Distributed Systems Architect / Systems Engineering Lead (ES)

University of Texas; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 104,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-paid basic medical

Retirement contributions

Paid vacation and sick time

Paid holidays

Job summary

University of Texas–Applied Research Laboratories seeks a Distributed Systems Architect / Systems Engineering Lead to guide the design of mission-critical, multi-node systems. You will elicit requirements, define architectures across sites, and mentor junior engineers while coordinating with stakeholders throughout the lifecycle.

The role emphasizes fault tolerance, scalability, and real‑time considerations, with responsibilities spanning design, implementation, and evaluation in an Agile

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in science, applied science, or engineering.
• Three years of relevant professional work experience in distributed, large‑scale, real‑time, or high‑availability systems.
• Experience designing systems for fault tolerance, high availability, and horizontal scalability across multiple nodes/sites.
• Experience with distributed systems concepts including consensus, replication, partitioning, messaging, and eventual/strong consistency models.
• Experience in designing/maintaining APIs and Interface Specifications.
• Demonstrated ability to design, develop, evaluate, and support large and complex systems.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for diverse stakeholders.
• US Citizenship and eligibility for a government security investigation.

Responsibilities

• Elicit system scope and requirements from stakeholders for use in designs.
• Lead development and evaluation of distributed systems architecture and design.
• Communicate work process, products, and results to stakeholders.
• Participate in Agile process, backlog management, and decomposition into work units.
• Coordinate lifecycle from systems definition to deployment and maintenance.
• Mentor junior staff, technicians, and students.

Skills

Distributed systems

Fault tolerance

High availability

Scalability

APIs and interface specs

Communication

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in science/engineering

Post‑graduate degree (preferred)

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Pulsar

Structurizr

MBSE tools

Jira

Job description

Job Posting Title: Distributed Systems Architect / Systems Engineering Lead (ES) Hiring Department: Applied Research Laboratories Position Open To: All Applicants Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40 FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA Earliest Start Date: Immediately Position Duration: Expected to Continue Location: PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

Purpose The Space and Geophysics Laboratory (SGL) delivers capabilities to government customers for various applications, from real‑time data‑intensive network operations spanning geographically distributed sites to standalone remote field systems. We are seeking a distributed systems architect to lead the design of mission‑critical systems that span multiple nodes, sites, and networks. They will serve as a technical leader within the laboratory in the areas of distributed systems architecture, fault tolerance, scalability, and design. As a key member of a team of engineers, you will be responsible for eliciting systems scope from stakeholders, guiding the development of requirements, translating requirements into systems designs, guiding the decomposition of those systems into components of actionable units of work, and advising all stakeholders throughout the life‑cycle, from systems definition to implementation.

Responsibilities

• Elicit system scope and requirements from stakeholders for use in systems designs
• Lead the development and evaluation of the distributed systems architecture and design, including scope, requirements, components, interactions, and interfaces
• Communication of work process, products, and results, including documentation, written reports, and briefs presented to stake‑holders
• Participate in Agile process, backlog management, and project decomposition into components and actionable units of work
• Coordinate with and provide support to stakeholders throughout the life‑cycle of the systems definition, design, implementation, integration, and deployment
• Perform engineering estimates, guide project schedules, and identify dependencies
• Conduct engineering evaluations, such as trade studies, reliability analysis, functional analysis, risk analysis assessments
• Mentoring of junior engineering staff, technicians and students
• Other related functions as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, in science, applied science, or engineering
• Three years of relevant professional work experience, including architecting and/or design of distributed, large‑scale networked, real‑time, or high‑availability systems
• Demonstrated experience designing systems for fault tolerance, high availability, and horizontal scalability across multiple nodes or sites
• Experience with distributed systems concepts including consensus, replication, partitioning, messaging, and eventual/strong consistency models
• Experience in designing/maintaining formal APIs and Interface Specifications
• Demonstrated ability to design, develop, evaluate, and support the development of large and complex systems
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to communicate technical detail to staff and stakeholders of varying backgrounds and experiences
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively, both independently and collaboratively, with a strong commitment to contribution and enabling the entire team
• Demonstrated ability to make architectural decisions balancing performance, reliability, and operational complexity
• US Citizen
• Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information at the level appropriate to the project requirements of the position

Preferred Qualifications

• Post‑graduate degree in systems engineering, engineering management, engineering mechanics, operations research, industrial engineering, or related field
• Twelve or more years of relevant professional work experience, including eight years or more years in the architecting and/or design of distributed, large‑scale networked, real‑time, or high‑availability systems
• Immediate or previous eligibility to classified information
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes), infrastructure as code, and cloud platforms (e.g. AWS)
• Experience with streaming/messaging systems (e.g. Pulsar), real‑time data streams, and TCP/IP networking at scale
• Work experience specific to GNSS observation and navigation data
• Demonstrated experience participating in an Agile project management using Jira or similar Agile management tools
• Experience with model‑based systems engineering (MBSE) tools and techniques (experience with Structurizr is a plus)
• Demonstrated experience in software development using C++/Python
• Cumulative GPA of 3.0

General Notes

An agency designated by the federal government handles the investigation as to the requirement for eligibility for access to classified information. Factors considered during this investigation include but are not limited to allegiance to the United States, foreign influence, foreign preference, criminal conduct, security violations, drug involvement, the likelihood of continuation of such conduct, etc.

Benefits

UT Austin offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• 100% employer‑paid basic medical coverage
• Retirement contributions
• Paid vacation and sick time
• Paid holidays

Please visit our Human Resources (HR) website to learn more about the total benefits offered.

Salary Range

$104,000‑$174,000+/negotiable depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity
• Some weekend, evening and holiday work
• Possible interstate/intrastate travel

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest
• Unofficial college transcripts

Employment Eligibility

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University‑Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University