Government and Infrastructure - Digital Engineering - Application Modernization Senior Engineer

EY; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 123,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage

Pension and 401(k)

Paid time off

Flexible vacation policy

Job summary

EY is seeking an Application Modernization Senior Engineer in the Government and Infrastructure practice. You will validate automated assessments, read legacy code, and assess data flows, dependencies and cloud readiness to shape modernization roadmaps.

You will lead technical interviews, define target architectures, and contribute to the development of repeatable modernization patterns across .NET, Java and modern web stacks. In-person work in the Washington, DC area is expected.

Qualifications

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a federal secret level security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, information systems, computer engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3-6 years of software development experience
• Professional software engineering experience in C#/.NET and/or Java, including maintaining, enhancing or modernizing existing applications.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with relational databases such as Oracle, SQL Server or PostgreSQL.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly read, understand and assess unfamiliar or poorly documented codebases.
• Solid understanding of web application architecture, APIs, authentication and deployment.
• Git-based development and version control.
• Must be comfortable working in-person as needed in the Washington, DC area.

Responsibilities

• Perform targeted technical validation of automated assessment results for assigned applications: confirm component inventories, technology versions, dependencies, interfaces and data flows, and resolve gaps, ambiguities and false positives.
• Read and assess application source code across .NET Framework and .NET (C#), Java (monolithic and early service-based), ColdFusion, JavaScript front ends, stored procedures and batch or scheduled jobs.
• Evaluate code quality, maintainability, test coverage, framework and library currency, end‑of‑support exposure and technical debt using both tooling (e.g., SonarQube) and expert review.
• Assess database design and usage across Oracle, SQL Server and PostgreSQL, including tightly coupled and shared databases, cross‑application data access and replication.
• Assess architecture and cloud readiness, including statefulness, configuration management, session handling, authentication patterns and hosting dependencies.
• Identify functional overlap and redundant business capabilities across applications to support consolidation analysis.
• Score applications against defined rationalization criteria and recommend disposition and modernization pathway.
• Develop target‑state direction, effort and complexity estimates, dependencies and sequencing constraints for the roadmap.
• Document findings in a traceable form suitable for client review and acceptance, and contribute to formal deliverables.
• Participate in working sessions with application owners, developers and operations staff to confirm findings.

Skills

AWS/Azure

Terraform

Docker

Kubernetes

Networking

Linux/Windows

Scripting

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Git

Job description

At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence.

We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go. Join EY and help to build a better working world.

Government and Infrastructure – Technology Consulting - Digital Engineering – Application Modernization Senior Engineer

From strategy to execution, the Government & Infrastructure practice of Ernst & Young provides a full range of consulting and audit services to help our Federal, State, Local and Education clients implement new ideas to help achieve their mission outcomes. We deliver real change and measurable results through our diverse, high-performing teams, quality work at the highest professional standards, operational know-how from across our global organization, and creative and bold ideas that drive innovation. We enable our government clients to achieve their mission of protecting the nation and serving the people; increasing public safety; improving healthcare for our military, veterans and citizens; delivering essential public services; and helping those in need.

The opportunity

Our Digital Engineering practice is helping organizations solve complex problems through purpose-led transformation. To achieve this mission, a diverse and talented team from around the globe are creating innovative digital experiences that help our clients succeed and thrive.

The Application Modernization Senior Engineer provides the hands‑on engineering judgment behind the program's rationalization and modernization recommendations. This role validates and deepens automated assessment results by reading and evaluating legacy code, confirming dependencies and data flows, assessing technical debt and cloud readiness, and recommending the right disposition and modernization pathway for each application.

The evidence and recommendations produced by Application Modernization Engineers form the core of the rationalization deliverables and the sequenced modernization roadmap, and they set the technical baseline for the modernization waves that follow.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Perform targeted technical validation of automated assessment results for assigned applications: confirm component inventories, technology versions, dependencies, interfaces and data flows, and resolve gaps, ambiguities and false positives.
• Read and assess application source code across .NET Framework and .NET (C#), Java (monolithic and early service-based), ColdFusion, JavaScript front ends, stored procedures and batch or scheduled jobs.
• Evaluate code quality, maintainability, test coverage, framework and library currency, end‑of‑support exposure and technical debt using both tooling (for example, SonarQube) and expert review.
• Assess database design and usage across Oracle, SQL Server and PostgreSQL, including tightly coupled and shared databases, cross‑application data access and replication.
• Assess architecture and cloud readiness, including statefulness, configuration management, session handling, authentication patterns and hosting dependencies.
• Identify functional overlap and redundant business capabilities across applications to support consolidation analysis.
• Score applications against defined rationalization criteria (business value, technical condition, risk and cost) and recommend a disposition (retain, retire, consolidate or modernize) and a modernization pathway (rehost, replatform, refactor, rearchitect, replace or retire).
• Develop target‑state direction, effort and complexity estimates, dependencies and sequencing constraints that feed the modernization roadmap and wave plan.
• Document findings and supporting evidence in a traceable form suitable for client review and acceptance, and contribute to formal deliverables.
• Participate in working sessions with application owners, developers and operations staff to confirm findings and close knowledge gaps.
• Feed confirmed patterns and corrections back to the AI & Automation team to improve the accuracy of automated analysis.
• Own the assessment of a group of applications or a business domain end to end, ensuring consistency, quality and completeness of analysis.
• Lead technical interviews and code walkthroughs with application owners and incumbent development and operations teams.
• Define target architectures and repeatable modernization patterns for common application archetypes (for example, .NET Framework web applications to containerized .NET, or ColdFusion applications to a modern web stack).
• Contribute to effort‑estimating models and calibrate them against observed complexity.
• Review Staff analyses and coach engineers on assessment techniques and documentation standards.

Skills And Attributes For Success

• Hands‑on experience with AWS and/or Azure across compute, networking, storage, identity and monitoring services.
• Infrastructure‑as‑Code experience with Terraform (or Bicep/CloudFormation).
• Experience with containers (Docker) and working knowledge of Kubernetes.
• Networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing, firewalls and private connectivity.
• Linux and Windows Server administration.
• Scripting in PowerShell, Bash or Python.

To qualify for the role, you must have

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a federal secret level security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, information systems, computer engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3-6 years of software development experience
• Professional software engineering experience in C#/.NET and/or Java, including maintaining, enhancing or modernizing existing applications.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with relational databases such as Oracle, SQL Server or PostgreSQL.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly read, understand and assess unfamiliar or poorly documented codebases.
• Solid understanding of web application architecture, APIs, authentication and deployment.
• Git‑based development and version control.
• Clear, structured written documentation skills
• Must be comfortable working in‑person as needed in the Washington, DC area.

Ideally, you'll also have

• Expertise in developing written and visual communication products
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Azure Government or AWS GovCloud experience; FedRAMP High environments.
• Configuration management with Ansible.
• Production Kubernetes experience (AKS, EKS or OpenShift).
• Cloud cost management (FinOps) practices.
• Certifications such as Microsoft AZ-104 or AZ-305, AWS Solutions Architect (Associate or Professional), Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or HashiCorp Terraform Associate.

What We Offer You

At EY, we harness our collective strength to empower you to shape your future with confidence through professional growth, personal fulfillment and an inclusive culture. Learn more at ey.com/us/careers.

• We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to the business. The base salary range for this job is:
  • New York City, Boston, and Washington DC Metro Areas, Washington State, and Southern California offices – $122,900 to $204,900
  • Bay Area California offices – $128,100 to $213,400
  • All other offices locations in the US, including Sacramento – $102,500 to $187,900
• Individual salaries within these ranges are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills and geography. In addition, our Total Rewards package includes medical and dental coverage, pension and 401(k) plans, and a wide range of paid time off options.
• Under our flexible vacation policy, you’ll decide how much vacation time you need based on your own personal circumstances. You’ll also be granted time off for designated EY Paid Holidays, Winter/Summer breaks, Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well‑being.

EY | Building a better working world

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

All in to shape the future with confidence.

EY provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected basis, including arrest and conviction records, in accordance with applicable law.

EY is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities including veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and either need assistance applying online or need to request an accommodation during any part of the application process, please call 1-800-EY-HELP3, select Option 2 for candidate related inquiries, then select Option 1 for candidate queries and finally select Option 2 for candidates with an inquiry which will route you to EY’s Talent Shared Services Team (TSS) or email the TSS at [e-mail].