Senior Systems Engineer - Security & Data Engineering

Fusion Innovation•Chantilly, VA

20h

About The Position

Fusion Innovation is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to design, secure, and improve cloud and data solutions supporting critical intelligence missions. The position combines information systems security engineering with hands-on data engineering to help mission teams translate complex technical requirements into secure, reliable systems and usable data. The engineer will lead security engineering activities throughout the system lifecycle while developing data pipelines, supporting advanced analytics, and building graph database solutions. The role involves collaboration with engineers, developers, and mission partners to incorporate security into system designs and data workflows, support system authorization, and address technical challenges in classified environments. The position also supports cloud and data architecture decisions within classified AWS environments, mission analytics, AI/ML and LLM initiatives, and Agile and CI/CD processes. The ideal candidate has strong ISSE experience, practical data engineering skills, and the ability to communicate technical decisions to technical and nontechnical stakeholders. Fusion Innovation anticipates an annual base salary of $100,000 to $215,000. Compensation depends on factors including relevant education, certifications and training; applicable experience and customer experience; contract labor category requirements, skill level, bill rate and hours allocation; alignment with the position's responsibilities; and specialized skills. Eligible employees may be considered for discretionary bonuses and receive a comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

Active Top Secret/SCI with Polygraph.
Meet one of the following education and experience combinations: bachelor's degree with at least eight years of experience; master's degree with at least six years; doctoral degree with at least three years; or an additional four years of experience in lieu of a degree.
At least two years of customer-specific experience, including supporting mission systems or classified programs.
Demonstrated experience designing, securing, and operating data flow solutions in classified or other high-security environments.
Strong information systems security engineering experience, including security architecture, A&A/ATO processes, vulnerability analysis, authorization documentation, and continuous monitoring.
Hands-on experience with ETL pipelines, data modeling, activity modeling, and data engineering supporting AI/ML applications.
Proficiency in at least one of Cypher, Python, Java, or JavaScript.
Experience with graph database technologies.
Demonstrated ability to clean, model, and visualize medium-to-large datasets.
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.

Nice To Haves

Expertise with Neo4j and the Cypher query language.
Experience with enterprise data strategy, data governance, data stewardship, and metadata management.
Experience developing dashboards and system visualizations.
Experience supporting AI/ML or LLM system engineering and data workflows.
Familiarity with Agile development frameworks and cloud-native design patterns.

Responsibilities

Lead information systems security engineering activities across the system lifecycle, including security architecture, control selection and implementation, and compliance with NIST and customer-specific requirements.
Develop and maintain assessment and authorization (A&A) and Authority to Operate (ATO) documentation, including System Security Plans (SSPs), Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), test procedures, and supporting evidence.
Perform security scans and vulnerability assessments, coordinate patches and updates, and support remediation across cloud and on-premises systems.
Incorporate security requirements into system architectures, data flows, ETL pipelines, and operational workflows.
Partner with engineering and mission teams to address authorization requirements, classification constraints, and operational risks.
Maintain continuous monitoring documentation and evidence supporting ongoing system security.
Design, develop, and optimize ETL pipelines supporting mission analytics, AI/ML, and LLM initiatives.
Clean, preprocess, model, analyze, and visualize medium-to-large datasets using analytical and statistical methods.
Build and optimize Neo4j graph database solutions, including schemas, relationship models, and Cypher queries.
Develop software components and data processing capabilities using Cypher, Python, Java, or JavaScript, following secure development practices.
Document datasets, queries, data flows, and software components to support maintenance and collaboration.
Evaluate requirements and conduct functional and technical analyses, risk assessments, cost estimates, schedule assessments, and technical trade studies.
Apply systems engineering principles and concepts of operations to develop secure, scalable solutions across organizational boundaries.
Support cloud and data architecture decisions within classified AWS environments.
Contribute to Agile planning, sprint activities, and CI/CD processes.
Communicate engineering decisions, security considerations, and analytical findings to diverse stakeholders.