Systems Engineer/Developer (Ts/Sci W/ Poly) - Mission Critical

We are seeking a hands-on Systems Engineer with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystem spanning cloud and on-premises environments. This role requires a proven practitioner who can analyze existing (“as-is”) systems and applications, document current state architectures, design future-state solutions, and implement system enhancements or technology transformations end-to-end.

The ideal candidate is a technical leader and achiever who can seamlessly collaborate across infrastructure, platform, application, DevSecOps, information systems security, and data teams while maintaining ownership of system reliability, performance, scalability, and security.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related technical discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience

Minimum ten (10) years of related systems engineering experience

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

The candidate must demonstrate hands-on experience in all the following areas:

Infrastructure & Platforms

Enterprise networking (e.g. routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, DNS)

Storage technologies (e.g. SAN, NAS, object storage)

Virtualization and container platforms (VMware, Hyper-V, Kubernetes, Docker)

Windows and Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)

Data platforms (HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)

Cloud & On-Prem Technologies

Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)

Hybrid and on-prem infrastructure design and integration

Cloud networking, identity, security, and cost optimization

Data & Application Platforms

Relational and NoSQL databases – relational (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, Redis) databases

Data platforms (HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)

Data pipelines, and ETL frameworks – with ETL pipelines, Airflow, Kafka, Spark, or similar frameworks

Web services, APIs, and middleware

Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals

Engineering & Automation

Infrastructure as Code – Scripting & Automation: Python, Bash, PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation

Configuration management and scripting (PowerShell, Bash, Python, etc.)

CI/CD integration with infrastructure and platforms (Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, GitOps)

Security best practices and system hardening

Monitoring & Incident Response: Proficiency with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, ELK Stack, CloudWatch

Architecture & Design

Ability to create:

o As-is architecture documentation

o To-be architecture and detailed engineering designs

o Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED SKILLS

Observability and monitoring tools (logging, metrics, tracing)

Zero Trust and modern security architectures

Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure

Experience supporting regulated or mission-critical environments

Relevant certifications (cloud, systems, security, or architecture)

Knowledge of machine learning platforms (TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)

Familiarity with big data ecosystems (Hadoop, Databricks, Snowflake, Google, BigQuery)

Strong background in ITIL processes and agile methodologies

Certifications: AWS Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer, Azure Administrator, Kubernetes CKA/CKAD, ITIL Foundation

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Perform hands-on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, operating systems, middleware, databases, and applications

Analyze and document as-is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures

Design to-be architectures and detailed engineering designs for modernization, optimization, and transformation initiatives

Lead and execute cloud and on-prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades

Ensure systems meet availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance requirements

Integrate infrastructure and platforms with DevOps and DevSecOps pipelines

Troubleshoot complex, cross-stack issues spanning infrastructure, platforms, and applications

Collaborate effectively with:

o Infrastructure & Platform Engineers

o Software Engineers

o DevOps / DevSecOps Engineers

o Data Engineers (ETL)

o Data Modelers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts

Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, standards, and runbooks

Serve as a technical authority and escalation point for complex system issues

Communication Skills: Ability to brief executives clearly and translate technical issues into business impact

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Recognized SME with deep, hands-on technical expertise

Strong systems thinker with the ability to see and engineer across the full stack

Comfortable operating at both strategic architecture and tactical implementation levels

Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams

Proven ability to own complex systems from design through production

Requirements

*Eligible TS/SCI w/ FS Poly

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related technical discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience

Minimum ten (10) years of related systems engineering experience

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

The candidate must demonstrate hands-on experience in all the following areas:

Infrastructure & Platforms

Enterprise networking (e.g. routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, DNS)

Storage technologies (e.g. SAN, NAS, object storage)

Virtualization and container platforms (VMware, Hyper-V, Kubernetes, Docker)

Windows and Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)

Data platforms (HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)

Cloud & On-Prem Technologies

Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)

Hybrid and on-prem infrastructure design and integration

Cloud networking, identity, security, and cost optimization

Data & Application Platforms

Relational and NoSQL databases – relational (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, Redis) databases

Data platforms (HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)

Data pipelines, and ETL frameworks – with ETL pipelines, Airflow, Kafka, Spark, or similar frameworks

Web services, APIs, and middleware

Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals

Engineering & Automation

Infrastructure as Code – Scripting & Automation: Python, Bash, PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation

Configuration management and scripting (PowerShell, Bash, Python, etc.)

CI/CD integration with infrastructure and platforms (Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, GitOps)

Security best practices and system hardening

Monitoring & Incident Response: Proficiency with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, ELK Stack, CloudWatch

Architecture & Design

Ability to create:

o As-is architecture documentation

o To-be architecture and detailed engineering designs

o Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED SKILLS

Observability and monitoring tools (logging, metrics, tracing)

Zero Trust and modern security architectures

Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure

Experience supporting regulated or mission-critical environments

Relevant certifications (cloud, systems, security, or architecture)

Knowledge of machine learning platforms (TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)

Familiarity with big data ecosystems (Hadoop, Databricks, Snowflake, Google, BigQuery)

Strong background in ITIL processes and agile methodologies

Certifications: AWS Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer, Azure Administrator, Kubernetes CKA/CKAD, ITIL Foundation

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Perform hands-on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, operating systems, middleware, databases, and applications

Analyze and document as-is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures

Design to-be architectures and detailed engineering designs for modernization, optimization, and transformation initiatives

Lead and execute cloud and on-prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades

Ensure systems meet availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance requirements

Integrate infrastructure and platforms with DevOps and DevSecOps pipelines

Troubleshoot complex, cross-stack issues spanning infrastructure, platforms, and applications

Collaborate effectively with:

o Infrastructure & Platform Engineers

o Software Engineers

o DevOps / DevSecOps Engineers

o Data Engineers (ETL)

o Data Modelers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts

Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, standards, and runbooks

Serve as a technical authority and escalation point for complex system issues

Communication Skills: Ability to brief executives clearly and translate technical issues into business impact

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Recognized SME with deep, hands-on technical expertise

Strong systems thinker with the ability to see and engineer across the full stack

Comfortable operating at both strategic architecture and tactical implementation levels

Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams

Proven ability to own complex systems from design through production

Benefits

Leading Path is an award-winning Information Technology and Management Consulting firm focused on providing solutions in process, technology, and operations to our government and Fortune 500 clients. We offer a professional and family friendly work environment with a strong work-life balance. Leading Path provides a comprehensive and competitive benefits package including fully paid medical/dental/vision premiums, generous PTO, 11 Paid Holidays, 6% 401K contribution, annual training and tuition reimbursement, SPOT Award bonuses, regular team events, opportunities for professional growth and advancement and much more!