Senior Network Engineer - Routing & Switching
Leidos· enterprise· Defense· Oct 8, 2026 · 20d ago
Odenton, MD
Hybrid
Full-time
Senior
$92K–$167K
8+ years exp
Job description
Leidos is seeking a Senior Network Engineer specializing in routing and switching to engineer, implement, and sustain enterprise network infrastructure across a large, distributed environment. The role carries hands-on responsibility for the routed and switched core — designing changes, implementing them cleanly, and resolving the complex problems that reach the senior engineering tier.
This position supports overall network engineering across a broad range of efforts, including planning, designing, and evaluating components of the network. Duties include developing specifications for routing and switching designs, evaluating and recommending technologies to enhance current capabilities, performing needs assessments, and performing installation, modification, testing, and servicing of network equipment.
The successful candidate operates independently on complex engineering work, translates requirements into implementable designs, and serves as an escalation point for routing, switching, and transport issues that others cannot resolve.
Scope and Impact
Impact: Contributes to the completion of significant project milestones and recommends technical solutions and improvements that affect program results. Work is performed under general direction, with latitude for independent judgment on technical approach.
Complexity: Resolves complex technical problems requiring in-depth analysis, evaluation of multiple factors, and application of established engineering principles and best practices.
Communication: Communicates technical information, design recommendations, risks, and status to engineering leadership, peer teams, and stakeholders. Explains complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of routing and switching principles, theories, and concepts, with demonstrated depth across enterprise network technologies.
Primary Responsibilities
Routing and Switching Engineering
Engineer, configure, and implement enterprise routing and switching infrastructure, including core, distribution, access, and WAN edge layers.
Design and implement routing policy using BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, and static routing, including route redistribution, filtering, summarization, path selection, and convergence tuning.
Engineer Layer 2 infrastructure, including VLAN architecture, spanning-tree design, link aggregation, trunking, and loop prevention.
Implement and maintain VRFs, MPLS/VPN services, tunneling, multicast, QoS policy, and high-availability designs such as HSRP/VRRP and redundant uplink topologies.
Develop specifications for network architecture, evaluate and recommend new technologies to enhance current capabilities, and perform needs assessments.
Perform installation, modification, configuration, testing, and servicing of network equipment, including hardware refresh and software/firmware lifecycle upgrades.
Baseline and optimize network performance — latency, throughput, utilization, convergence, and error rates — and remediate identified deficiencies.
Implementation and Operations Support
Develop implementation plans, test and validation steps, rollback procedures, and change documentation for network changes, and execute them during approved change windows.
Provide senior-level troubleshooting and escalation support for complex routing, switching, transport, and connectivity issues spanning multiple layers and vendors.
Perform packet-level and protocol-level analysis to isolate faults across the network, systems, and application boundary.
Support capacity planning, configuration standardization, and compliance of device configurations against approved baselines and hardening requirements.
Partner with architecture, cybersecurity, operations, and project teams to resolve blockers, manage dependencies, and deliver network changes end-to-end.
Documentation
Develop and maintain engineering and operational documentation, including:
Logical and physical network diagrams
Routing designs, policy standards, and addressing plans
Device configuration standards and baselines
Implementation, test, and rollback plans
Port, protocol, and services requirements
Troubleshooting guides and standard operating procedures
As-built and operational handoff documentation
Required Qualifications
Bachelor s degree and 8 years of prior relevant experience, or Master s degree with 7 years of experience. Specific experience, education, and training may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Significant hands-on experience engineering, implementing, and troubleshooting enterprise routing and switching infrastructure at scale.
Strong working knowledge of TCP/IP, subnetting, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, spanning tree, link aggregation, VRFs, multicast, QoS, NAT, and high-availability design.
Experience with network hardware installation, configuration, software upgrades, and lifecycle replacement.
Experience developing implementation plans, test procedures, and rollback plans, and executing changes in production environments during maintenance windows.
Demonstrated troubleshooting ability, including packet capture and protocol analysis, across multi-vendor environments.
Hands-on experience with one or more of the following: Cisco, Aruba, Palo Alto, Dell, Infoblox, and Brocade.
Experience documenting network designs and procedures using tools such as Visio, PowerPoint, or similar.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Current IAT Level II or higher certification, such as Security CE.
Active DoD Secret clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise or equivalent certification.
Experience with enterprise network modernization, migration, or large-scale transformation and integration efforts.
Experience with software-defined networking, SD-WAN, or SD-Access (Cisco Catalyst Center / DNA Center) environments.
Experience with network segmentation, access control, and identity-based networking.
Experience integrating enterprise networking with cloud infrastructure, including hybrid connectivity and secure cloud routing.
Experience with network automation and scripting using Python, Ansible, or infrastructure-as-code approaches.
Experience applying DISA STIGs, vulnerability remediation, and configuration hardening to network devices.
Experience with Jira, Confluence, or similar project and knowledge-management tools.
Key Success Factors
This role is for an engineer who is genuinely hands-on. The expectation is not oversight of someone else s configuration work but direct ownership of the design, the change, the validation, and the outcome.
The successful engineer is the person others escalate to — comfortable reading a routing table and a packet capture under time pressure, and equally comfortable writing the implementation plan that keeps the change from becoming an incident.
If you re looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We re not hiring followers. We re recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We re already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting: October 8, 2026
For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
Pay Range: Pay Range $92,300.00 - $166,850.00
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
Application prep
Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.
Keywords to mirror
pythonjira
- Platform
- workday
- Effort
- long