Senior Systems Engineer
Hybrid Remote Washington, DC/Annapolis, MD Engineering
Job Type
Full-time, Contract
Description

Role & Responsibilities 

The Senior Systems Engineer designs, implements, secures, and maintains complex systems and infrastructure supporting mission-critical federal solutions. The role leads technical execution, mentors junior engineers, and drives architectural, operational, and security excellence, including physical staging and imaging of server hardware.  

 

Systems Design & Architecture 

  • Develop system architectures, technical designs, and integration plans. 
  • Evaluate new technologies; ensure solutions meet performance and compliance standards. 

Implementation & Operations 

  • Build and maintain servers, cloud environments, networks, and infrastructure. 
  • Execute upgrades, patching, hardening, and lifecycle management. 
  • Implement automation and orchestration (scripting, IaC). 

Troubleshooting & Support 

  • Resolve complex issues across hardware, software, network layers. 
  • Lead root-cause analysis and long-term corrective action planning. 
  • Provide Tier 3 support for mission-critical systems. 

Security & Compliance 

  • Implement security controls and baselines; support audits and continuous monitoring. 

Documentation & Governance 

  • Maintain diagrams, configuration docs, SOPs, runbooks. 
  • Support governance and change control processes. 

Collaboration & Leadership 

  • Partner with PMs, architects, and operations teams. 
  • Mentor junior engineers; contribute to engineering best practices. 
  • Communicate with clients and stakeholders.  

Rack Build and Staging 

  • Partner with PMs, architects, and operations teams. 
  • Support physical server and infrastructure rack builds in accordance with approved rack elevations, build standards, and deployment procedures. 
  • Validate and inventory server hardware and supporting infrastructure received for large-scale deployment, verifying configuration against BOM prior to installation and burn-in. 
  • Stage server hardware and load approved customer-provided system images in controlled lab and staging environments. 
  • Configure and validate server hardware, operating systems, firmware, and supporting infrastructure in accordance with approved build standards. 
  • Support development, testing, and customer approval of a standardized golden rack from a systems and server integration standpoint. 
  • Validate server hardware, operating system, and network connectivity, coordinating with network integration staff to ensure server and network builds align to the approved rack standard. 
  • Troubleshoot hardware, operating system, configuration, and integration issues identified during staging and pre-deployment testing. 
  • Support Python, PowerShell, Bash, and Ansible automation for repeatable server provisioning, configuration, and validation. 
  • Maintain build documentation, test results, configuration artifacts, and system readiness records. 
  • Apply DISA STIGs and DoD-approved hardening baselines to server operating systems and firmware during staging, prior to golden rack approval. 
  • Validate staged server builds against RMF control requirements and document compliance status as part of build acceptance. 
  • Support vulnerability scanning, patching, and remediation of staged systems prior to shipment. 

Please Note: This position is contingent upon contract award with an expected start date of September 1, 2026.

Requirements
  • Extensive systems engineering experience. 
  • Expertise with Windows/Linux servers, cloud platforms, virtualization, storage, networking. 
  • Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills. 
  • Experience with automation tools (PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ansible). 
  • Understanding of security principles and compliance frameworks. 
  • Strong communication skills.  
  • Experience staging and imaging server hardware in a lab or integration environment. 

Preferred Qualifications 

  • Certifications: AWS/Azure Architect, Linux+, CCNP, Security+, MCSE. 
  • Experience in enterprise or federal environments. 
  • Familiarity with DevOps pipelines and CI/CD.