocol suite, IP subnets and masking, and routing protocols.
• Demonstrated experience working in Local Area Network (LAN) environments.
• Demonstrated proficiency working in Wide Area Network (TRANSPORT) environments.
• Demonstrated experience designing, configuring, and troubleshooting Routing and Switching systems on Cisco and Juniper.
• Demonstrated experience with Routing Protocols to include OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP.
• Demonstrated experience with Gateway Redundancy Protocols to include Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) and Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP).
• Demonstrated experience implementing L2 and L3 VPN across an MPLS network.
• Demonstrated experience with network security such as firewalls and Access Control Lists (ACL).
• Demonstrated experience using Microsoft Visio for network topology creation and modification.

Desired Skills (Optional)

• Certifications:
  • Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
  • Active Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Juniper Network Certified Expert (JNCE)
  • Information System Security Engineer Professional (ISSEP)
  • Optical networking

About The DarkStar Group

Our Company

The DarkStar Group is a small business that solves BIG problems. We're one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the US, and our engineers and scientists support the most critical national security missions in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere. Data Science, Software Engineering, Cloud/AWS Infrastructure, and Cyber/CNO are our core areas of expertise. We offer interesting and important work, job security, some of the best and most flexible benefits you'll find in the IC, and salaries so strong that they'll likely surprise you. 

Our Benefits

The DarkStar Group offers exceptional compensation and benefits:

• very strong salaries;
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for you and all dependents;
• the ability to get increased salary if you don't need medical/dental/vision;
• 100% company-paid disability and life insurance benefits;
• a generously-funded HSA;
• an 8% 401(k) contribution; 
• 31 days of PTO/holidays to start (more with tenure);
• the ability to flex time across pay periods without using your PTO;
• a generous training budget;
• $25,000 employee referral bonuses;
• business development / growth incentives; and
• top notch company swag.

** We have a huge growth opportunity, so we are offering up to a $25,000 reward for anyone new you refer whom we hire. **
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.