Network Engineer

Job description

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure, resilient future. With a focus on national security and economic resiliency, we serve critical industries such as defense, aerospace, and automotive powering a high-technology future. Vulcan Elements is building a team of ambitious professionals committed to Mission Focus, Technical Excellence and Transparency. As a Network Engineer, you will design, deploy, and maintain the network infrastructure that powers our office and manufacturing facilities. You will be a key contributor to ensuring secure, reliable, and high-performance connectivity across IT and Operational Technology (OT) environments. This role requires deep technical expertise in enterprise networking, a strong security mindset aligned with CMMC and NIST 800-171, and hands-on experience in regulated or government-adjacent environments. **Responsibilities** - **Network Design and Deployment:** Architect, implement, and maintain LAN/WAN/WLAN infrastructure across office and manufacturing environments using Cisco Meraki and Ubiquiti UniFi platforms. - **OT Network Management:**Design and maintain segmented OT/IT network environments supporting industrial control systems, PLCs, and manufacturing floor devices. Enforce strict zone isolation in accordance with NIST and CMMC control families. - **Security and Compliance:**Implement and enforce network security controls aligned with NIST and CMMC requirements, including access control, boundary protection, audit logging, and incident response. - **Firewall and Segmentation:**Configure and manage firewalls, VLANs, ACLs, and micro-segmentation policies to protect CUI and sensitive manufacturing data. - **Monitoring and Troubleshooting:**Proactively monitor network health, respond to outages, and perform root cause analysis across both IT and OT segments. - **VPN and Remote Access:**Administer and maintain secure remote access solutions including site-to-site and client VPN configurations, ensuring least-privilege access. - **Documentation:**Maintain detailed network diagrams, configuration baselines, change logs, and system security plans (SSPs) as required for CMMC assessments. - **Cross-Functional Collaboration:**Partner with Engineering, Operations, and IT teams to support network requirements for automation, data acquisition, and production systems. - **Government and Compliance Support:**Support internal audits, CMMC assessments, and government contract compliance reviews with thorough documentation and evidence collection. *Responsibilities and tasks outlined are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the business.* **Qualifications** - **Experience:**3+ years of experience in network engineering, preferably in a manufacturing, defense, or government-regulated environment. - **OT Network Experience:**Hands-on experience designing or maintaining OT/IT converged networks including familiarity with industrial protocols (Modbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET) and ICS/SCADA network architecture. - **Platform Proficiency:**Direct hands-on experience with Cisco Meraki (switching, wireless, security appliances) and Ubiquiti UniFi (switches, APs, gateways) required. - **Security Mindset:**Working knowledge of NIST 800-171, CMMC, and network-level controls. Experience supporting or preparing for CMMC assessments is strongly preferred. - **Government Experience (Preferred):**Prior experience supporting federal contractors, DoD programs, or government-adjacent facilities with CUI handling and export-controlled environments (ITAR/EAR). - **Routing and Switching:**Strong fundamentals in BGP, OSPF, spanning tree, VLANs, QoS, and SD-WAN concepts. - **Problem Solving:**Ability to diagnose and resolve complex network issues across both IT and OT environments with minimal downtime. - **Physical Requirements:**Ability to lift up to 50 lbs, work in a manufacturing environment, and perform cable runs, rack installations, and equipment mounting. - **Preferred Certifications:**Cisco CCNA or CCNP, Meraki ECMS, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+ *Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.*