Network Architect

MKS2 Technologies, LLC, an award-winning high growth small business, creates innovative and customer-centric technology solutions in the areas of Cyber Security, Instructional Design and Training, Software Engineering and IT Support Services to improve the security and well-being of our clients. Our commitment to excellence and our “Mission First” orientation has resulted in steady growth and an expanding client base across government agencies. We have employees nationwide and for the past three consecutive years were named one of the fastest growing Veteran-owned companies in the nation. Please take a moment to browse through our website and learn more about what it means to serve with MKS2.

Network Architect

Pay rate: $86.53 - $91.35 per hr during the initial six-month term. $200K-$215K annually upon conversion. 

This role is the principal network designer and highest-level engineering escalation resource, responsible for leading network modernization initiatives across complex, mission-critical environments. This role provides technical leadership, ensures engineering continuity, supports operational requirements, and maintains the integrity and evolution of the approved network architecture and engineering baseline.

Work Location: Completely on-site in Honolulu, HI, Monday – Friday, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm (HT), based upon the needs and direction of the customer.

Travel: 40%

Basic Required Qualifications and Skills:  

• Must possess an active Cisco CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure or CCIE Security certification at start date.

• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible network engineering experience, including at least 7 years as a senior architect, chief engineer, technical lead, or comparable authority in complex DoD or national-security environments.
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in network engineering, computer science, information systems, electrical engineering, cybersecurity, or a closely related discipline.
• Expert knowledge of:
  • Enterprise routing and switching, BGP, OSPF, MPLS, multicast, VRF / VLAN segmentation, QoS, firewalls, SDN, WAN transport, encryption, network management, monitoring, high availability, and PACE communications planning.
• Demonstrated design experience with:
  • Large classified and unclassified DoD networks, including NIPR and SIPR and relevant experience with JWICS, MPE / CENTRIX, CSfC, Type 1 encryption, or CDS interfaces.
• Demonstrated ability to lead senior engineers, enforce technical standards, resolve complex incidents, explain technical risk to senior leaders, and work effectively across multiple locations and time zones.
• Working knowledge of DoD architecture, RMF, Zero Trust, STIGs, vulnerability management, configuration and change control, site integration, testing, operational acceptance, and sustainment.
• Ability to brief general officers, senior Government civilians, program executives, and nontechnical stakeholders clearly and to distinguish validated requirements from assumptions, proposals, risks, and pending Government decisions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills addressing senior executive leaders and General Officers.
• Able to work both independently and collaboratively, prioritizing tasks as
• Pursuant to a government contract, this specific position requires U.S. Citizenship.
• All applicants must have current DoD TS/SCI clearance eligibility day one and prior to entry on duty.

Desired Qualifications and Skills: It is desirable that the candidate have the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree, from an accredited institution in network engineering, computer science, information systems, electrical engineering, cybersecurity, or a closely related discipline.
• 20+ years of progressively responsible network engineering experience, or comparable authority in complex DoD or national-security environments.
• Other relevant certifications such as ITIL, PMP etc. in ACTIVE status.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: This position will include, but is not limited to, the following tasks:

• Design and maintain the integrated enterprise network architecture supporting distributed command, mission, and sustainment requirements across Hawaii, the Pacific, Alaska, Japan / Okinawa, and Government-directed CONUS locations.
• Translate operational needs into enterprise, logical, physical, cybersecurity, data-flow, and operations architectures that remain synchronized and traceable.
• Own the network technical baseline, including routing, switching, segmentation, QoS, firewalls, encryption, WAN and SDN design, PACE transport, management, monitoring, and high-availability patterns.
• Develop and approve network designs, engineering implementation plans, IP and routing plans, bills of material, configurations, rack elevations, cable schedules, interface records, cutover plans, rollback plans, and as-built packages.
• Ensure HMR or another Government-selected pilot becomes a validated reference design that can be reused through controlled, Government-approved site differences rather than independent redesigns.
• Serve as the senior engineer for Tier 3 and Tier 4 routing, switching, transport, security-boundary, interoperability, latency, QoS, failover, performance, and service-restoration issues.
• Provide technical direction and mentoring to network engineers assigned to designs, installations, cutovers, incidents, and corrective actions.
• Review engineering work for technical accuracy, interoperability, cybersecurity impact, supportability, configuration control, and compliance with the approved baseline before Government submission or implementation.
• Lead root-cause analysis for recurring or mission-significant technical problems and establish corrective actions that can be applied across affected sites.
• Advise the Regional Program Manager and Operations Officer when a project is technically ready to proceed, requires modification, or should be paused because an unresolved issue creates unacceptable mission, cyber, safety, or sustainment risk.
• Integrate Zero Trust, ICAM, segmentation, privileged access, logging, continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, STIG requirements, and configuration control into the network design in coordination with the Cyber / ATO Lead.
• Define system boundaries, trust zones, information exchanges, data paths, classification and releasability considerations, monitoring ownership, latency and QoS needs, and fallback requirements.
• Distinguish same-level protected transport from cross-domain or releasability transfers. Support approved CSfC or Type 1 solutions where appropriate and formal approved CDS interfaces when validated domain crossing is required.
• Establish Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency network paths and measurable failover, failback, restoration, bandwidth, latency, and monitoring criteria.
• Support the Operations Officer and project managers with technical estimates, dependencies, sequencing, design reviews, site-readiness criteria, engineering risks, and required technical resources.
• Approve technical entry and exit criteria for design freeze, installation, cutover, SIT, SAT, failover testing, operational acceptance, and release of the reference design for reuse.
• Ensure operational handoff addresses monitoring, ticket escalation, configuration management, patching and scanning, spares, warranty, local support, after-hours response, and restoration responsibilities.
• Prepare and execute the technical transition package, including the authoritative architecture, configurations, decision records, cybersecurity artifacts, known risks, open issues, test results, support dependencies, and prioritized recommendations for contract continuation.
• Use incidents, testing, user feedback, scans, and lessons learned to recommend controlled improvements to the approved technical baseline.