Principal Network Engineer with Security Clearance

Mount Indie is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to support a growing defense tech company. In this role, you will be reporting to the Director of Engineering & Technology and working alongside the Chief Architect, you'll chart technical strategy, uphold engineering rigor, and keep innovation throttled wide-open. You'll translate tomorrow's concepts into today's reference architectures, mentor cross-disciplinary teams, and serve as the engineering voice in company briefings and customer engagements. What you'll do:

• Develop and provide input for network architectures for our systems and customers
• Translate user and system requirements to system functionalities and reality
• Develop and implement network security architectures with HAIPE, IPSEC, TLS, and other protocols
• WAN, LAN, WLAN, VOIP setup and troubleshooting
• Support design, development, and test efforts for airborne tactical networking systems
• Implement dynamic routing protocols including OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, BGP, PPPoE, and MANET
• Implement IA controls and ensure compliance with DoD RMF
• Work as a team throughout the design process, supporting sprint planning sessions, code reviews, and scrums
• Get in front of real-world operators to understand needs and requirements from an end-user point of view Project & Technical Governance
• Direct enterprise-level engineering oversight for multi-million-dollar programs, enforcing rigorous technical baselines, proactive risk registers, and transparent status comms to executives and mission partners.
• Partner with PMs and chief engineers to apply Fuse's Warfighter Engineering & Design Process, driving on-schedule, on-spec delivery.
• Translate forward-looking concepts into modular reference architectures that unlock future capability inserts and rapid refresh cycles. Innovation & Capability Development
• Champion emerging tech adoption-AI-enabled network orchestration, SOSA-aligned hardware, zero-trust enclaves-by codifying best practices and coaching scrum teams through thorny edge cases.
• Align customer pain points with IR&D dollars, prioritizing prototypes that close validated gaps and boost ROI.
• Continuously scan the battlespace: track regulatory shifts, MIL-STD updates, and competitor pivots to recalibrate tech roadmaps ahead of the curve.
• Co-author cross-functional product roadmaps with Technology, Growth & Strategy, and Operations, ensuring every campaign has a tech glide-slope and a clear value prop. Stakeholder Engagement
• Serve as the technical conscience in executive reviews, translating complex trade-space decisions into crisp, business-centered narratives
• Solicit and integrate feedback from operators, customers, and internal guilds to keep initiatives mission-relevant and revenue-aligned.
• Conduct thorough market research and competitive analysis to inform strategic decisions and identify growth opportunities.
• Support the hunt and qualification of new opportunities: leverage intel on platform roadmaps, SWaP-C trends, and coalition needs to seed the funnel.
• Nurture strategic alliances across DoD PEOs, prime integrators, and niche innovators, positioning Fuse as the go-to edge-networking house.

Requirements Core Credentials

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Engineering, Software, Computer Science, Information Science, Systems, or a closely related discipline.
• Active secret clearance
• Understanding of networking fundamentals including VLANs, subnets, protocols, and standards
• Demonstrated experience with Linux OS
• Experience with Linux System Administration, firewalls and settings
• Experience with virtualized systems applications and administration (VMWare, ESXI,KVM)
• Familiarity with broadband line-of-sight radio data links
• Familiarity with broadband satellite data service and delay-tolerant networks
• Familiarity with networking protocol stacks
• Familiarity with NSA Type 1 encryption, especially high-assurance IP encryption (HAIPE) devices
• Working knowledge or experience with military networking systems and/or tactical data links
• Experience with US Navy Communications Networks such as ADNS/ISNS/CANES
• Knowledge of Navy Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Information Systems (C4IR)
• Willingness to travel to Pax River and other customer sites Nice to have:
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
• Routing & Switching (or CCNA Security)
• 5+ years of experience as a network engineer
• CISSP
• Experience with or development of networking for Container based applications
• Experience with EMANE, GNS3, EXata or other modeling environments
• Network Operating Systems Certificate
• CompTia Security +
• Knowledge of wireless controllers (CISCO, Juniper), wireless access points and the ability to deploy and configure them
• 10+ years leading complex engineering efforts, with 5+ years embedded in the aerospace & defense arena.
• Battle-tested at translating strategy into fielded capability: requirements nailed, budgets balanced, risks tamed.
• Hands-on leadership of full-lifecycle design, integration, test, and deployment for POR level systems. Leadership & Influence
• Storyteller who converts engineering nuance into crisp, exec-ready narratives and demo-floor wins.
• Relationship builder who cultivates program office, and industry partnerships that unlock new roadmaps.
• People-first leader who sets the bar high, fosters psychological safety, and keeps teams sprinting in a fast-tempo environment.
• Self-starter able to juggle competing priorities, cut through ambiguity, and deliver under pressure.