Systems Engineer - Mission Critical

Systems Engineer - TS/SCI w/ FSP - Mission Critical

Leading Path Consulting · McLean, United States · Full-time · Posted 2026-09-09

Salary: USD 200,000–275,000

Workplace: on_site

Department: Government

Description

Active TS/SCI w/ FSP required at time of application

Location choice between Warrenton and McLean!

We are seeking a hands-on Systems Engineer (SME) with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystems 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 systems enhancements or technology transformations end-to-end.

The ideal candidate is a technical leader and doer, not just an advisor - someone 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.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

·        Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related technical discipline, or other related technical discipline, or equivalent combination of education, technical certifications, training, and work/military experience

·        Minimum ten (10) years of related systems engineering experience

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

Candidates 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)

·        Container platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker)

·        Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)

·        IdAM - Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) hands-on for AuthN and AuthZ

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

·        Web services, APIs, and middleware

·        Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals

·        Event-based messaging systems (e.g., SQS, SNS, RabbitMQ)

Engineering & Automation

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

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

·        CI/CD integration with infrastructure and platforms (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, GitOps, ArgoCD)

·        Security best practices and systems hardening 

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

Architecture & Design

·        Ability to create:

• As-is architecture documentation
• To-be architecture and detailed engineering designs
• Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED SKILLS

·        Observability and monitoring tools (e.g., logging, metrics, tracing)

·        Zero Trust and modern security architectures

·        Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure

·        Experience supporting production or mission-critical environments

·        Relevant certifications (e.g., cloud, systems, security, or architecture)

·        Knowledge of machine learning platforms (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)

·        Familiarity with big data ecosystems (e.g., 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

·        Work with the System Architect and Cloud Architect to create the detail 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:

• Infrastructure & Platforms Engineers
• Software Engineers
• DevOps / DevSecOps Engineers
• Data Engineers (ETL)
• Data Modelers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts

·        Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, standards, and runbooks

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!

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