Systems Architect

General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc.; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. seeks an experienced Systems Architect to support NASA programs, delivering enterprise‑level architecture designs, cloud and cybersecurity grounded solutions, and mission‑critical IT services for JPL.

The role requires strong leadership, system integration expertise, and the ability to articulate complex concepts to technical and non‑technical stakeholders, with a path toward strategic architectural guidance across projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field with at least 5 years in systems or enterprise architecture.
• Experience in NASA JPL environment or comparable federal mission systems.
• Ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance.
• Strong communication and leadership in multi‑stakeholder environments.

Responsibilities

• Engage with NASA customers and internal teams to define requirements and objectives.
• Lead enterprise architectures aligned with NASA policies and standards.
• Oversee system design, integration, and risk management.
• Develop documentation, roadmaps, and performance metrics.

Skills

Systems architecture

Enterprise architecture

Technical leadership

Public Trust clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

ServiceNow

Job description

Job Description:

GDIT is seeking an experienced Systems Architect to support our NASA Business Area in designing, developing, and overseeing enterprise‑level architecture solutions across our expanding NASA portfolio.

GDIT is your place to make meaningful contributions to mission‑critical federal programs and build a rewarding technical career. The Systems Architect will play a central role in creating integrated, scalable, and secure solutions that support NASA’s JPL enterprise IT services. This includes 24x7 operations environments, advanced AI‑enabled tools, end‑user services, cloud technologies, cybersecurity capabilities, and coordinated engineering and IT Service Management (ITSM) resources.

As a Systems Architect supporting this opportunity, you will deliver technical leadership, architectural guidance, and strategic vision to ensure that system architectures are robust, scalable, interoperable, and aligned with program objectives, program constraints and applicable to NASA standards. You will help shape GDIT’s NASA account by aligning customer priorities, driving innovation, and ensuring technical solutions meet NASA’s mission, enterprise, and security requirements. This position will ensure that system designs follow industry best practices, federal standards, and NASA’s evolving digital transformation objectives.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned Systems Architect with prior experience supporting NASA JPL or similar federal environments. The candidate must demonstrate expertise in systems integration, enterprise architecture, cloud and infrastructure design, technical leadership, and delivering complex solutions in fast‑paced, multi‑stakeholder environments. Exceptional communication skills are essential to convey technical concepts to both engineers and non‑technical stakeholders.

In this Systems Architect role, you will be responsible for designing and guiding GDIT’s solution architectures while ensuring compliance with Federal, NIST, and NASA requirements. You must be able to navigate complex challenges, create clear architectural strategies, provide technical leadership for architecture reviews, design reviews, technical interchange meetings and major engineering decision processes. You must be able to build trusted relationships with internal and customer stakeholders.

Responsibilities Include:

Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

• Engage with NASA customers, mission partners, and internal teams to understand requirements, constraints, and mission objectives.
• Clearly communicate architectural decisions, tradeoffs, and solution approaches to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Build trust by consistently delivering thoughtful, scalable, and high‑quality architectural recommendations.

Strategic Architectural Leadership

• Lead the development and implementation of enterprise architectures aligned with NASA policies, standards, and long‑term strategic goals.
• Apply a consultative approach to analyze complex technical challenges and recommend future‑ready solutions.
• Drive innovation by evaluating emerging technologies, modernizing legacy environments, and aligning capabilities to NASA’s digital transformation initiatives.

System Design and Integration

• Develop, integrate and maintain end‑to‑end enterprise system architectures, including system designs, integration patterns, data flows, and infrastructure models.
• Oversee and validate system design and implementation across development, operations, and engineering teams.
• Identify and address system risks, gaps, and dependencies; ensure architectures support resilience, scalability, and performance.

Technical Quality, Compliance, and Oversight

• Ensure all architectures comply with NASA, NIST, federal IT, and cybersecurity standards.
• Develop architectural documentation including diagrams, roadmaps, specifications, and interface definitions.
• Track performance, technical metrics, and architectural alignment across projects, delivering data‑driven insights and recommendations.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and determine their applicability to future program and system architectures.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five (5) years of experience in systems architecture, enterprise architecture, or technical leadership roles.
• Extensive experience in the NASA JPL environment, or comparable federal mission systems, including solution design tailored to NASA JPL requirements.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences and lead technical discussions.
• Proven experience leading technical teams, guiding development and engineering teams, and mentoring staff in architectural practices.
• Experience designing and managing system architectures, creating diagrams and technical documentation, and tracking architecture performance.
• Demonstrated experience implementing modern technologies, integrating legacy systems, and driving innovation in enterprise environments.
• Ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with ServiceNow

Please Note:

• Work visa sponsorship will not be provided for this position.
• Work will be on‑site in Pasadena, CA and candidates must reside in the area. No relocation assistance will be provided.

The likely salary range for this position is $147,292 - $199,278. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.

Total Rewards at GDIT:

Our benefits package for all US‑based employees includes a variety of medical plan options, some with Health Savings Accounts, dental plan options, a vision plan, and a 401(k) plan offering the ability to contribute both pre and post‑tax dollars up to the IRS annual limits and receive a company match. To encourage work/life balance, GDIT offers employees full flex work weeks where possible and a variety of paid time off plans, including vacation, sick and personal time, holidays, paid parental, military, bereavement and jury duty leave. To ensure our employees are able to protect their income, other offerings such as short and long‑term disability benefits, life, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness and business travel and accident insurance are provided or available. We regularly review our Total Rewards package to ensure our offerings are competitive and reflect what our employees have told us they value most.

Our Identity Verification Process:

As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during virtual interviews. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud. By proceeding, you authorize the collection, processing, and use of your biometric data for identity verification and security purposes.

About Our Work:

We are GDIT. A global technology and professional services company that delivers technology solutions and mission services to every major agency across the U.S. government, defense and intelligence community. Our 26,000 experts extract the power of technology to create immediate value and deliver solutions at the edge of innovation. We operate across 50+ countries worldwide, offering leading mission-ready capabilities in AI, cloud, cyber and software development.

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Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans