Network Administrator (IT Network & Telecoms – Journey)

Posting number: 2026-ITSO4597-06715

Department: Dept. of Ecology

Division: Information Technology Services

Job classification: IT NETWORK AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS - JOURNEY

Posting type: Open & Promotional

Categories: Environmental Services, IT and Computers, Public Health, Natural Resources, Sciences, Green-Collar/Environmental

Summary

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Network Administrator (IT Network & Telecoms – Journey) within the Information Technology Services Office (ITSO).

Location: 

• Headquarters Office in Lacey, WA.

• Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station.

Schedule: 

• This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.

• You may telework most of your work time with occasional in-person meetings and activities.

• Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

Application Timeline: 

• Apply by August 19, 2026

• Applications submitted after the date above may not be reviewed unless additional qualified applicants are needed.

Examples of duties

In this role, you'll serve as an advocate and technical resource for the agency's on-prem and Public Cloud networking infrastructure. You'll combine hands-on network engineering with project management to plan, implement, operate, and maintain the converged and integrated network services that keep Ecology's applications and staff connected across the state, directly supporting our work to protect Washington's air, water, and land.

This is a journey-level position (one level below Senior). You'll work with a high degree of independence on complex on-prem and network infrastructure while collaborating closely with senior technical staff, ITSO's IT Security team, Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech), and external vendors.

What you will do: 

• Provide primary network engineering support for Ecology’s on-prem and cloud infrastructure by installing, configuring, and maintaining Layer 2/3 components, gateways, and firewalls, and coordinating work with internal teams and external partners.
• Monitor LAN/WAN performance and operational health across all agency sites, identifying anomalies, bandwidth issues, outages, and security-related events and ensuring timely follow-up with ISPs and the IT Security team.
• Deliver Tier 2 and Tier 3 support statewide, resolving complex wired and wireless networking issues, authentication failures, and WAN disruptions, and conducting root cause analysis to prevent recurrence.
• Perform routine maintenance to keep network infrastructure secure and optimized, including software updates, patching, password rotations, certificate management, and compliance with ITSO/State standards.
• Maintain accurate and current network documentation, including IP address assignments, topology diagrams, configuration guides, and full inventory records for network hardware.
• Provide technical consultation on network design and implementation, serving as a subject matter expert for planning, guiding technology choices, and mentoring support staff.
• Build vendor relationships and research emerging on-prem and cloud networking technologies to recommend solutions that support business needs and maintain high reliability.
• Lead and support project planning and implementation by analyzing dependencies, designing work plans, strengthening network security, and coordinating timelines across service delivery teams.

Qualifications

For detailed information on how we calculate experience and responses to other frequently asked questions, please visit our Recruitment website.

Required Qualifications:

• Five years of experience and/or education related to the duties of the position, which includes the following:

  • Project Coordination – Ability to plan and organize tasks and timelines to support the successful delivery of network-relate