Ardent
Network Engineer
Washington, D.C
Sponsorship not specified$53k-$800kDetected 2 days ago
CybersecurityNetwork SecuritySIEMIncident ResponseCustomer SupportDNSFirewallCiscoNetwork MonitoringZero TrustNetwork EngineeringCommunicationCollaboration
About the role
- Ardent is seeking a Network Engineer to join our team.
- This is an onsite position in Washington DC.
- Ardent is an equal opportunity employer.
Responsibilities
- Support the implementation, operation, and optimization of the Congressional Budget Office's Cisco-based network infrastructure, including core, distribution, access, and edge environments, ensuring reliability, performance, and availability in support of mission requirements.
- Configure, manage, and troubleshoot routing, switching, and network services (e.g., VLANs, DNS, DHCP, VPNs), ensuring secure configurations and alignment with organizational standards.
- Support network device patching, firmware updates, and vulnerability remediation activities, ensuring infrastructure components remain secure, compliant, and up to date.
- Participate in changing management processes, maintain accurate network diagrams and configuration documentation, and support the development and upkeep of standard operating procedures to ensure operational continuity and audit readiness.
- Implement and maintain network security controls aligned with NIST SP 800-53, including access control (AC), configuration management (CM), system and communications protection (SC), and audit and accountability (AU) control families.
- Design and implement least-privilege network access controls, ensuring role-based and identity-aware access across all network layers.
- Manage 802.1X port-based network access control to prevent unauthorized device connectivity and enforce authentication at the network edge.
- Configure and maintain centralized logging and audit capabilities for all network devices, ensuring logs are forwarded to enterprise SIEM platforms and retained in accordance with compliance requirements.
- Support incident response activities by providing network-level analysis, containment actions (e.g., segmentation, blocking malicious traffic), and forensic data collection.
- Establish and maintain secure network segmentation strategies to limit lateral movement and protect high-value assets and sensitive environments.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- Minimum of 5 years of experience supporting enterprise network environments.
- Hands-on experience with Cisco networking technologies, including routers, switches, and firewalls.
- Experience implementing network security controls and best practices.
- Familiarity with Zero Trust Architecture concepts and implementation strategies.
- Experience with network monitoring, troubleshooting, and incident response.
- Knowledge of federal cybersecurity frameworks, including:
- Experience with SIEM integration, centralized logging, and security monitoring tools.
- Due to the nature of the work we support, all candidates in consideration for this role must be willing to undergo the government issued background investigation process.
Compensation
- Develop, implement, and maintain Network Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); review and update all SOPs on at least an annual basis or as required to reflect changes in technology, policy, or security requirements.
Company info
- At Ardent, we hire people who want more than a job - they want to serve a mission that matters.
This listing is sourced directly from Ardent's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.