Lead Systems Engineer – AWS Cloud

Description

The team supports the DOJ Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and National Coordination Center (NCC) with mission-critical law enforcement systems that run in AWS Cloud and in hybrid cloud and on-premises environments.

You will be a senior systems engineer who owns design, integration and verification from start to finish, turning operational needs into system-level designs and testable requirements.

The posting also frames the role as a DevOps CI/CD Engineer (AWS) and DevSecOps Champion, a senior technical position that leads secure CI/CD and DevSecOps practice for AWS-based solutions, with pipelines and automation that build security, compliance and risk management into delivery of mission-critical systems.

The job family is IT Infrastructure and Operations.

Responsibilities

• Turn operational requirements into system-level designs and testable requirements.
• Build and keep current the core systems engineering artifacts: requirements, traceability, specifications, diagrams, test plans and baselines.
• Lead integration and system-level testing across applications, data, infrastructure and security.
• Drive the handover of systems into operations.
• Work with the Systems Architect on technical design.
• Make sure designs meet federal security frameworks such as NIST 800-53, FedRAMP and DOJ requirements.
• Improve systems engineering practices across the program.
• Set and enforce secure CI/CD and DevSecOps standards, patterns and guardrails for AWS-hosted applications, aligned with company cyber security policy, handbook and cloud standards.
• Design, build and maintain CI/CD pipelines on platforms such as AWS CodePipeline and CodeBuild, Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps, with built-in security scanning, compliance checks, approvals and testing.
• Lead infrastructure-as-code work in CloudFormation and Terraform, with security and configuration baselines built in.
• Automate provisioning, configuration and deployment across development, test and production AWS accounts in line with cyber and IT risk requirements.
• Set up monitoring, logging and alerting with CloudWatch, CloudTrail and central logging so pipelines are observable and auditable.
• Build identity and access management, encryption, secrets management, vulnerability scanning and compliance controls into CI/CD workflows.
• Confirm pipelines and AWS solutions meet contract, regulatory and internal requirements such as NIST 800-53 and 171, CMMC, FedRAMP and ISO 27001.
• Work with application, cloud platform, cyber security, IT risk and operations teams so architectures are ready for DevSecOps.
• Coach project teams, provide technical leadership and write documentation on DevSecOps and secure CI/CD, and build reusable secure pipeline templates.
• Contribute to proposals, technical reviews and risk assessments where secure CI/CD, cloud security and DevSecOps are needed, including input to labor category mapping and staffing.
• Mentor junior engineers and coordinate infrastructure and software projects.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Cyber Security or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Typically 8+ years of relevant IT experience, including substantial DevOps, DevSecOps and CI/CD work on production systems.
• Hands-on work with AWS services such as EC2, ECS, EKS, S3, IAM, VPC, CloudWatch and CloudTrail in security-sensitive or regulated environments.
• Proven experience designing and running CI/CD pipelines on one or more modern platforms.
• Strong experience with infrastructure-as-code tools such as CloudFormation and Terraform, plus secure configuration management and automation.
• Demonstrated experience moving signed builds into an air-gapped, classified or otherwise network-isolated environment, including artifact transfer procedures and post-deployment verification.
• Experience with containers and orchestration, such as Docker, ECS, EKS and Kubernetes, including image scanning, runtime security and least privilege.
• Demonstrated experience building security testing, vulnerability scanning and compliance checks into CI/CD workflows.
• Experience working under formal security and risk frameworks such as NIST 800-53 and 171, CMMC, FedRAMP, ISO 27001 or customer-specific cyber requirements.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills for working across cyber, risk, engineering and program management teams.
• Systems skills in database systems, disaster recovery, operating systems, systems design and technical leadership.
• 10+ years of related experience.
• Preferred: AWS certifications such as AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional, AWS Certified Security Specialty or AWS Solutions Architect.
• Preferred: security or DevSecOps certifications.
• Preferred: experience supporting or implementing secure cloud architectures.
• Preferred: experience in enterprise DevSecOps or security transformation initiatives, or in a cloud or cyber center of excellence.
• Preferred: experience with multi-account AWS Organizations, landing zones and centralized security and governance services.
• Certifications: none required.
• US citizenship is required.

Conditions

Location: Fairfax, Virginia, USA.

Hybrid work model.

Travel: 10-25%.

Schedule: 40 hours per week.

Regular requisition.

Clearance: Secret must be currently held, and Top Secret must be obtainable.

Public Trust or other clearance: none required.

The likely salary range is $161,500 to $218,500. This is not a guarantee. Pay depends on experience, geographic location and possibly contract requirements, and may fall outside this range.

Identity verification with biometrics and AI is part of hiring. Virtual interviews require you to be on camera, and the company may take your photo to verify identity. By continuing, you consent to the collection and use of your biometric data for verification and security.

Equal opportunity employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.

Benefits

• Medical plans for US-based employees, some with Health Savings Accounts.
• Dental and vision plans.
• 401(k) with pre-tax and post-tax contributions up to IRS annual limits, plus a company match.
• Full flex work weeks where possible.
• Paid time off for vacation, sick and personal time, holidays, parental, military, bereavement and jury duty.
• Short- and long-term disability, life, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness, and business travel and accident insurance, provided or available.