Lead Engineer

Who is Trace3?

Trace3 is a leading Transformative IT Authority, providing unique technology solutions and consulting services to our clients. Equipped with elite engineering and dynamic innovation, we empower IT executives and their organizations to achieve competitive advantage through a process of Integrate, Automate, Innovate.

Our culture at Trace3 embodies the spirit of a startup with the advantage of a scalable business. Employees can grow their career and have fun while doing it!

Trace3 is headquartered in Irvine, California. We employ more than 1,200 people all over the United States. Our major field office locations include Denver, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Lexington, Los Angeles, Louisville, Texas, San Francisco.

Ready to discover the possibilities that live in technology?

Come Join Us!

Street-Smart - Thriving in Dynamic Times

We are flexible and resilient in a fast-changing environment. We continuously innovate and drive constructive change while keeping a focus on the "big picture." We exercise sound business judgment in making high-quality decisions in a timely and cost-effective manner. We are highly creative and can dig deep within ourselves to find positive solutions to different problems.

Juice - The "Stuff" it takes to be a Needle Mover

We get things done and drive results. We lead without a title, empowering others through a can-do attitude. We look forward to the goal, mentally mapping out every checkpoint on the pathway to success, and visualizing what the final destination looks and feels like.

Teamwork - Humble, Hungry and Smart

We are humble individuals who understand how our job impacts the company's mission. We treat others with respect, admit mistakes, give credit where it's due and demonstrate transparency. We "bring the weather" by exhibiting positive leadership and solution-focused thinking. We hug people in their trials, struggles, and failures - not just their success. We appreciate the individuality of the people around us.

Job Summary

The Lead Engineer will lead day-to-day engineering execution and coordinate cross-functional technical delivery for enterprise system modernization, resiliency, security, and performance on a high-priority federal infrastructure program. The role emphasizes hands-on network engineering within the broader infrastructure environment. The Lead Engineer will translate architectural direction and program requirements into detailed designs, implementation plans, and reliable technical solutions across mission-critical environments.

The role combines hands-on engineering with technical team leadership to develop designs, coordinate migrations, troubleshoot complex issues, and guide implementation and operational readiness. The Lead Engineer will mentor engineers, coordinate cross-functional delivery, escalate architectural decisions and unresolved risks to the appropriate technical authority, and work primarily onsite at secure customer locations.

Summary of Essential Job Functions

• Serve as the onsite engineering lead and primary technical coordination point for system implementation and troubleshooting.
• Translate approved architecture principles, engineering standards, reference designs, and technology roadmaps into detailed system designs and engineering tasks.
• Assess enterprise architecture, performance, capacity, resiliency, security, dependencies, and failure domains across enterprise, data-center, HPC, manufacturing, test, and remote-site environments.
• Develop detailed system designs, bills of material, migration procedures, implementation plans, test plans, and operational-readiness checklists; coordinate required technical reviews and approvals.
• Lead technical discovery, design reviews, and implementation risk assessments; evaluate alternatives and recommend solutions to the appropriate technical authority.
• Ensure architectural solutions meet requirements for routing, switching, segmentation, security, high availability, remote access, inter-site connectivity, observability, and disaster recovery.
• Lead troubleshooting for complex system incidents and performance issues, coordinate root-cause analysis and corrective actions, and escalate unresolved issues as needed.
• Implement and maintain configuration, documentation, monitoring, and operational standards that improve consistency, supportability, and service performance.
• Prepare and deliver briefings to senior leadership within the organization and at the customer on engineering status, technical decisions, risks, dependencies, trade-offs, and recommended actions. Tailor technical detail to the audience and clearly identify decisions and support needed; communicate relevant outcomes to program leadership, project managers, and engineering teams.
• Work directly with local project management and remote engineering and architecture teams to align technical delivery with project schedules, resolve dependencies and implementation issues, and coordinate design clarifications and required approvals. Coordinate engineering tasks and implementation sequencing across network, security, systems, storage, facilities, DevOps, application, and program teams.
• Guide day-to-day engineering work, review configurations and technical deliverables, mentor engineers, and reinforce network engineering practices across the program.
• Support onsite assessments, maintenance windows, migrations, incident response, and post-implementation stabilization as required.

Required Skills and Experience

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience designing, modernizing, and supporting complex enterprise systems.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a lead network engineer or senior engineer coordinating technical delivery and complex troubleshooting in mission-critical environments.
• Expertise with Cisco enterprise routing, switching, firewall, VPN, and data-center technologies.
• Advanced knowledge of BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VRFs, QoS, multicast, segmentation, high availability, and resilient network design.
• Experience developing detailed system designs, configurations, bills of material, migration procedures, implementation plans, test plans, and operational documentation within established architecture and approval processes.
• Strong knowledge of network security, including firewall policy, micro-segmentation, secure remote access, network access control, and Zero Trust principles.
• Advanced troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills across routing, performance, availability, DNS, DHCP, NTP, IP address management, authentication, and application connectivity.
• Experience with monitoring and observability technologies, including telemetry, SNMP, syslog, NetFlow/IPFIX, packet capture, alerting, and performance baselining.
• Proven ability to assess implementation risks, evaluate technical trade-offs, communicate recommendations to technical and nontechnical stakeholders, and escalate decisions appropriately.
• Demonstrated experience preparing and delivering technical briefings to both internal senior leadership and customer senior leadership, translating complex engineering topics into clear mission and operational impacts, risks, options, and actionable recommendations.
• Ability to lead cross-functional engineering execution, mentor engineers, coordinate technical work, and work independently onsite in secure, regulated, federal, defense, manufacturing, or comparable environments.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Knowledge of EVPN/VXLAN, software-defined networking, data-center fabrics, and high-performance or low-latency networks.
• Experience implementing and supporting network integration for VMware, Kubernetes, OpenShift, Tanzu, AWS, and hybrid-cloud platforms.
• Network automation experience using Python, Ansible, APIs, infrastructure as code, or CI/CD practices.
• Experience supporting operational technology, manufacturing, specialized test equipment, legacy platforms, air-gapped environments, or systems with limited maintenance windows.
• Knowledge of NIST 800-171, NIST 800-53, CMMC, vulnerability management, SIEM/EDR integration, and secure software-import processes.
• Familiarity with TDM, serial circuits, and specialized communications technologies.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to:

• Remain in a stationary position for extended periods of time.
• Operate a computer, keyboard, and other office equipment using hands and fingers.
• Communicate effectively in person, over the phone, and through electronic means.
• Occasionally move about the office to access files, office equipment, and meeting spaces.
• Lift and/or move up to 15 pounds as needed.
• Maintain specific vision abilities, including close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Pay and benefits

Actual salary will be based on a variety of factors, including location, experience, skill set, performance, licensure and certification, and business needs. The range for this position in other geographic locations may differ. Certain positions may also be eligible for variable incentive compensation, such as bonuses or commissions, that is not included in the base salary.

Estimated Pay Range $150,000 - $210,000 USD

The Perks

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans for you and your dependents
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Employer Match, 529 College Savings Plan, Health Savings Account, Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability
• Competitive Compensation
• Training and development programs
• Major offices stocked with snacks and beverages
• Collaborative and cool culture
• Work-life balance and generous paid time off

Our Commitment

At the core of Trace3's DNA is our people. We are a diverse group of talented individuals who understand the importance of teamwork and demonstrating leadership, character, and passion in all that we do.

We're committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to grow. We recognize that embracing diversity drives innovation, improves outcomes, fosters collaboration, boosts teammate satisfaction, and builds a more inclusive culture.

• To all recruitment agencies: Trace3 does not accept unsolicited agency resumes/CVs.
• Please do not forward resumes/CVs to our careers email addresses, Trace3 employees or any other company location.
• Trace3 is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/CVs.