Systems Engineer - Networking and Monitoring - Contingent

This is a contingent position, meaning employment is dependent upon the successful award of the associated contract to Aretum and completion of any required background investigation or security clearance verification. 

About Aretum

Aretum is a mission-driven organization committed to delivering innovative, technology-enabled solutions to our customers across defense, civilian, and homeland security sectors. Our teams work at the intersection of strategy, technology, and transformation, helping agencies solve their most critical challenges. We believe in investing in our people and creating a culture where collaboration, inclusion, and professional growth are at the forefront.

Job Summary

Lead AWS networking architecture, application load balancing, and enterprise monitoring/observability implementation for a Federal cloud integration solution. This is for a polypharmacy solution in a complex, multi-system cloud integration solution for Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system that services millions of veterans. Responsible for designing secure network segmentation, configuring high-availability load balancing, and establishing comprehensive monitoring across Splunk, Dynatrace, and DataDog platforms to ensure visibility, compliance, and operational excellence for RMF/ATO approval.

Due to the nature of our work as a federal consulting organization, employees may be expected to handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and must adhere to applicable safeguarding and compliance requirements. 

Responsibilities

• Design and implement AWS networking architecture including VPC design, subnets, route tables, security groups, and NACLs
• Configure Application Load Balancer (ALB) with target groups, health checks, SSL/TLS termination, path-based routing, and WAF integration
• Implement network security controls for federal compliance including network segmentation, encryption in transit, and zero-trust principles
• Design multi-AZ high availability architecture ensuring resilience during infrastructure failures
• Understand and coordinate Transit Gateway, PrivateLink, and VPC peering for secure multi-system connectivity
• Implement container networking including service discovery, ingress controllers, and network policies
• Manage VPC Flow Logs and network traffic analysis for security monitoring and troubleshooting

• Create network diagrams, boundary protection documentation, and data flow diagrams for RMF compliance
• Implement and configure enterprise monitoring platforms (Splunk, Dynatrace, and/or DataDog) for comprehensive system visibility
• Design monitoring architecture covering containers, load balancers, APIs, databases, and data pipelines
• Configure audit logging and SIEM integration for federal compliance requirements including who-did-what-when traceability
• Establish alert design, escalation policies, and incident response integration for operational excellence
• Create dashboards for technical teams, operations, and compliance stakeholders
• Integrate AWS CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and VPC Flow Logs with enterprise monitoring platforms
• Implement performance monitoring, capacity planning, and baseline establishment for anomaly detection

• Configure distributed tracing and application performance monitoring (APM) for multi-tier applications
• Design network architecture supporting zero-downtime deployments and automatic failover
• Configure load balancer health checks, connection draining, and traffic distribution algorithms
• Implement DNS failover strategies and multi-region considerations for disaster recovery
• Test and validate network failover scenarios and recovery procedures

• Monitor network performance metrics and optimize for latency, throughput, and reliability
• Implement network security controls aligned with NIST 800-53 requirements
• Configure encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) across all network communication paths
• Apply least-privilege network access policies using security groups and NACLs
• Implement network intrusion detection and prevention monitoring
• Document network security controls and monitoring capabilities for RMF/ATO security assessment
• Configure compliance logging with appropriate retention policies for audit requirements

• Monitor and alert on security events, anomalous network traffic, and compliance violations
• Create comprehensive network architecture diagrams, IP addressing schemes, and routing documentation
• Develop operational runbooks for network troubleshooting, load balancer management, and monitoring response procedures
• Document monitoring alert thresholds, escalation procedures, and incident response playbooks
• Maintain network and monitoring configuration baselines for compliance and change management
• Collaborate with container platform team on networking requirements and service mesh integration
• Work with developers on application health check design and monitoring instrumentation
• Partner with testing team on performance monitoring and load testing metric collection

• Support security teams with network traffic analysis and security event investigation

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or related technical field (relevant certifications and experience may supplement)
• 5-7 years in network engineering, systems engineering, or DevOps roles
• 3+ years hands-on experience with AWS networking and load balancing in production environments
• 2+ years of experience with enterprise monitoring platforms (Splunk, Dynatrace, DataDog, or similar)
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills for network and performance issues
• Attention to detail and commitment to security-first network design
• Effective written and verbal communication for documentation and cross-team collaboration
• Ability to work independently and manage concurrent networking and monitoring workstreams
• Adaptable to fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with changing requirements
• Proactive identification of network bottlenecks and monitoring gaps
• Understanding of NIST 800-53 security controls for networking and monitoring

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty or Solutions Architect - Professional
• Splunk Certified Admin, Dynatrace Professional, or DataDog certification
• Experience with AWS WAF, Shield, and security monitoring services
• Knowledge of service mesh technologies (Istio, AWS App Mesh)
• Federal government contracting or DoD networking experience

• Experience with network automation using Terraform or CloudFormation
• Experience in federal, DoD, or highly regulated environments
• Prior involvement in RMF/ATO processes with network security control implementation

Travel Requirements

This is a remote position; however, occasional travel may be required based on project needs, client meetings, team collaboration events, or training sessions. Travel is expected to be less than 10% and will be communicated in advance whenever possible.

EEO Statement

Aretum is committed to fostering a workplace rooted in excellence, integrity, and equal opportunity for all. We adhere to merit-based hiring practices, ensuring that all employment decisions are made based on qualifications, skills, and ability to perform the job, without preference or consideration of factors unrelated to job performance. 

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Aretum complies with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws. 

We are proud to support our nation’s veterans and military families, providing career opportunities that honor their service and experience. 

If you require reasonable accommodation during the hiring process due to a disability, please contact [email protected] for assistance. 

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled 

U.S Work Authorization

Due to federal contract requirements, only U.S. citizens are eligible for this position. This position supports a federal government contract and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust or Suitability Determination, depending on the agency’s background investigation requirements.  

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)  
• Retirement Plan (401k) 
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)  
• Paid Time Off 
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)  
• Short Term & Long-Term Disability  
• Training & Development