Network Engineer / VPN

Secure Overlay/VPN EngineerClearancejobs.com is currently seeking a Secure Overlay/VPN Engineer in Rochester, NY, Clifton, NJ, Columbia, MD Sunrise, FL, San Diego. The Secure Overlay / VPN Engineer designs, implements, and operates identity-based, encrypted network overlays that function reliably across NAT-restricted, mobile, and unreliable transport environments. This role focuses on secure peer discovery, tunnel establishment, and resilient traffic protection across radios, edge devices, and cloud gateways. This position treats network security as software, not as traditional firewall rule administration. If you would like the opportunity to build systems that automatically form, maintain, and recover secure connectivity in dynamic, distributed environments, then we want to speak to you! Core ResponsibilitiesDesign, implement, and maintain VPN gateways and peer-to-peer secure overlay networks Support NAT traversal, VPN hole punching, and decentralized peer discovery mechanisms Optimize encrypted tunnels for latency, jitter, packet loss, and intermittent connectivity Manage cryptographic identities, including key generation, rotation, and certificate lifecycles Ensure multicast and control-plane traffic can traverse encrypted overlays when required Collaborate with SDN, routing, and platform teams to align overlay behavior with network and security policy Troubleshoot complex overlay networking issues across heterogeneous transports and endpoints Required Technical ExpertiseVPN & Overlay Technologies WireGuard (preferred) StrongSwan / IPsec Familiarity with ZeroTier / Tailscale architectural concepts NAT Traversal & Connectivity STUN / TURN / ICE fundamentals UDP/TCP hole punching strategies Experience operating across carrier-grade NAT, mobile networks, and constrained links Security Fundamentals Public key cryptography Certificate-based authentication Secure key management and automated rotation Linux Networking Network interface configuration and management Routing behavior and policy-based routing Understanding of firewall interactions with encrypted tunnels Distributed Systems Thinking Peer discovery and membership management Failure detection and recovery Autonomous reconnection and self-healing behaviors Ideal BackgroundSecure communications platforms Peer-to-peer or overlay networking systems Telecommunications security engineering Defense, government, or other regulated environments What Success Looks LikeSecure overlays form automatically with minimal manual intervention. Connectivity survives NAT, mobility, and unstable transports. Cryptographic identity and trust are enforced consistently across the network. Overlay behavior aligns cleanly with routing, SDN, and security policy.