Systems Engineer - Cloud/Networking/Storage/Automation (TS/SCI w/ Poly)

About this role

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!