Principal Solutions Architect

TekSynap • Reston, VA

9h • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Solutions Architect to join our Department of State team.
TekSynap, as a long-standing Department of State network infrastructure and technology modernization partner, is seeking a Principal Solutions Architect to support the continued growth of our Department of State and foreign affairs programs. The Principal Solutions Architect to serve as the technical cornerstone and customer-facing lead for our capture and solutioning efforts. This role blends deep technical expertise in enterprise networking and end user support with the capture acumen, strategic creativity, and customer relationship skills required to win in one of the federal government's most competitive IT services landscapes. The right candidate understands the State Department's global IT mission, including the unique demands of supporting 260+ diplomatic posts worldwide and can translate that understanding into compelling, differentiated solutions and proposals.
TekSynap is a fast growing high-tech company that understands both the pace of technology today and the need to have a comprehensive well planned information management environment. “Technology moving at the speed of thought” embodies these principles – the need to nimbly utilize the best that information technology offers to meet the business needs of our Federal Government customers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent experience considered.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in federal IT, with meaningful experience supporting network and telecommunications services and infrastructure modernization efforts at enterprise scale.
• 5+ years of direct involvement in federal capture and proposal development, including authoring winning technical volumes for complex, competitive government IT contracts.
• Demonstrated experience with or knowledge of Department of State strongly preferred; comparable large-scale federal civilian IT modernization programs considered.
• Deep knowledge of enterprise network architectures including WAN/LAN, VPN, DNS/DHCP, Active Directory, voice services, load balancing, and remote access technologies in federal or large-scale enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with global/OCONUS IT infrastructure considerations, including satellite connectivity, limited-bandwidth environments, out-of-band access, and operationally austere deployments.
• Working knowledge of Zero Trust architecture principles, network segmentation, DoD/DoS security frameworks, and endpoint security as they apply to network and end user service delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to author clear, persuasive, evaluation-friendly technical proposal content under deadline pressure.
• Strong executive presence and ability to engage senior government stakeholders, facilitate technical workshops, and translate mission challenges into credible solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to present complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, build consensus, and operate independently with minimal supervision in a fast-moving capture environment.
• US Citizenship
• Active DoD Secret clearance with ability to obtain Top Secret/SCI clearance OR current, active DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Active TS/SCI clearance at time of hire.
• Prior experience supporting DOS contracts or direct familiarity with the overseas post/embassy IT environment, including exposure to classified enclaves and OCONUS operational constraints.
• ITIL v4 certification or equivalent; Cisco CCNP/CCIE, CompTIA Network+, or Security+; or AWS/Azure certifications in networking or architecture.
• Experience supporting IDIQ vehicles and task order competition environments, particularly large multi-awardee vehicles in the federal civilian or State/USAID space.
• Established professional network within the Department of State IRM/DT community or comparable federal civilian IT customer base.
• Familiarity with SD-WAN, unified communications, cloud-integrated networking, and Microsoft 365 in a government context is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical capture and solution development activities for opportunities from identification through proposal submission including competitive analysis, solution shaping, win strategy development, price-to-win support, and BOE/resource plan development.
• Engage proactively with Department of State stakeholders to understand mission requirements, socialize solutions, and shape acquisitions ahead of release.
• Build, manage, and leverage teaming partnerships with subcontractors, OEMs, and technology vendors to strengthen TekSynap's solutions and expand coverage across opportunities.
• Represent TekSynap at industry events, pre-solicitation exchanges, technical engagement sessions, and customer meetings to advance brand visibility and build relationships with key stakeholders.
• Support oral presentations, technical exchange meetings (TEMs), and other direct customer interactions as required during the procurement process.
• Architect technically credible, operationally realistic solutions for areas including voice and data network design and modernization, VPN and remote access, domain services network support, and SD-WAN.
• Design enterprise end user and mobile computing support solutions that are ITIL aligned for domestic bureaus and overseas posts.
• Develop solution architecture documentation, concepts of operations, logical and physical architecture diagrams, staffing models, and implementation roadmaps in support of proposals and customer engagements.
• Understand and incorporate the unique technical constraints of supporting DoS global IT infrastructure, including OCONUS deployments, satellite-dependent connectivity, out-of-band access for remote posts, and classified network environments.
• Integrate Zero Trust architecture principles, DoS cybersecurity policies, and network segmentation requirements into solution designs where applicable.
• Lead and author technical volumes and oral presentation materials for proposals, ensuring solutions are compelling, discriminating, and evaluator-ready.
• Analyze RFP requirements and evaluation criteria to develop responsive, compliant, and winning technical approaches; identify and articulate technical win themes that differentiate TekSynap.
• Collaborate with the proposal team to ensure seamless integration of the technical solution across management, past performance, and pricing volumes.

Benefits

• We offer our full-time employees a competitive benefits package to include health, dental, vision, 401K, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability plans, vacation time and holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal