Network Engineer - W2 - Contract - F2F - Phoenix, AZ

Role: Network Engineer

Location: Phoenix, Az - Onsite

Duration: Long term

Type: Contract - W2

Face 2 Face Interview Mandatory

Cisco certification is required.

Responsibilities:

Administer and maintain Cisco routers, switches, and firewalls across enterprise or mission networks.

Design, configure, and support LAN/WAN infrastructure, ensuring availability and performance.

Implement and monitor network security baselines, access control lists (ACLs), and device hardening per organizational policies.

Manage and optimize routing and switching protocols (e.g., OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, STP, VLANs, QoS).

Support IPsec, and remote access solutions across secure and hybrid environments.

Collaborate with systems and cybersecurity teams to design and deploy new network capabilities and maintain compliance with RMF and DISA STIG standards.

Troubleshoot and resolve network performance, latency, or connectivity issues methodically and efficiently.

Monitor network performance using tools such as SolarWinds, Wireshark, or NetFlow and identify improvement opportunities.

Document configurations, diagrams, and operational procedures to support continuity and audits.

Participate in change control processes and maintain high standards of operational discipline and communication.

Required Education, Certifications and Security Clearance

BS degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Requirements Experience/Qualifications:

Minimum 4 years of experience in network engineering, administration, or infrastructure operations.

Hands-on experience with Cisco routers, switches, and firewalls in enterprise environments.

Strong understanding of routing and switching protocols (OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, VLANs, STP, QoS).

Experience managing network security configurations (ACLs, VPNs, firewalls, IPsec tunnels).

Proficiency with TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, NAT, and subnetting.

Ability to troubleshoot complex network issues using packet captures and monitoring tools.

Strong documentation, communication, and analytical skills.

Preferred Experience/Qualifications:

Cisco CCNA or CCNP certification.

Experience with Cisco ISE.

Familiarity with network automation or Infrastructure as Code (Ansible, Python, Terraform).

Exposure to cloud networking concepts (AWS VPC, Azure VNets, ExpressRoute, Direct Connect).

Experience with monitoring and analysis tools such as SolarWinds, Wireshark, or NetFlow.

Prior experience supporting mission, intelligence, or secure enterprise environments.

Networking Hardware

Cisco routers & switches (Catalyst, Nexus, ISR/ASR)

Cisco ASA / Firepower firewalls 

Networking Protocols & Concepts

Routing protocols: BGP, OSPF, EIGRP 

Static routing & policy-based routing 

VLAN design & Spanning-Tree Protocol 

Multicast routing configuration 

TCP/IP, MPLS, DNS, DHCP, SNMP 

eVPN technologies (IPSec, SSL) 

WAN/LAN/MAN connectivity: MPLS, ELAN, DIA, LTE 

Quality of Service (QoS) 

Network segmentation & Zero Trust Network Architecture 

Secure remote access solutions 

Cloud Networking &Hybrid

Cloud networking concepts: VPCs, subnets, route tables, NAT gateways, cloud-native firewalls 

Hybrid DR / BCP (on-prem & cloud) 

Automation & Scripting

Python 

Monitoring &Management Tools

SolarWinds 

Network diagramming / documentation tools (Visio, , etc.) 

SOPs, runbooks, and asset inventory management 

Other Software / Tools

Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) – M

Project management / ITSM (Jira, ServiceNow) 

Workflow/process mapping & network visualization 

Certifications

Cisco: CCNA

Cisco: CCNP

Cisco: CCIE