Platform Director

Guidehouse; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Parental Leave

Tuition Reimbursement

Employee Referral Program

Learning Opportunities

Job summary

Guidehouse in McLean, VA seeks an experienced Director to lead end-to-end engineering delivery on a large, mission‑critical Federal technology program. You will guide architecture, security, and operations while translating strategic priorities into actionable technical plans.

Partner with program leaders and Federal stakeholders to ensure scalable, reliable solutions; mentor engineering managers; foster Agile and DevSecOps; manage risk and staffing in a dynamic delivery environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in technical leadership roles within large-scale software or platform environments.
• Experience leading engineering delivery for complex, mission-critical Federal systems with high availability and security requirements.
• Experience managing and scaling large engineering teams, including employees and subcontractors, in a matrixed environment.
• Strong background in Agile development methodologies and SDLC process maturity.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day execution of technology delivery across architecture, platform operations, security and engineering services.
• Contribute to the overall technical roadmap, ensuring scalability, security, and reliability for a complex, mission-critical Federal SaaS platform.
• Drive the technology stack, addressing technical debt while enabling new product capabilities and growth.
• Establish and mature engineering standards, development processes, and SDLC practices aligned with Agile and DevSecOps principles.
• Lead architecture and design decisions, ensuring solutions are performant, secure, and aligned to long-term program needs.
• Partner with program leadership to align technical priorities with contractual requirements, delivery milestones, and operational goals.

Skills

People leadership

Communication skills

Agile methodologies

SDLC process maturity

Risk management

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Java

JavaScript/React

Microservices

Containerized systems

CI/CD pipelines

DevSecOps

AWS

Job description

Job Family :

Engineering Operations & Planning

Travel Required :

Up to 10%

Clearance Required :

Ability to Obtain Public Trust

What You Will Do :

Guidehouse is seeking an experienced, execution‑focused technology leader to join our team as a Director responsible for technical delivery and engineering leadership on a large, mission‑critical Federal technology program. Guidehouse operates and continuously enhances a complex, high‑visibility Federal platform supporting multiple agencies, significant transaction volumes, and a very large user community.

In this role, you will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for end‑to‑end engineering execution, streamlining and scaling the technology stack, and ensuring reliable, secure, high‑quality delivery. You will partner closely with program leadership and Federal technical stakeholders to translate strategic priorities into actionable technical plans and measurable outcomes.

• Lead day‑to‑day execution of technology delivery across architecture, platform operations, security and engineering services

• Contribute to the overall technical roadmap, ensuring scalability, security, and reliability for a complex, mission‑critical Federal SaaS platform

• Drive the technology stack, addressing technical debt while enabling new product capabilities and growth

• Establish and mature engineering standards, development processes, and SDLC practices aligned with Agile and DevSecOps principles

• Lead architecture and design decisions, ensuring solutions are performant, secure, and aligned to long‑term program needs

• Partner with program leadership to align technical priorities with contractual requirements, delivery milestones, and operational goals

• Guide incident response, vulnerability remediation, and production stability efforts for high‑availability systems

• Manage and mentor engineering managers and senior technical leads; build, develop, and retain high‑performing engineering teams

• Lead recruitment and workforce planning efforts to scale engineering capacity in a dynamic delivery environment

• Collaborate with Federal technical stakeholders to manage expectations, resolve issues, and ensure transparency and responsiveness

• Support integrated planning with product, operations, and business teams to ensure coordinated execution

• Contribute to program status reporting, leadership briefings, and internal governance forums related to technology delivery

• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration, and engineering excellence

What You Will Need :

• Must be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DoD "PUBLIC TRUST"; candidates must obtain approved adjudication of their PUBLIC TRUST prior to onboarding with Guidehouse. Candidates with an ACTIVE PUBLIC TRUST or SUITABILITY are preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field

• Minimum of TWELVE (12) years of experience in technical leadership roles within large‑scale software or platform environments

• Demonstrated experience leading engineering delivery for complex, mission‑critical Federal systems with high availability and security requirements

• Experience managing and scaling large engineering teams, including employees and subcontractors, in a matrixed environment

• Proven ability to lead managers and senior individual contributors across multiple delivery teams

• Strong background in Agile development methodologies and SDLC process maturity

• Hands‑on technical expertise across modern cloud‑based architectures and enterprise application delivery

• Experience working directly with Federal clients and stakeholders in delivery, operations, and issue resolution contexts

• Strong operational, organizational, and prioritization skills in fast‑paced environments

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts for non‑technical audiences

• Demonstrated experience identifying, escalating, and mitigating delivery, technical, and operational risks

• Strong people leadership skills, including mentoring, performance management, and career development

• Solid understanding of Government contracting environments and delivery constraints

• Expertise with modern application frameworks and platforms (e.g., Java, JavaScript/React, microservices, containerized systems)

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps automation, and engineering tooling at scale

• Deep experience with AWS‑based architectures and cloud‑native development

What Would Be Nice To Have :

• Prior experience serving as a senior technical leader on a large Federal IT contract ($100M+)

• Experience supporting Federal grants systems or large transactional government platforms

• Proven success operating in a highly collaborative, multi‑stakeholder program environment

What We Offer:

Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.

Benefits include:

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance

• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays

• Parental Leave

• 401(k) Retirement Plan

• Group Term Life and Travel Assistance

• Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance

• Health Savings Account, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts

• Transit and Parking Commuter Benefits

• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability

• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development, Certifications & Learning Opportunities

• Employee Referral Program

• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach

• Care.com annual membership

• Employee Assistance Program

• Supplemental Benefits via Corestream (Critical Care, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Assistance and ID theft protection, etc.)

• Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer–Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.

Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at [e-mail] . All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation.

All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or [e-mail] . Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse. Note that Guidehouse will never charge a fee or require a money transfer at any stage of the recruitment process and does not collect fees from educational institutions for participation in a recruitment event. Never provide your banking information to a third party purporting to need that information to proceed in the hiring process.

If any person or organization demands money related to a job opportunity with Guidehouse, please report the matter to Guidehouse’s Ethics Hotline. If you want to check the validity of correspondence you have received, please contact [e-mail] . Guidehouse is not responsible for losses incurred (monetary or otherwise) from an applicant’s dealings with unauthorized third parties.

Guidehouse does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Guidehouse and Guidehouse will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.