Network Architect SME

Leidos is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Network Architect SME to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of our enterprise application delivery and DDI (DNS, DHCP, and IPAM) infrastructure in Fort Belvoir, VA or Albuquerque, New Mexico. The ideal candidate will have deep, hands-on expertise with F5 technologies and Infoblox, ensuring highly available, secure, and scalable application delivery models across the enterprise network in support of critical mission requirements that enhance the reliability and security of Department of War (DoW) networks and systems.
Acting as the technical lead for this initiative, you will architect and deploy network solutions utilizing F5 and Infoblox technologies in concert to provide intelligent and scalable global server load balancing (GSLB), secure DNS solutions,
and enterprise IP address management across our customer’s rapidly evolving hybrid multi-cloud environment.
Clearance Requirement: Active TS/SCI
Primary Responsibilities
Application Delivery Architecture - Design, deploy, and manage advanced application delivery models ensuring high availability, optimal performance, and security for mission-critical enterprise applications.
F5 Infrastructure Management - Architect and maintain F5 BIG-IP solutions, with a heavy focus on Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Global Traffic Manager (GTM) for intelligent local and global load balancing.
Enterprise DDI Administration - Lead the engineering, deployment, and administration of enterprise-class DDI infrastructure utilizing Infoblox technology (DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management).
Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work closely with application developers, cybersecurity teams, and systems engineers to translate application requirements into resilient, highly available network architectures.
Troubleshooting & Optimization - Perform advanced network troubleshooting, traffic analysis, packet capture, and performance tuning for complex application delivery workflows.
Documentation & Standards - Develop and maintain comprehensive architectural documentation, standard operating procedures, and technical blueprints.
Compliance & Documentation: Ensure all tools comply with DoW STIGs and IL5/IL6/IL7 protocols; develop and maintain architectural documentation and compliance traceability.
Basic Qualifications
Security Clearance: Active Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) required at time of hire.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline and 12 – 15 years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 10 – 13 years of prior relevant experience. May possess a Doctorate in technical domain. Specific experience, education and training may be considered in lieu of degree.
Certification: Active IAT Level II certification (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+, GSEC, or SSCP) required.
Cisco CCNA Certification (CCNP or CCIE Preferred).
Citizenship: United States Citizenship is required.
Experience Level: Minimum of 8+ years of progressive experience in network engineering and architecture, with a dedicated focus on application delivery networks (ADN).
F5 Expertise: Deep, demonstrable expertise in F5 BIG-IP platforms, specifically configuring, upgrading, and migrating
LTM and GTM/F5 DNS environments.
Infoblox / DDI Mastery: Extensive experience designing and operating enterprise-class Infoblox DDI environments, including Grid architecture and seamless IPAM integration.
RSA (Multi factor authentication) experience.
Core Networking: Mastery of OSI model layers 2-7, TCP/IP, routing protocols (e.g., BGP, OSPF), and solid experience with SSL/TLS offloading and certificate management.
Leadership: Experience leading technical working groups and directing the efforts of adjacent infrastructure and development teams.
Operational Experience: Prior experience working within a DoW/DoD Operations Center (NOC/SOC) or supporting mission-critical systems and networks.
Communication: Must be able to present designs, plans, and analyses of alternatives to technical leadership boards for approvals.
Preferred Qualifications
Automation Skills Experience with network automation and orchestration tools (e.g., Ansible, Python, Terraform, or
F5 AS3) is highly desired.
Certifications: F5 Certified Technology Specialist (F5-CTS) or Solution Expert (F5-CSE), and Infoblox Core DDI certifications are strongly preferred.
If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting:September 28, 2026
For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
Pay Range:Pay Range $116,350.00 - $210,325.00
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.