Mission Systems Engineer

Illuminate Technologies; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Illuminate Technologies seeks a Systems Engineer to build, maintain, and improve Linux-based infrastructure for national security missions. You will install, configure, and test systems, work with government customers, and occasionally support CONUS/OCONUS deployments.

Ideal candidates have 3–5+ years of Linux administration, strong troubleshooting skills, and experience with integration, data analysis, and automation. Travel readiness is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 3–5+ years Linux/Unix administration experience.
• 2+ years integration/testing or data analysis.
• Experience troubleshooting in operational environments.
• Ability to work with government customers professionally.
• Ability to obtain medical clearance for international travel.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, and maintain Linux-based systems infrastructure.
• Perform integration and testing to meet mission requirements.
• Troubleshoot hardware and software issues; document problems.
• Design and implement automation to improve operations.
• Collaborate with development teams to relay findings and remediation.
• Assist with OEM-level design to meet customer requirements.

Skills

Linux/Unix system administration

Integration & testing

Troubleshooting hardware/software

Data analysis

Customer-facing professionalism

International travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science / Information Systems / Engineering / Mathematics or related field

Tools

Python

Bash

SQL databases

Linux firewall & VPN configuration

TCP/IP networking basics

Logging & debugging tools

Job description

Job Description

Job Description

About the Job

Illuminate provides analytic and cyber solutions enabling critical decisions from vast data sources. As a Systems Engineer, you will be a core member of a US-based operations team responsible for building, maintaining, and improving the hardware and software solutions that underpin national security missions.

Day to day, this role is grounded in CONUS-based systems engineering — installing, configuring, and maintaining Linux-based infrastructure, integrating and testing custom solutions, remediating issues, and collaborating closely with internal development and engineering teams to continuously improve operational effectiveness. You will work alongside expert international developers and application engineers as part of a technically rigorous, mission-focused team.

Approximately once a quarter, you will accompany the customer on OCONUS deployments as part of a small team, supporting in-field installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting of custom solutions at customer sites. You will work closely with the customer throughout the pre-deployment planning process and serve as a trusted technical resource in the field. Due to the sensitive nature of the customer environment, candidates must be comfortable operating with professionalism and discretion in close coordination with government personnel.

Why Illuminate

At Illuminate, you won’t be maintaining routine IT infrastructure. You’ll be building and sustaining systems that directly enable national security decisions — and periodically seeing that work validated in the field alongside the customer. This is a small, high-trust team where technical depth is valued, collaboration is genuine, and the mission is real. If you’re looking for an environment where your systems engineering skills are put to meaningful use and your contributions are visible, this is it.

What Success Looks Like

At 90 days, a successful hire is fully onboarded, independently handling CONUS-based systems work across the full installation and commissioning workflow, and has established strong working relationships with both the internal team and the customer. They understand the environment, the standards, and what it takes to operate in a sensitive customer context.

At 12 months, they are a trusted and reliable member of the team — contributing to pre-deployment planning, serving as the go-to resource for troubleshooting and issue remediation, and representing Illuminate credibly in customer-facing settings both CONUS and in the field. They are someone the team and the customer count on.

Responsibilities

Systems Engineering & Maintenance (Primary)

• Install, configure, and maintain Linux-based systems infrastructure, including server components, virtual servers, and custom hardware and software solutions.
• Perform integration and testing of systems and solutions to validate performance against mission requirements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve hardware and software issues, running diagnostics, documenting problems, prioritizing resolutions, and assessing risk.
• Design, test, and implement process and systems automation capabilities to improve overall operational effectiveness and performance.
• Collaborate with internal development and engineering teams to relay findings, support issue remediation, and contribute to capability development.
• Assist with OEM-level design and development of internal solutions to meet customer requirements.

Customer Deployment Support (Quarterly)

• Work closely with the customer during pre-deployment planning to prepare for in-field installation and commissioning activities.
• Accompany the customer on OCONUS deployments as part of a small team, supporting installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting of custom solutions at customer sites.
• Operate professionally and with discretion in sensitive customer environments, serving as a trusted technical resource in the field.
• Create and maintain installation guides, as-built documentation, and field reports.

Core Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 3–5+ years of Linux / Unix system administration experience (RHEL / Rocky / CentOS).
• 2+ years of direct experience in integration and testing, data analysis, or capability development.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting and resolving complex hardware and software issues in operational environments.
• Ability to work closely with government customers in sensitive environments with professionalism and discretion.
• Ability to obtain medical clearance to support international travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of mobile telecom network architectures and related hardware, software, and protocols.
• Experience working directly with development teams to resolve software and hardware problems and applying patches.
• Strong knowledge of networking protocols including TCP/IP, NAT, routing, and switching.
• Experience analyzing logs, stack traces, and debug libraries.
• Proficiency in Python, Bash, and SQL databases.
• Experience with Linux firewall and VPN configuration.

Company Description

Illuminate provides government agencies, commercial enterprises, and network operators with the data, services, and technology that helps them protect the information that surrounds us all and extract real value from it. We combine decades of cyber, intelligence and telecommunications expertise with innovative collection and analysis tools to deliver timely, actionable insight that our customers use to make fast, informed decisions.