Job Description

• Clearance: Active TS.
• Location: On-site at a base in the Metro DC Area
• Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement and more
• Reason for the position: Team expansion FTE on contract with ample runway
• Qualifications: Preferably those that show Professional and/or Expert level in load balancers, firewalls, protocol and/or packet tracing. Since there is no perfect certification path for this role, heavier weight is placed on relevant experience.

What This Job Feels Like

• Work spans applications, systems, and network layers depending on where performance issues appear.
• Daily focus on high-impact challenges that directly relate to the users’ quality of experience - solving complex performance problems is the norm.
• Ownership of optimization projects from root cause identification to the establishment of resolution plans and performance improvement.
• High OPTEMPO - individuals must be able to self-manage task lists based on communicated priorities

What You’ll Do

• Diagnose and optimize application performance end-to-end, from operating systems and middleware down to packet-level analysis.
• Analyze DNS, load balancers, firewalls, and application architecture to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
• Collaborate with development, systems, and network teams to implement optimization solutions.
• Perform root cause analysis for latency, throughput, and availability issues. Drive remediation and efficiency improvements.
• Mentor less-senior engineers in monitoring, instrumentation, and performance troubleshooting.

Tech Knowledge / Skills

• Expertise in application and middleware performance monitoring (web apps, databases, APIs).
• Deep understanding of TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/S, SSL/TLS, and related protocols.
• Expertise in and hands-on experience with load balancers, firewalls, and packet capture/analysis tools (Wireshark, tcpdump, etc.).
• (Preferred) Familiarity with APM platforms and system-level troubleshooting across OS and network layers.

Requirements

• 8+ years experience in application performance optimization, systems, or network engineering in secure/cleared environments.
• Active TS; must be able to obtain TS/SCI.
• Demonstrated progressive responsibility and ownership indicative of senior expertise.
• DoD 8140 compliance required