Senior Integration Architect

Orbis Operations; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Orbis Operations is looking for a Senior Integration Architect to lead integration delivery for government clients. This hands-on role requires designing, building, and validating data integrations while collaborating closely with operations teams.

With 5-8 years of experience in software engineering focused on integrations and proficiency in Go or Python, the successful candidate will manage the orchestration of on-premises and cloud-connected environments. The role demands innovative mentoring and effective communication within distributed teams.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years of experience focusing on system integrations, data pipelines, and distributed data platforms.
• Proficiency in Go (preferred) or Python.
• Experience deploying and integrating within cloud-native environments.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills in distributed teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead full-lifecycle integration delivery for assigned data sources.
• Work directly with customer engineering and operations teams.
• Drive technical decisions and document rationale.
• Mentor Integration Engineers and serve as first point of escalation.

Skills

System integrations

Data pipelines

Distributed data platforms

Proficiency in Go or Python

Infrastructure-as-code

Cloud-native environments

Debugging complex integrations

Mentoring junior engineers

Communication in distributed teams

Education

5-8 years of professional software engineering experience

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Hadoop

Spark

Cloud Interconnect

Job description

Orbis is seeking a Senior Integration Architect to lead integration delivery within one of three rotating integration teams supporting an ongoing program for a government client in the Middle East. In this role, you will design, build, deploy, and validate data integrations (sensors, C2 systems, and operational feeds) across Orbis data governance and data analysis products, driving assignments from requirement through production deployment in close coordination with your team.

A critical part of this role is working directly with customer engineering and operations teams to map their network topology, data sources, and system dependencies before integration work begins; this discovery is not a preliminary step that gets handed off, it is a continuous responsibility that drives every design and deployment decision. You will mentor Integration Engineers on your team, serve as the first escalation point for technical issues, and maintain integration quality across your assigned domain. This role carries direct responsibility for the orchestration and management of both on‑premises data platform environments and cloud‑connected infrastructure. Software‑layer issues are escalated to the platform product team.

This is a hands‑on engineering role for someone ready to shape how integration work gets done, raise the technical bar of the team around them, and ensure the platform infrastructure underpinning that work is properly configured, connected, and maintained.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead full‑lifecycle integration delivery for assigned data sources in coordination with your team: requirements analysis, connector design, implementation, testing, deployment, and validation in the target environment
• Lead customer technical discovery as a core responsibility: work directly with customer engineering and operations teams to map their network topology, data sources, system dependencies, and operational constraints; this understanding is the foundation that integration design and deployment decisions are built on and cannot be delegated or skipped
• Drive technical decisions when integrations don’t fit established patterns; document decisions and rationale for the team and contribute to shared architectural standards
• Mentor Integration Engineers through code review, pairing, and direct feedback; serve as the first point of escalation before the team lead
• Design and build custom data connectors and integration plugins (producer bridges, operators, consumer bridges) for complex or undocumented source systems across air, land, maritime, air defense, space, and cyber domains
• Own the orchestration and management of on‑premises data platform environments (cluster configuration, service health, data connectivity) and cloud‑connected infrastructure (resource provisioning, hybrid connectivity, access controls) across the program’s deployment surface
• Deploy and validate integrations across customer environments (cloud‑native, on‑premises, and tactical edge) using infrastructure orchestration tooling; ensure integrations work in theater, not just in dev
• Stand up and configure platform nodes and on‑premises data platform components using established runbooks; validate cluster health, data platform connectivity, and configuration correctness post‑deployment
• Diagnose and resolve cross‑system integration failures under operational pressure; distinguish integration‑layer issues from platform‑layer issues and drive resolution with the team
• Triage platform issues: determine whether a problem is in the program’s integration code or in the platform itself, and file high‑quality bugs with reproductions when it’s the latter; software‑layer issues route to the platform product team
• Contribute reusable integration patterns, runbooks, and onboarding documentation to the program‑wide integrator playbook; flag candidates for upstream contribution to the platform product team
• Provide clear, solution‑oriented status updates to the team lead; frame problems with proposed approaches rather than open questions
• Support customer technical exchanges within your integration domain; explain integration approaches to customer engineering teams without requiring the team lead to translate

Required Qualifications

• 5‑8 years of professional software engineering experience with a focus on system integrations, data pipelines, and distributed data platforms
• Proficiency in Go (preferred) or Python for integration development
• Demonstrated ability to drive an integration from requirement through production deployment as a team lead and technical decision‑maker
• Hands‑on experience with infrastructure‑as‑code and deployment tooling (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) to provision, configure, and validate platform environments
• Working knowledge of on‑premises big data platforms and their operational characteristics (e.g., Hadoop, Spark, Hive, Presto); ability to configure, validate, and triage at the platform layer
• Experience deploying and integrating within cloud‑native environments (e.g., GCP VPC, BigQuery, Dataflow, GKE); familiarity with cloud resource lifecycle and connectivity patterns
• Experience connecting on‑premises and cloud environments under security constraints (e.g., Cloud Interconnect, Private Service Connect, VPN); ability to validate and troubleshoot hybrid data paths
• Familiarity with access control, identity management, and network security controls in multi‑environment deployments (e.g., IAM, VPC Service Controls)
• Experience debugging complex, cross‑system integration failures in production or near‑production environments
• Track record of mentoring junior engineers through code review, pairing, or technical guidance
• Strong collaboration and communication skills in distributed, remote, cross‑functional teams
• Comfort operating as the technical point of contact in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead customer technical discovery: mapping network environments, identifying data sources and system dependencies, and translating operational requirements into integration design decisions
• Familiarity with defense data standards and protocols: ASTERIX, Cursor on Target (CoT), STANAG, radar UDP
• Track record of designing integration patterns for undocumented or poorly documented source systems
• Background with military, law enforcement, or intelligence community operations and organizations
• Background supporting international programs with distributed, cross‑cultural teams rotating through operational environments
• Understanding of service mesh concepts, mTLS, and zero‑trust network architectures
• Familiarity with edge‑native deployment patterns and constrained operational environments
• Background in customer enablement, technical training, or knowledge transfer in field environments
• Fluency with AI‑assisted development tooling (Claude, Copilot, Cursor, or equivalents) as part of daily engineering practice

Physical Requirements

• Sedentary Work: Primarily performs work in a seated position for extended periods; occasionally required to stand, walk, or move within the work area
• Fine Motor Skills: Regularly required to use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and standard office equipment
• Vision: Must be able to read and view a computer screen for extended periods; close vision and ability to adjust focus required
• Communication: Must be able to communicate clearly and effectively in person, via telephone, and through video conferencing platforms; ability to hear and understand spoken information in a professional setting required
• Lifting: Occasionally required to lift and/or move items up to 25 pounds (e.g., files, documents, office supplies)
• Concentration: Must be able to maintain sustained focus and attention to detail in a professional office or hybrid work environment
• Travel: Extended travel to the Middle East, including time spent in geopolitical hot zones up to 40% of the time.

Equal Opportunity & Accommodation Statement

Orbis Operations is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Orbis Operations is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace where all employees are valued and respected. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals, including those from underrepresented groups.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Orbis Operations will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process. If you require an accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail]