Network Engineer (Operations)

The GW Medical Faculty Associates (MFA) was incorporated in July 2000 as a not-for-profit, physician-led practice group. The organization functioned as an independent organization in support of The George Washington University School of Medicine and Sciences as a multi-specialty physician practice group. The GW MFA has grown to become the largest independent academic physician practice in the Washington, DC metro region with more than 500 physicians and nearly 200 APP providers. In 2018, the MFA bylaws were revised to allow The George Washington University to serve as the sole corporate member while the MFA retained independent 501c3 status. The purpose of the change was to ensure alignment between the MFA and The George Washington University.

MFA physicians provide comprehensive patient care, offering one practice for the whole person with 52 medical and surgical specialties. As members of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences faculty, MFA providers are teachers and mentors for medical students, residents, fellows, and researchers preserving the rich tradition of academics, research, and healing. In addition to maintaining a closely integrated alliance with The George Washington University and The George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) which is separately owned and operated by Universal Health Services (UHS), the GW MFA has active referring relationships with 12 area hospitals.

The GW MFA’s leading healthcare presence in the DC metro region is complemented by a network of community-based practices in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Given its geographic location in central NW Washington, DC, and proximity to more than 175 resident embassies, the MFA continues to evolve its international clinical outreach.

Position Summary

MFA IS&T is seeking a Network Engineer to join our MFA IS&T Systems team.  This position will report to the manager of that team.  This position will provide engineering support, implementations, and, when needed, 24x7 support to the technology infrastructure.  This position is a critical part of the MFA’s program to maintain, and continually improve its technology infrastructure for the MFA’s medical enterprise.

This position will be responsible for maintaining and optimizing the MFA’s network infrastructure to ensure efficient, reliable, and secure communications between healthcare facilities, including hospitals and clinics. This position plays a crucial role in supporting and managing the network's daily operations, while troubleshooting issues, and staying up to date with emerging technologies and best practices to enhance performance and security for the medical enterprise.

Experience with Healthcare IT is required.  Experience with Epic’s EMR platform is strongly preferred.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Other duties may be assigned.

• Configure and deploy network devices including routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless access points
• Implement and maintain network security measures, including firewalls, IDS/IPS, and access control policies
•  Ensure network architecture meets specific requirements for healthcare applications (Electronic Health Records – EHR, Picture Archiving and Communication Systems - PACS), and telemedicine platforms
•  Respond to and resolve network outages and connectivity issues promptly to minimize downtime
•  Implement robust security measures to safeguard patient data, sensitive medical records, and confidential information in compliance with PCI DSS and HIPAA regulations
•  Monitor network performance to ensure high availability and optimal performance for critical healthcare applications
•  Design, configure, and maintain VPN solutions
•  Create and maintain accurate network documentation, including diagrams, configurations, and operational procedures
•  Monitor and analyze network traffic for potential security breaches, intrusions, or unauthorized access attempts
•  Recommend and implement network upgrades and expansions as needed
•  Common Infrastructure management applications (monitoring, patching, etc.)
•  Strong design experience with hybrid and cloud infrastructure operating models to help with future datacenter & cloud migration planning
•  Able to support & design Storage Area Network (SAN) infrastructure
•  Strong understanding of networking protocols including TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VPNs, and DNS
•  Monitor and troubleshoot VPN connectivity issues, optimizing performance and ensuring uninterrupted services
•  Possess expert-level knowledge of infrastructure and network concepts, including specific platforms including but not limited to WS, Azure, on-premises Active Directory, O365, VMware, and VMC on AWS
• Plan, implement, and manage NAT solutions to enable efficient utilization of IP address space
•  Monitor NAT configurations to ensure accurate and effective translation of IP addresses
•  Proficient in configuring and troubleshooting network devices such as firewalls, switches, and load balancers
•  Knowledgeable of network security principles and best practices
•  Work closely with network architects to design NAT strategies that align with organizational goals and future scalability
•  Develop and document incident response plans for various network-related emergencies, including disaster recovery procedures to minimize or eliminate downtime
•  Work with partners as well as other IS&T/business units to methodically identify incidents/problems of existing Infrastructure services and provide ownership and direction to resolution
•  Create and maintain a knowledge base with common problems and resolutions, as well as all documentation around system and network configuration contributing to the IT infrastructure units to drive SLA maturity/efficiency.
•  Provide direction, guidance, and support for Solutions Center team members, Ancillary Application Team members, as well as other IS&T team members, assisting with troubleshooting as well as interviewing IS&T staff members driving overall team ability.
•  Occasional travel to remote sites/offsite Datacenter may be required on an as-needed basis
•  Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Associate degree in computer science or related field, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in a Network Engineering/Administration role
• A minimum of 5 years of experience supporting Microsoft Active Directory & Windows-based Server Operating Systems
•  A minimum of 3 years of experience supporting Azure Active Directory
• A minimum of 3 years of experience scripting and programming experience (Powershell, Windows Batch, Linux BASH, Python, Java, VB, etc.)
• Strong background and prior experience with PaloAlto and VMware AVI
• Strong Storage Area Network experience
•  Strong knowledge of network administration fundamentals (CCNA level or equivalent)
• Prior experience in Healthcare IT
• Prior project management experience
• Prior experience troubleshooting technical hardware and software issues in network and security capacity.

Physical Requirements

• Walk, stand, sit, and reach outward for long periods of time in an office setting.
• Must be able to occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull over 100 lbs. as part of the role.
• Regularly exposed to healthcare settings that may require personal protective equipment.
• Requires manual dexterity to operate a computer keyboard, calculator, copier machine, and other equipment.