Requirements Engineer

Ignite IT•Suitland-Silver Hill, MD

About The Position

The Requirements Engineer will support a large-scale government agency initiative to modernize a complex, interdependent system of systems migrating from legacy on-premises platforms to AWS Cloud Native architectures. This role is not traditional business analysis. It is a modernization-focused technical requirements engineering role responsible for translating legacy system behavior, modernization strategy, and architectural direction into structured EPICs, features, user stories, and an actionable Agile backlog. The Requirements Engineer will work as part of an Agile Scrum Team and collaborate with other Requirements Engineers across parallel workstreams to ensure coordinated backlog development, sequencing of interdependent capabilities, and successful end-to-end system-of-systems delivery.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in requirements engineering or technical business analysis.
Demonstrated experience developing migration plans from legacy on-premises systems to AWS Cloud Native environments.
Experience documenting FEATURES/EPICs and decomposing into detailed user stories.
Experience building and managing Agile backlogs in Jira or equivalent tools.
Experience working within Agile Scrum Teams.
Strong understanding of Definition of Done, acceptance criteria, and backlog grooming.
Experience supporting data-intensive or system-of-systems modernization programs.
Strong technical literacy in cloud-native architectures (AWS preferred).
U.S. Citizenship required.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting regulated or federal environments.
Familiarity with legacy analytical or SAS-based systems.
Experience supporting DevSecOps-driven delivery models.
Experience documenting integration workflows and API contracts.
Experience coordinating across multiple Product Owners.
SAFe or enterprise-scale Agile experience.

Responsibilities

Legacy System Discovery & Migration Planning
Conduct structured discovery sessions to understand legacy on-prem systems, workflows, data dependencies, and integration points.
Document current-state (As-Is) and target-state (To-Be) capabilities supporting AWS Cloud Native migration.
Support development of phased migration plans (e.g., refactor vs. lift-and-shift decisions).
Identify cross-system dependencies that must be sequenced to prevent downstream rework or hybrid thrashing.
Collaborate with architects to ensure requirements align to target cloud-native design principles.
EPIC Development & Backlog Formation
Develop modernization EPICs aligned to:
Cloud-native re-architecture
Data ingestion modernization
Integration redesign
Automation of manual workflow gates
DevSecOps enablement
Decompose EPICs into features and refined user stories with:
Clear acceptance criteria
Testable outcomes
Defined dependencies
Establish initial product backlog in collaboration with Product Owners.
Ensure traceability from high-level modernization objectives to sprint-ready user stories.
Cross-Workstream Requirements Coordination
Collaborate with Requirements Engineers in other workstreams to:
Coordinate interdependent user stories
Align sequencing of integration capabilities
Prevent duplication of effort
Manage shared components (e.g., data engineering, DevSecOps services)
Maintain visibility of system-of-systems impacts when new requirements are introduced.
Support integrated release planning across workstreams.
Agile Scrum Execution
Participate in Agile Scrum ceremonies:
Sprint Planning
Backlog Refinement
Daily Standups
Reviews & Retrospectives
Work closely with Product Owners to:
Prioritize backlog items
Groom stories for sprint readiness
Ensure stories meet INVEST principles
Define and document Definition of Done (DoD) criteria including:
Code complete
Automated tests implemented
Documentation updated
Security checks passed
Support incremental delivery aligned to modernization milestones.
Governance & Documentation Support
Develop requirements artifacts supporting:
Architecture review board submissions
Interface control documentation
Security authorization processes
Maintain end-to-end Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM).
Ensure requirements are testable and align with validation frameworks.
Support documentation of APIs, data contracts, and integration specifications.
Data-Intensive & AWS Cloud Native Requirements
Define requirements for:
High-volume data processing systems
Event-driven and serverless architectures
API-based integration patterns
Database modernization (e.g., Postgres/Aurora migration)
Capture of non-functional requirements including:
Scalability
Performance
Security (IAM, encryption, access controls)
Observability
Cost optimization