Application Engineer IV - Systems Focus with Security Clearance

Black Eagle Defense; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 190,000 - 247,000; Full time

Job summary

Black Eagle Defense, based near Fort Meade, MD, seeks an Application Engineer IV to apply system administration and systems engineering principles to keep enterprise systems secure and compliant.

You will lead lockdown and hardening efforts, collaborate with cross-functional teams to remediate risks, and support ongoing maintenance to ensure security and availability of infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Monitor health, performance, and status of enterprise IT systems and security tool suites.
• Patch, upgrade, and refresh infrastructure for continuous availability.
• Implement system lockdowns, baseline hardening standards, and access control policies.
• Analyze security vulnerabilities and remediation with cross-functional teams.
• Use scripting/automation for system administration and configuration management.
• Hands-on VMware virtualization experience.
• Experience managing cloud infrastructure and VMs (e.g., AWS).
• Familiarity with Zero Trust architectures.
• Patching, upgrading, and hardening Linux servers.
• Knowledge of Ansible or SaltStack.
• CompTIA Security+ certification required.

Responsibilities

• Monitor health and operational status of enterprise IT systems and security tool suites.
• Maintain, patch, upgrade, and refresh infrastructure for continuous availability.
• Implement lockdowns, baseline hardening, and access controls across environments.
• Remediate vulnerabilities and compliance gaps with cross-functional teams.
• Collaborate on testing, deployment, and configuration management for security.
• Support VMware virtualization and cloud infrastructure management.

Skills

VMware virtualization

AWS cloud

Zero Trust

Linux hardening

Ansible

SaltStack

Scripting

Security+

Compliance

Tools

VMware

AWS

Job description

Job Description SALARY RANGE $190,000 - $247,000/year. DUTIES As a successful candidate for the Application Engineer IV role, you will apply system administration and systems engineering principles to support the security, integrity, and operational health of enterprise systems. In this role, you will lead system lockdown and cybersecurity hardening efforts while collaborating with cross‑functional groups across the organization to identify and mitigate compliance issues. You will also evaluate existing system configurations, review operational techniques, and support ongoing system maintenance to ensure all infrastructure remains secure, compliant, and fully operational. Required Skills SKILLS * Monitor the health, performance, and operational status of enterprise IT systems and security tool suites * Maintain, patch, upgrade, and refresh infrastructure resources to ensure continuous availability and operational readiness * Implement system lockdowns, baseline hardening standards, and access control policies across operating environments * Analyze security vulnerabilities and compliance deficiencies, collaborating with cross‑functional teams to remediate technical risks * Utilize scripting and automation techniques to streamline system administration and configuration management processes

• Research and evaluate commercial and government security solutions to address technical gaps and enhance system security postures
• Prepare configuration management plans, technical change proposals, and system documentation to support security compliance
• Coordinate testing, integration, and deployment activities with internal stakeholders and external interface owners
• Support enterprise security frameworks and compliance controls to protect systems against unauthorized access and operational degradation
• Hands‑on experience with VMware virtualization environments
• Experience managing cloud infrastructure and virtual machines (e.g., AWS, VMs)
• Familiarity with Zero Trust security architectures and framework implementations
• Demonstrated experience patching, upgrading, and hardening Linux servers
• Working knowledge of automation and configuration management tools such as Ansible or SaltStack
• Certifications & TECHNICAL PROFICIENCIES A CompTIA Security+ certification is required.