Systems Engineer

Cornerstone Defense LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(K) plan with company match

Tuition and training assistance

Paid vacation/leave

Fitness reimbursement program

Job summary

Cornerstone Defense LLC in Sunnyvale, California is seeking Systems Engineers to support mission-critical systems. This position requires strong skills in systems administration, cybersecurity, and collaborative teamwork.

The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor's degree, relevant experience, and an active Secret clearance. The role offers a competitive salary range of $100k to $130k, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for professional growth.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in systems engineering or equivalent.
• Active Secret clearance required; must obtain Top Secret.
• Security+ certification required or ability to obtain.

Responsibilities

• Provide systems administration and help desk support for multiple environments.
• Develop and implement cybersecurity solutions to ensure compliance.
• Monitor system usage, network performance, and virtual environments.

Skills

Systems administration

Cybersecurity principles

Configuration management (CM) tools

Problem-solving ability

Adaptability

Willingness to learn

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or related field

Equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience

Tools

Jira

Job description

Overview

Title: Systems Engineer
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Security Clearance: Secret Required to start (Will eventually have to get Top Secret)
Salary: $100k - $130k
Work Schedule: Onsite | 9/80 work schedule | Department-wide team Fridays with social events
Contract Duration: 6+ months, with potential extensions tied to R&D contract awards

Company Overview: Cornerstone Defense is the Employer of Choice within the Intelligence, Defense, and Space communities of the U.S. Government. Realizing early on that our most prized assets are our employees, we continually focus our attention on improving the overall work/life experience they have supporting the mission. Our Team is pushed every day to use their industry leading knowledge to provide end-to-end solutions to combat our nation’s toughest and most secure problems. If you are looking for a place to not only be professionally challenged, but encouraged and supported by a company that cares, don’t look any further than Cornerstone Defense.

Position Overview: We are seeking Systems Engineers at varying experience levels (Junior level through experienced) to support mission-critical systems in a dynamic environment. This role blends systems administration, configuration management, cybersecurity, and engineering support across sustainment and development environments. Candidates will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure system reliability, compliance, and performance. Junior-level candidates may receive close supervision while learning and applying technical principles, theories, and concepts. More experienced candidates will operate with greater independence, developing solutions to moderately complex problems and collaborating across engineering disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Provide systems administration and help desk support for multiple environments, including Windows, Solaris, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and other operating systems.
• Perform configuration management, data management, and software builds using CM tools.
• Develop, implement, and monitor cybersecurity solutions to ensure compliance with security policies and RMF requirements.
• Install, update, and patch software; troubleshoot and resolve system issues.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation (e.g., Version Description Documents, job aides).
• Participate in Agile activities, digital transformation initiatives, and CDRL preparations.
• Generate, track, and document program and system performance metrics.
• Provide program-wide information system support, including troubleshooting and remediation.
• Travel to remote sites as required.

Additional Duties

• Conduct safe and media audits; manage, control, label, and ship classified/unclassified media.
• Perform Restricted Data (RD) scans; baseline new and existing documents in SharePoint.
• Utilize project management tools (e.g., Jira) to manage workflows.
• Develop and apply automation scripts to streamline processes.
• Monitor system usage, network performance, and virtual environments.
• Ensure compliance with configuration management processes; apply OS updates, antivirus solutions, and WSUS patching.
• Troubleshoot VMS and Solaris issues; execute and monitor system backups.
• Conduct COTS software assessments; maintain SCAP/STIGS compliance tools.

Qualifications

• Education & Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or related field with 2+ years of experience, or
• Advanced degree with 2+ years of experience, or
• Equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience.
• Non-exempt personnel may qualify with appropriate education and/or specialized training plus 2–7+ years of experience.

• Technical Skills: Familiarity with systems administration, cybersecurity principles, and CM tools.
• Soft Skills: Strong problem-solving ability, adaptability, and willingness to learn.
• Clearance: Active Secret clearance required; must be able to obtain Top Secret.
• Certifications: Security+ required (or ability to obtain within a set timeframe).

Company Benefits

Cornerstone Defense offers a comprehensive list of benefits, designed to give employees and their families several options to choose from when selecting benefits that best fit their needs. These offerings include not only a full suite of the traditional Medical/Dental/Vision insurances, but also a number of other benefits and perks to include, but not limited to: a 401(K) plan with a company match, tuition and training assistances, paid vacation/leave, a fitness reimbursement program, college savings plan, commuter benefits, financial advisory services, flex spending accounts, health savings accounts, STD/LTD coverage, life and AD&D insurance, employee assistance programs, life financial planning assistance, and legal resources.