DNS Subject Matter Expert (SME) with Security Clearance

Job Title: DNS Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Location: Fort Meade, MD (Hybrid | 3 Days Onsite Preferred)
Clearance: Active Secret Clearance (Ability to Obtain Higher-Level Clearance if Required)
Employment Type: Full-Time / Direct Perm About the Role
We are seeking a senior DNS Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support a mission-critical Department of Defense environment responsible for enterprise DNS infrastructure and related network services.

This role is ideal for a highly experienced DNS professional who enjoys owning complex environments, solving high-impact technical challenges, and serving as a trusted technical authority. You will partner closely with an established DNS leader to share ownership of a large-scale enterprise DNS environment and help drive architecture, operational excellence, resiliency, and security. The successful candidate will be expected to serve as the go-to DNS expert during outages, security events, vulnerability assessments, and critical operational incidents.

This individual must be comfortable defending technical decisions, advising leadership, and helping shape the future direction of enterprise DNS services. This position can be structured as either a Technical Lead or Senior Individual Contributor role depending on the candidate's experience and career goals.

What You'll Do

• Serve as a senior technical authority for enterprise DNS architecture, operations, and engineering.
• Share ownership of a large-scale, mission-critical DNS environment supporting government operations.
• Design, implement, maintain, and optimize highly available DNS services.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts for complex DNS incidents, outages, and service disruptions.
• Assess and respond to emerging DNS vulnerabilities, threats, and operational risks.
• Support perimeter and border-network initiatives, ensuring secure and resilient service delivery.
• Provide technical guidance and recommendations to engineering teams and program leadership.
• Brief technical and non-technical stakeholders on DNS architecture, operational health, risk posture, and remediation strategies.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, network engineering, infrastructure, and operations teams.
• Drive improvements in service reliability, resilience, monitoring, automation, and operational readiness.
• Support accreditation, information assurance, and compliance-related initiatives as needed. Required Qualifications
• 7-10+ years of experience in network engineering, infrastructure engineering, or related technical disciplines.
• Deep hands-on expertise managing and supporting enterprise-scale DNS environments.
• Proven experience serving as a primary DNS owner, architect, or technical lead.
• Strong networking foundation with experience supporting perimeter, border, or enterprise network architectures.
• Experience troubleshooting and resolving complex DNS-related issues in production environments.
• Demonstrated ability to assess vulnerabilities, determine operational impact, and drive remediation efforts.
• Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Ability to serve as a trusted advisor to engineering teams, stakeholders, and leadership.
• Proven ability to remain calm and make sound technical decisions during high-priority incidents.
• U.S. Citizenship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret Clearance or higher.
• Experience supporting DoD, Federal, Intelligence Community, or other secure government environments.
• Experience with enterprise DNS platforms such as Infoblox or comparable technologies.
• Experience supporting large-scale network infrastructure and mission-critical services.
• Knowledge of BGP routing and network architecture principles.
• Experience supporting Information Assurance, compliance, or accreditation programs.
• Familiarity with Impact Level (IL) 4/5 environments.
• Current TS/SCI clearance or ability to obtain additional clearances in the future. What We're Looking For

We're looking for a DNS expert who can immediately step into a highly visible environment and become a trusted technical resource for both engineering teams and leadership.
The ideal candidate:

• Takes ownership and accountability for critical DNS services.
• Can quickly respond when DNS vulnerabilities, outages, or incidents occur.
• Is comfortable serving as the technical authority in discussions with leadership and stakeholders.
• Brings both strategic architectural thinking and hands-on engineering capability.
• Has the confidence to defend technical recommendations and guide complex decision-making.
• Thrives in fast-paced, mission-focused environments where reliability and responsiveness are essential. Most importantly, we're seeking someone who can share ownership of a critical enterprise DNS environment and become the person others rely on when DNS challenges arise. Additional Information
• Onsite support at Fort Meade is required for classified and high-side activities.
• Local DMV candidates are strongly preferred.
• Exceptional candidates outside the immediate area may be considered.
• Opportunity to grow into expanded technical leadership responsibilities over time.
• Program work supports long-term mission requirements within a stable and well-established environment.