Principal Technical Solutions Engineer

Orbis Operations; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology solutions firm is seeking a Principal Technical Solutions Engineer to lead design solutions for the U.S. Intelligence Community. The role demands expertise in systems-level architecture and modern development practices. Key responsibilities include overseeing implementation, crafting solution designs, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Ideal candidates have over 15 years of experience and must possess an active TS SCI with Poly.

Qualifications

• 15+ years total delivering or leading delivery of engineering solutions to the IC.
• 5+ years as a Principal Engineer or Lead Solutions Architect/Engineer.
• Active TS SCI with Poly.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design of solutions for client problems.
• Oversee solution implementation and integration across teams.
• Craft and deliver solution designs, architecture workshops, and demos.

Skills

Systems-level architecture skills

Expert communication skills

Mastery of modern commercial development practices

Expertise in AI and data science

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

C2E Infrastructure

CI/CD pipelines

Container orchestration

Microservices

REST/GraphQL

Zero-trust security

Job description

Overview

Orbis is seeking a Principal Technical Solutions Engineer with exceptional systems-level architecture skills, with proven delivery of enterprise-scale software products and solutions for the U.S. Intelligence Community, using both C2E and air-gap infrastructure. The qualified candidate must have mastery of modern commercial development practices, including CI/CD pipelines, container orchestration, microservices, REST/GraphQL, and zero-trust security. This candidate must have expert communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical capabilities into strategic business value, with deep familiarity with IC standards (ICDs, STIGs, RMF, FedRAMP) and best practices, and must have demonstrated leadership guiding cross-functional engineering, product, and security teams to successful delivery. Demonstrated expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), data science, data pipelines, and automation is required.

Duties/Responsibilities

Architect

• Lead end-to-end design of excellent solutions for client problems: develop high-fidelity diagrams, data schemas, integration guides, deployment models, and security reference architectures.
• Architect solutions that are aligned with best practices and technical standards, including API design, data pipelines, and containerized deployments; ensure compliance with IC regulations (ICDs, STIGs, RMF, FedRAMP), standards, and best practices.

Supervisor Responsibilities

• This position has no supervisory responsibilities

REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience

• A Bachelor\'s degree is required for this position.
• 15+ years total delivering or leading delivery of engineering solutions to the IC
• 5+ years as a Principal Engineer or Lead Solutions Architect/Engineer, personally owning delivery of highly technical software solutions used by hundreds or thousands of IC end users
• Technical lead for 3+ successful captures of multi-million-dollar IC technical programs
• Track record of shaping technical strategy, driving multi-million-dollar opportunities, and mentoring other architects/engineers
• Active TS SCI with Poly

Delivery

• Oversee solution implementation and integration working closely with Capabilities across the engineering, product, and cybersecurity teams. Work closely with Capabilities to understand Roadmaps, resource limitations, and differentiators - then shape solutions accordingly.
• Review solutions to support rigorous testing, validation, and release-management protocols.
• Drive automation of deployment, testing, and release-management processes to maximize repeatability, minimize risk, and ensure on-time, on-budget delivery to IC customers.
• Track implementation metrics, escalate risks early, and lead corrective actions in partnership with Product Managers.

Capture

• Serve as principal technical authority in pursuit activities: craft and deliver solution designs, technical deep dives, architecture workshops, and demos.
• Support the Federal Intel team in shaping, assessing, qualifying, capturing, and delivering technical solutions to the Intelligence Community. Identify opportunities to incorporate Orbis Product and Service Offerings to win contracts and deliver better outcomes for our customers\' missions.
• Conduct regular technology-roadmap reviews; identify strategic gaps and engage Product Managers to suggest features for product investments.
• Own responses to technically sophisticated RFP/RFI questions; validate statements of work and pricing models for technical accuracy, feasibility, and risk mitigation.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior IC technical stakeholders; translate emerging mission needs into solution opportunities and support proposal creation.

Collaborate

• Partner with Product Managers to shape feature prioritization based on IC feedback and emerging threat landscapes.
• Serve as deliberate communications bridge and translator between Orbis Capabilities and the Federal Intel team, ensuring seamless knowledge transfer and co-development.

Innovate

• Spearhead innovation initiatives: evaluate emerging commercial and open-source technologies for potential integration and contribute to the internal knowledge base with concept papers, solution blueprints, and reference implementations.
• Represent Orbis at key industry and government forums, presenting case studies, lessons learned, and thought leadership to gather competitive intelligence and build the Orbis brand within the market.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Routine video conference and/or in-person meetings.
• Ability to attend planned meetings within the Washington Metro Area region.

Orbis Operations is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.