Network Engineer
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Summary
The Network Engineer designs, secures, and maintains wired, wireless, and wide-area networks across Monticello's historic properties—covering firewalls, segmentation, guest Wi-Fi, and point-of-sale connectivity—while serving as a primary resource for cybersecurity monitoring and incident response alongside the Systems Administrator.
About the Thomas Jefferson Foundation
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a twofold mission of preservation and education, and was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the Foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson's world and ideas and sharing the history of everyone who lived and labored at Monticello. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience.
Network Engineer
Purpose:
The Network Engineer designs, secures, and maintains the wired, wireless, and wide-area networks that connect every Foundation property, from administrative offices to point-of-sale systems, guest Wi-Fi, and building systems across a mountaintop historic site. Reporting to the Director of Information Technology, you will also serve as a primary technical resource for cybersecurity monitoring and incident response, working alongside the Systems Administrator to keep Monticello's operations and visitor experience running 363 days a year.
Compensation:
$68,500 - $82,000
We will look to you to:
- Design, configure, and maintain routers, switches, firewalls, wireless controllers and access points, and the cabling and fiber that connect them across Foundation properties.
- Architect and administer network segmentation that keeps administrative, point-of-sale, guest, and building-system traffic separate and secure.
- Manage firewall policy, VPN, and remote access, including periodic rule reviews to remove stale or overly permissive rules.
- Plan and deliver upgrades, patches, and hardware lifecycle replacements through change control, communicating outages clearly to stakeholders.
- Monitor network availability, performance, and capacity, and turn that data into reports that support planning and budgeting.
- Plan and support wireless coverage for staff, guests, and events, including installations in historic structures and outdoor terrain.
- Manage relationships with ISPs, circuit providers, and network-related MSPs, and hold them to contracted service levels.
- Keep network documentation current: topology diagrams, IP address plans, VLAN and subnet assignments, circuit inventory, and configuration backups.
- Serve as the Service Desk's escalation point for network issues and lead root cause analysis on complex, multi-vendor problems.
- Administer and tune security tools (endpoint detection and response, DNS filtering, SIEM, vulnerability scanning), triage alerts, and drive risk-based remediation.
- Participate in incident response from detection and containment through post-incident review, support audits, and cyber insurance evidence.
- Advise colleagues on the network needs of their projects, including VoIP, audio/visual, physical security, and building systems, and help plan future network direction.
- Provide backup coverage for server, virtualization, and Microsoft 365 administration, with reciprocal support from the Systems Administrator.
- Respond promptly to emergencies, both during and outside normal business hours.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Three or more years of hands-on network engineering or administration in a multi-site production environment, including firewall and wireless administration.
- Strong working knowledge of Layer 2/3 routing and switching, VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, and routing protocols (static, OSPF, BGP).
- Experience administering next-generation firewalls, VPN and secure remote access, and enterprise wireless, including RF planning and current 802.11 standards.
- Solid grasp of DNS, DHCP, IP address management, and network monitoring tools (SNMP, syslog, flow analysis).
- Familiarity with security tooling such as SIEM and log aggregation, EDR, DNS-layer filtering, and vulnerability scanning, as well as network access control (802.1X) and MFA.
- Working knowledge of a security framework such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework or CIS Controls, and of PCI DSS segmentation requirements.
- Understanding of Active Directory and Entra ID, including conditional access.
- Strong documentation discipline and comfort working within a change control process.
- Ability to explain technical risk and network conditions in clear, plain language to non-technical colleagues and leadership.
- Good customer service attitude, strong organizational skills, and the ability to keep multiple projects moving at once.
- Not required, but the following would be helpful additional skills:
- Scripting or automation for configuration, monitoring, or reporting (PowerShell, Python, Ansible).
- Certifications such as CCNA/CCNP, JNCIA, Network+, Security+, or vendor-specific firewall and wireless certifications.
- Experience with SD-WAN, ZTNA/SASE, cloud networking (Azure, AWS), VoIP and QoS, structured cabling and PoE, or virtualization.
- Experience working with nonprofits and/or historic sites.
Education
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education, training, and related experience in computer science, management information systems, computer engineering, or a related discipline.
Physical Demands and Work Considerations:
- The Foundation relies on its network 363 days a year. This role requires some non-traditional hours for maintenance and troubleshooting, participation in an on-call rotation, and support during key events such as July 4th, large festivals, and annual board meetings.
- Lifting and carrying 50 lbs. with or without assistance.
- Bending, stooping, kneeling, and crawling may be required, including work in network closets, ceilings, and crawl spaces.
- Must be comfortable working in enclosed and tight spaces.
- Must be comfortable working on ladders and lifts.
- Monticello is located on a mountaintop; walking on inclines and uneven terrain is required.
- Personal use of a car is required to transport equipment and to travel to and from various Foundation locations.
We provide the following benefits for our full-time employees:
- Excellent benefits package (including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) retirement savings plan plus 6% match, life insurance, and more!).
- Fitness club membership discount.
- Discount (25 - 45% off) in the Monticello Café, gift shop, and Monticello online catalog.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – free for employee and dependents.
- $500 employee referral bonus.
- Exciting quarterly social events for all employees.
If you believe this opportunity is the right fit for you, we encourage you to apply!