Chief Engineer / Lead Architect – Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. – Active TS/SCI Clearance Required
About The Position
Synertex is looking for a Chief Engineer / Lead Architect to provide overarching technical leadership and architectural direction for a new program. This individual establishes and governs the technical baseline, defines system and software architecture standards, and ensures all engineering activities align with DIA mission requirements, security mandates, and cloud-native best practices. The Chief Engineer is the senior technical authority on the program and serves as the primary technical interface with DIA engineering counterparts and CIO7. This role demands hands-on expertise in cloud-native Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) architectures, CI/CD pipelines, container orchestration, and DevSecOps in secure federal environments. The position bridges program leadership, Agile delivery teams, and cybersecurity stakeholders to drive technically sound, mission-relevant solutions.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical field.
- Minimum 10 years of progressive systems and software engineering experience, including at least 5 years in a technical lead or architect role.
- Demonstrated experience designing and deploying cloud-native PaaS solutions in secure (IL4/IL5/IL6) federal environments.
- Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps toolchains (e.g., GitLab CI, Jenkins, Tekton, ArgoCD) in classified or FedRAMP-authorized environments.
- Experience with container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes/OpenShift) and microservices architectures.
- Active TS/SCI Clearance Required
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree (M.S.) strongly preferred.
- Cloud architecture certification preferred (AWS Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional, or equivalent FedRAMP-relevant cloud cert).
- Direct experience with DIA, NSA, NRO, or similar IC enterprise cloud programs.
- Experience integrating AI/ML workloads into secure cloud-native architectures.
- Knowledge of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) principles and NIST SP 800-207 implementation.
- Experience with IC-specific cloud platforms (C2S, SC2S, or equivalent classified cloud environments).
- Familiarity with DIA CIO7 architecture standards and enterprise data frameworks.
- Experience with enterprise integration patterns (event-driven architecture, API gateway, service mesh).
Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain the program's technical architecture baseline, reference architectures, and engineering standards.
- Lead the design of cloud-native, PaaS-based solutions optimized for classified IC environments.
- Define CI/CD pipeline architecture and DevSecOps toolchain standards supporting automated build, test, and deployment.
- Review and approve technical artifacts including system design documents, architecture decision records (ADRs), API specifications, and data models.
- Identify and resolve complex technical issues, integration challenges, and cross-system dependencies.
- Coordinate with the Lead Cybersecurity Engineer to embed security-by-design principles into all architectural decisions.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to software engineers, systems engineers, and data engineers across the ART.
- Engage with Government technical leads and CIO7 counterparts to align contractor architecture with DIA enterprise standards.
- Support artifact development for RMF/ATO processes including system boundary definition, data flow diagrams, and architectural risk documentation.
- Evaluate and recommend emerging technologies relevant to the DIA mission (AI/ML platforms, edge computing, secure enclaves).
- Present technical briefings and architecture reviews to senior DIA leadership and Government technical stakeholders.
Benefits
- Position Contingent Upon Award
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
