Senior Optical Network Architect – DWDM & Fibre Infrastructure (Government Contract, Secret Clearance)

Location

Ottawa, ON (National Capital Region) - On-site

Job Type

Contract, Full time - 2 openings (up to 240 billable days/year, 2-year initial term, with likely renewal)

Clearance Required

SECRET (Canadian or U.S. citizens only)

About the Opportunity

This one's a niche search. A Government of Canada client operating a highly integrated, multi-site classified network needs two veteran optical/DWDM architects to lead the design of next‑generation fibre infrastructure connecting secure facilities across the region. If ROADM design, long-haul DWDM, and optical simulation are your bread and butter, keep reading.

What You'll Do

- Track emerging network technology trends and advise senior stakeholders on where they create real opportunity.
- Run options analyses and recommend architecture changes, weighing alternative solutions and methodologies.
- Turn business requirements into concrete systems designs and specifications.
- Produce System Interface Requirements documentation to ensure clean integration across the technology stack.
- Evaluate existing infrastructure for bottlenecks and recommend performance improvements.
- Own network architecture diagrams and System Design Specifications for optical, IP, and MPLS networks.
- Design and deploy complex network solutions across DWDM, MPLS, and Segment Routing (SRv6).
- Design and implement optical networking across multiple sites using dark fibre, DWDM ROADMs, Raman amplification, and mux/demux hardware.
- Partner with operations and life-cycle teams to diagnose and resolve technical issues.




- Identify architecture gaps and recommend fixes alongside the broader project team.
- Provide technical design support to enterprise projects that touch the networks you own.

What You Bring (Required)

- 15+ years (within the last 20) working as a technical/network architect.
- 10+ years of hands-on configuration and implementation of IT network routing hardware.
- 10+ years designing and implementing fibre optic systems on DWDM technology.
- 10+ years across DWDM hardware design/implementation/configuration, single-module ROADM technology, and multi-degree mesh nodes.
- 10+ years engineering and deploying DWDM networks using optical simulation tools.
- 7+ years engineering network solutions on BGP and Layer 3 MPLS VPNs.
- 2+ years within the last 5 on classified (SECRET) networks.
- Canadian or U.S. citizenship, with eligibility to hold (or already holding) a SECRET-level government security clearance.
- Fluent, professional English.

Nice to Have

- Hands‑on with Cisco Transport Planner, NCS2000, and Flex Spectrum/Flex Grid DWDM systems.
- Design/implementation experience with 96-channel ROADM, transponder technology, and 8-degree mesh.
- 100G/200G coherent DWDM experience.
- Broad protocol fluency - TCP/IP, Layer 3 VPN, IPv6, Segment Routing MPLS, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, IS-IS v6, Layer 2 Ethernet, VLAN, 802.1AE/MACsec, EVPN, Fibre Channel, SNMPv3, QoS.
- Experience managing projects involving Type 1 cryptographic protocol devices.

Good to Know

- On‑site in Ottawa (NCR); occasional short-notice domestic travel may be required.
- Delivered under a task-based professional services engagement - workload will ebb and flow with client demand.
- Only candidates who are Canadian or U.S. citizens and can obtain/maintain a SECRET clearance will be considered.

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