This role pays more than
53%
of similar roles. Most pay
$131,936–$199,534
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$163k
versus about
$166k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About Leidos
Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations.
Leidos currently has
270 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$107,900–$166,850
across 249 roles with salary data.
Network Architect
The Network Architect joins the Defense Sector team to serve as the senior technical authority for designing and modernizing enterprise network infrastructure across Department of War networks. This role involves developing multi-year modernization roadmaps, creating high-level and low-level designs for WAN, campus, data center, and tactical edge environments, and ensuring alignment with Zero Trust pillars. The architect will manage routing policies, segmentation, and secure interconnections while ensuring compliance with DISA STIG, RMF, and program security requirements. Key technical competencies include expertise in BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS/L3VPN, VXLAN/EVPN, and Type 1 encryption. The role requires proficiency in Ansible for network automation and experience with SD-WAN and cloud connectivity to AWS GovCloud or Azure Government. This position solves complex problems regarding secure, resilient infrastructure within classified enclaves and disconnected tactical networks.
Develop multi-year modernization roadmaps and target-state architectures for WAN, campus, data center, and cloud environments.
Design Zero Trust capabilities including micro-segmentation, software-defined perimeters, and policy enforcement points.
Create high-level and low-level designs for routing policies, network segmentation, and redundancy models.
Ensure all network designs comply with DISA STIGs, RMF controls, and other federal security requirements.
Serve as the senior technical authority and escalation point for engineering, operations, and NOC/SOC teams.
Lead architecture reviews and present design recommendations to government leadership and Configuration Control Boards.
Conduct technology assessments, Analyses of Alternatives (AoA), and proof-of-concept evaluations for emerging capabilities.
Champion network automation and infrastructure-as-code practices to improve deployment speed and consistency.
What we're looking for
Must be a U.S. citizen with an active Top Secret clearance and the ability to obtain a SCI.
Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years of experience or a Master’s degree with 10+ years of experience.
DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level III certification (e.g., CISSP, CompTIA SecurityX/CASP+ CE).
Professional-level networking certification (e.g., Cisco CCNP Enterprise or Juniper JNCIP).
12–15 years of progressive network engineering experience, including at least 5 years in a network architecture or senior design role supporting DoD environments.
Expert knowledge of routing and switching (BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS/L3VPN) and data center fabrics (VXLAN/EVPN).
Experience with next-generation firewalls, network segmentation, Type 1 encryption, and RMF/NIST compliance.
Design experience with SD-WAN, cloud environments, or Ansible workflows (preferred); familiarity with DISN, JRSS, CSfC, or CDS architectures (preferred).