Systems Architect - TS/SCI w/ Poly required

Leading Path Consulting; Illinois; On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully paid medical/dental/vision

Generous PTO

11 Paid Holidays

6% 401K contribution

Annual training and tuition reimburse

SPOT Award bonuses

Job summary

Leading Path is seeking a hands‑on Systems Architect to lead end‑to‑end infrastructure, platform, and application transformations across cloud and on‑prem environments. You will own system reliability, performance, security, and scalability while collaborating with infrastructure, platform, DevSecOps, data, and security teams.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience, a technical leadership mindset, and a track record of delivering complex architectural designs and modernization programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT or related discipline.
• Minimum ten (10) years of related experience.
• Hands-on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, OS, middleware, databases, and applications.
• Ability to document as‑is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures.
• Lead and execute cloud and on‑prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands‑on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, OS, middleware, databases, and applications.
• Analyze and document as‑is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures.
• Create detail engineering designs for modernization, optimization, and transformation initiatives.
• Lead and execute cloud and on‑prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades.
• Ensure availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance of systems.
• Integrate infrastructure and platforms with DevOps and DevSecOps pipelines.
• Troubleshoot complex, cross‑stack issues across infra, platforms and apps.

Skills

Enterprise networking

Storage tech

Container platforms

Linux admin

PKI authN/AuthZ

Cloud platforms

Hybrid/on-prem design

Cloud security & cost

Relational DBs

NoSQL DBs

Web services & APIs

SDLC fundamentals

Messaging systems

IaC & Automation

Scripting (PowerShell/Python/Bash)

CI/CD with infra

Security hardening

Monitoring & IR

As‑is & To‑be architectures

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT or related

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Terraform

Ansible

CloudFormation

Job description

We are seeking a hands‑on Systems Architect (SME) with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystems spanning cloud and on‑premises environments. This role requires a proven practitioner who can analyze existing (“as‑is”) systems and applications, document current state architectures, design future‑state solutions, and implement system enhancements or technology transformations end‑to‑end.

The ideal candidate is a technical leader and doer, not just an advisor – someone who can seamlessly collaborate across infrastructure, platform, application, DevSecOps, information systems security, and data teams while maintaining ownership of system reliability, performance, scalability, and security.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT or related technical discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience.

Minimum ten (10) years of related experience

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

Infrastructure & Platforms

• Enterprise networking (e.g., routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, DNS)
• Storage technologies (e.g., SAN, NAS, object storage)
• Container platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker)
• Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)
• IdAM – Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) hands‑on for AuthN and AuthZ

Cloud & On-Prem Technologies

• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)
• Hybrid and on‑prem infrastructure design and integration
• Cloud networking, identity, security, and cost optimization

Data & Application Platforms

• Relational and NoSQL databases – relational (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, Redis) databases
• Web services, APIs, and middleware
• Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals
• Event‑based messaging systems (e.g., SQS, SNS, RabbitMQ)

Engineering & Automation

• Infrastructure as Code – Scripting & Automation: Python, Bash, PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation
• Configuration management and scripting (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python, etc.)
• CI/CD integration with infrastructure and platforms (e.g., Jenkins, Gitlab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, GitOps, ArgoCD)
• Security best practices and system hardening
• Monitoring & Incident Response: Proficiency with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, ELK Stack, CloudWatch

Architecture & Design

Ability to create:

• o As-is architecture documentation
• o To-be architecture and detailed engineering designs
• o Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

• Observability and monitoring tools (e.g., logging, metrics, tracing)
• Zero Trust and modern security architectures
• Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure
• Experience supporting production or mission‑critical environments
• Relevant certifications (e.g., cloud, systems, security, or architecture)
• Knowledge of machine learning platforms (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)
• Familiarity with big data ecosystems (e.g., Hadoop, Databricks, Snowflake, Google, BigQuery)
• Strong background in ITIL processes and agile methodologies
• Certifications: AWS Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer, Azure Administrator, Kubernetes CKA/CKAD, ITIL

Foundation

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform hands‑on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, operating systems, middleware, databases, and applications
• Analyze and document as‑is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures
• Work with the System Architect and Cloud Architect to create the detail engineering designs for modernization, optimization, and transformation initiatives
• Lead and execute cloud and on‑prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades
• Ensure systems meet availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance requirements
• Integrate infrastructure and platforms with DevOps and DevSecOps pipelines
• Troubleshoot complex, cross‑stack issues spanning infrastructure, platforms, and applications
• Collaborate effectively with:
• Infrastructure & Platform Engineers
• Software Engineers
• DevOps / DevSecOps Engineers
• Data Engineers (ETL)
• Data Modelers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts
• Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, standards, and runbooks
• Serve as a technical authority and escalation point for complex system issues
• Communication Skills:
• Ability to brief executives clearly and translate technical issues into business impact
• Ability to work across organizations (internal and IC) to implement complex solutions

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Recognized SME with deep, hands‑on technical expertise
• Strong systems thinker with the ability to see and engineer across the full stack
• Comfortable operating at both strategic architecture and tactical implementation levels
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non‑technical teams
• Proven ability to own complex systems from design through production

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT or related technical discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience.

Minimum ten (10) years of related experience

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

Infrastructure & Platforms

• Enterprise networking (e.g., routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, DNS)
• Storage technologies (e.g., SAN, NAS, object storage)
• Container platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker)
• Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)
• IdAM – Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) hands‑on for AuthN and AuthZ

Cloud & On-Prem Technologies

• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)
• Hybrid and on‑prem infrastructure design and integration
• Cloud networking, identity, security, and cost optimization

Data & Application Platforms

• Relational and NoSQL databases – relational (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, Redis) databases
• Web services, APIs, and middleware
• Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals
• Event‑based messaging systems (e.g., SQS, SNS, RabbitMQ)

Engineering & Automation

• Infrastructure as Code – Scripting & Automation: Python, Bash, PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation
• Configuration management and scripting (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python, etc.)
• CI/CD integration with infrastructure and platforms (e.g., Jenkins, Gitlab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, GitOps, ArgoCD)
• Security best practices and system hardening
• Monitoring & Incident Response: Proficiency with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, ELK Stack, CloudWatch

Architecture & Design

Ability to create:

• o As‑is architecture documentation
• o To‑be architecture and detailed engineering designs
• o Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

• Observability and monitoring tools (e.g., logging, metrics, tracing)
• Zero Trust and modern security architectures
• Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure
• Experience supporting production or mission‑critical environments
• Relevant certifications (e.g., cloud, systems, security, or architecture)
• Knowledge of machine learning platforms (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)
• Familiarity with big data ecosystems (e.g., Hadoop, Databricks, Snowflake, Google, BigQuery)
• Strong background in ITIL processes and agile methodologies
• Certifications: AWS Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer, Azure Administrator, Kubernetes CKA/CKAD, ITIL

Foundation

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform hands‑on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, operating systems, middleware, databases, and applications
• Analyze and document as‑is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures
• Work with the System Architect and Cloud Architect to create the detail engineering designs for modernization, optimization, and transformation initiatives
• Lead and execute cloud and on‑prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades
• Ensure systems meet availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance requirements
• Integrate infrastructure and platforms with DevOps and DevSecOps pipelines
• Troubleshoot complex, cross‑stack issues spanning infrastructure, platforms, and applications
• Collaborate effectively with:
• Infrastructure & Platform Engineers
• Software Engineers
• DevOps / DevSecOps Engineers
• Data Engineers (ETL)
• Data Modelers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts
• Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, standards, and runbooks
• Serve as a technical authority and escalation point for complex system issues
• Communication Skills:
• Ability to brief executives clearly and translate technical issues into business impact
• Ability to work across organizations (internal and IC) to implement complex solutions

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Recognized SME with deep, hands‑on technical expertise
• Strong systems thinker with the ability to see and engineer across the full stack
• Comfortable operating at both strategic architecture and tactical implementation levels
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non‑technical teams
• Proven ability to own complex systems from design through production

Leading Path is an award‑winning Information Technology and Management Consulting firm focused on providing solutions in process, technology, and operations to our government and Fortune 500 clients. We offer a professional and family friendly work environment with a strong work‑life balance. Leading Path provides a comprehensive and competitive benefits package including fully paid medical/dental/vision premiums, generous PTO, 11 Paid Holidays, 6% 401K contribution, annual training and tuition reimbursement, SPOT Award bonuses, regular team events, opportunities for professional growth and advancement and much more!