Network Engineer

Network Engineer (Mid-Level)

Location: ARL’s Robotics Research Collaboration Campus (R2C2) at Graces Quarters, Middle River, MD

The Energetics Technology Center (ETC) is seeking a full-time mid-level Network Engineer with strong Linux system administration experience or a clear interest in deepening Linux skills. This role will support cutting-edge robotics and autonomous systems research for our Department of War client at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL) Robotics Research Collaboration Campus (R2C2), Middle River MD.

This position is not remote-work eligible. The selected candidate must be on-site during projects, experimentation, and testing events. The role may require occasional work outdoors in varying terrain and weather conditions, plus travel 2–3 times per year for up to two weeks at a time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work independently and/or with a small team to design, implement, and maintain wired and wireless network infrastructure at the R2C2 operations site, including Wi-Fi, wired LAN, point-to-point radios, tactical mesh radios, and 5G cellular networks.


• Provide Linux system administration support for network services, servers, and robotic platforms operating in fielded environments.


• Gather requirements, design network solutions, and present findings/recommendations clearly to researchers, colleagues, and leadership.


• Collaborate with robotics researchers to enable seamless network integration for autonomous platform operation, communication, and real-world experimentation.


• Manage high-bandwidth data transfer using command-line tools, live analytics, and modeling systems.


• Develop and maintain operating policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), user guides, network architecture diagrams, and usage/performance reports.


• Configure, troubleshoot, and support Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet (or equivalent) network equipment.


• Implement and maintain network monitoring systems utilizing SNMP, NetFlow, syslog, and related tools for proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance analysis.


• Support System Administration duties as assigned

Required Education: Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Information Systems, Systems Administration, Network Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Experience Level: 2–5 years of relevant experience.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Possess or ability to obtain DoD 8570 IAT II certification (minimum CompTIA Security+ CE or equivalent) within 3 months of start date.


• Possess or ability to obtain Linux+ or RHSA (or equivalent) certification within 3 months of start date.


• Current or ability to obtain a U.S. SECRET security clearance.


• Experience or demonstrated interest in Linux system administration, including Ubuntu and/or RHEL derivatives, shell scripting, command-line tools, and advanced troubleshooting.


• Deep knowledge of networking fundamentals and networked systems: TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, VPNs, network interfaces, segmentation, traffic analysis, performance monitoring, and common protocols (including multicast/broadcast).


• Proficiency with network troubleshooting tools and techniques (Ping, traceroute, SSH, SCP, TCP Dump, Wireshark).


• Solid understanding of network security standards (STIGs, CIS benchmarks, firmware/patch management).


• Hands-on experience with network device CLI (Cisco IOS, Juniper JUNOS, or equivalent).

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

• Cisco CCNA certification or completion of Cisco training.


• Experience with operating system virtualization (Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox) and containerization (Docker).


• Familiarity with configuration management and automation tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef).


• Experience operating or supporting autonomous vehicles, robotic platforms, or field experimentation environments.


• Strong communication, presentation, and customer-service skills.

What We Offer: The opportunity to work hands-on with state-of-the-art robotics and autonomous systems research at one of the nation’s premier DoD facilities (ARL R2C2). You’ll play a key role in enabling groundbreaking experimentation while advancing your expertise in both enterprise networking and Linux systems administration.