Network Engineer - Junior

Summary

Dice is seeking a Junior Network Engineer to support the planning, configuration, and daily operation of enterprise network infrastructure across cloud and hybrid environments. The role involves hands-on configuration, monitoring, troubleshooting, and documentation to ensure network performance, resilience, and compliance in a regulated federal IT environment.

Responsibilities

• Configure and manage routers, switches, and virtual network components, including VLANs, VPNs, and subnetting, to support secure connectivity across on-premises and cloud environments
• Implement and support routing protocols such as OSPF and BGP, applying traffic optimization techniques to improve performance, resilience, and availability for critical applications
• Assist with the deployment and operation of software-defined networking (SDN) solutions and network automation using scripting tools such as Python or Ansible to streamline provisioning and configuration management
• Implement foundational network security controls including firewalls, access control lists, and segmentation, ensuring configurations align to enterprise and government security baselines
• Monitor network performance using standard tools, perform log analysis and packet capture, and troubleshoot incidents to restore services and reduce recurrence of issues
• Support cloud networking constructs such as VPCs, load balancers, and hybrid connectivity, working with senior engineers and cloud teams to maintain consistent security and performance
• Develop and maintain documentation of network architectures, configurations, standards, and operating procedures to support continuity, audits, and compliance activities
• Participate in capacity planning and disaster recovery activities, providing data and observations that inform improvements to network reliability and scalability

Skills

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in IT, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
• Approximately 1-3 years of experience supporting enterprise or cloud-based network environments, including hands-on work with routing, switching, and network security
• Foundational knowledge of routing protocols, IP addressing, subnetting, and common network services, with exposure to SDN and network automation concepts
• Experience implementing or supporting network security controls such as firewalls, ACLs, and segmentation in regulated or compliance-driven environments
• Ability to obtain and maintain an active Secret clearance; must be eligible under applicable DoD 8140 requirements as defined for the role
• U.S. citizenship required
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document configurations and procedures and collaborate with cross-functional IT teams
• Experience working within DoD or federal network compliance frameworks and associated security baselines
• Industry certifications such as CompTIA Network+, Cisco CCNA, or equivalent vendor-neutral or vendor-specific network certifications
• Exposure to infrastructure-as-code practices and automated network provisioning tools integrated into modern DevOps or cloud environments
• Familiarity with major cloud service providers and their native networking features (e.g., VPCs, peering, VPN gateways, load balancers)

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in IT, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
• Approximately 1-3 years of experience supporting enterprise or cloud-based network environments, including hands-on work with routing, switching, and network security
• Foundational knowledge of routing protocols, IP addressing, subnetting, and common network services, with exposure to SDN and network automation concepts
• Experience implementing or supporting network security controls such as firewalls, ACLs, and segmentation in regulated or compliance-driven environments
• Ability to obtain and maintain an active Secret clearance; must be eligible under applicable DoD 8140 requirements as defined for the role
• U.S. citizenship required
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document configurations and procedures and collaborate with cross-functional IT teams

Nice to Haves

• Experience working within DoD or federal network compliance frameworks and associated security baselines
• Industry certifications such as CompTIA Network+, Cisco CCNA, or equivalent vendor-neutral or vendor-specific network certifications
• Exposure to infrastructure-as-code practices and automated network provisioning tools integrated into modern DevOps or cloud environments
• Familiarity with major cloud service providers and their native networking features (e.g., VPCs, peering, VPN gateways, load balancers)