Network Engineer at BAE Systems
Albuquerque, NM
$107,359–$182,510from the description
Jun 28, 2026
Albuquerque, NM
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
An onsite network engineering role at Kirtland Air Force Base supporting satellite-to-ground communications infrastructure for Space Systems Command. Day-to-day work covers configuring and troubleshooting Cisco routers and switches, Palo Alto firewalls, and VMware-based virtual environments, alongside network monitoring and cybersecurity remediation. Suits an experienced engineer holding an active Top Secret or DoE Q clearance with at least five years of relevant hands-on networking experience.
Mid level · 5+ years · Albuquerque, NM · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $86,540 (middle half $72,700–$103,380). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (9)
The role is onsite at Kirtland AFB; no remote work is available.
Clearance gate: candidates must hold an active Top Secret or DoE Q clearance with SCI eligibility and must be able to obtain/maintain TS/SCI. SCI indoctrination must be achievable within the first 3 months.
Degree requirement: a Bachelor's in a STEM discipline plus 5+ years of experience, or a Master's plus 3+ years, or 4 additional years of relevant experience in lieu of any degree. Because equivalent experience is explicitly accepted, the degree requirement is set to None.
Total experience minimum is set to 5 years (the Bachelor's-track requirement); the Master's track (3 years) and the no-degree track (9 years equivalent) are alternative paths.
The role is classified as Mid-level: the title carries no seniority modifier, the posting explicitly frames the candidate as assisting 'more senior network engineers,' and the 5-year minimum aligns with mid-career. The wide salary band ($107K–$182K) reflects BAE Systems' broad internal grade structure rather than a higher seniority level.
Cisco routers, switches, Palo Alto firewalls, SolarWinds, ISE, VMware, and VMware Cloud Foundation are drawn from the role's narrative description of the team's infrastructure responsibilities — they are the explicit operational environment the engineer must support, making them hard gates.
The preferred section is thin and names no specific technologies — only soft skills and process knowledge — so no preferred skills are emitted.
SOC classification: the role primarily operates and maintains existing network infrastructure (monitoring, troubleshooting, configuring multivendor gear, administering Linux/Unix systems) rather than architecting or building new systems, pointing to 15-1244. 15-1241 (Network Architects) is the runner-up given the network topology/diagram work mentioned.
Requires a TS/SCI clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.