Network Security Engineer

Security Clearance: Secret

Location: West Bethesda, MD

Job Type: Full-Time

Target Salary Range*: $120,000 - $150,000

• This represents the potential salary range for this position depending on education level, years of experience and/or certifications in addition to other position specific requirements which may impact salary
  
  

Position Overview:

Cisco Network Security Engineer – Comply to Connect (C2C) / Zero Trust Framework

The Cisco Network Security Engineer will serve as the lead integrator for the deployment and enterprise-wide integration of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) to implement the Department of Defense’s Comply to Connect (C2C) and Zero Trust Framework across the Command’s Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) network.

This position requires a highly skilled, Cisco-certified professional capable of architecting and managing secure network access solutions across complex enterprise environments, ensuring compliance with DoD cybersecurity and Zero Trust standards.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as the Lead Cisco ISE Integrator, managing deployment, configuration, and optimization of ISE across the enterprise to align with the Comply to Connect (C2C) Zero Trust model.
• Develop and implement network access control policies, authentication mechanisms, and compliance monitoring to secure and authenticate devices across the RDT&E network.
• Collaborate closely with internal cybersecurity, network, and system engineering teams to ensure seamless integration with existing DoD infrastructure and security architectures.
• Provide technical guidance and best practices for network segmentation, access enforcement, and device visibility using Cisco ISE.
• Ensure configuration and implementation meet or exceed DoD and DISA Zero Trust cybersecurity requirements.
• Support documentation, accreditation, and risk management processes associated with ISE deployment.
• Offer subject matter expertise (SME) support for Cisco Secure Network Analytics (SNA), Cisco Secure Workload, Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), and SD-WAN technologies as needed.
• Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers and advise leadership on emerging security solutions and integration strategies.
  
  

Qualifications:

Technical Expertise:

• Must be a Cisco-certified engineer with deep knowledge of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) architecture and implementation.
• Strong background in enterprise-level Cisco infrastructure, routing/switching, and network access control.
  
  

Experience:

• Proven success leading large-scale Cisco ISE implementations in DoD or other highly regulated environments.
• Experience integrating Cisco solutions within a Zero Trust or Comply to Connect framework.
• Knowledge of Cisco Secure Network Analytics (SNA), Secure Workload, ACI, and SD-WAN solutions preferred.
  
  

Certifications:

• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) strongly preferred.
• Network certifications (CCNA, Network ) required.
• IAT II (Security , etc.) required.
  
  

Clearance:

• Active Secret clearance required.
  
  

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Network Engineering, or related technical field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will be considered.
  
  

Experience:

• 5–8 years of directly related experience in network security engineering or Cisco integration roles.