Systems Engineer - Cloud/Networking/Storage/Automation (TS/SCI w/ Poly)

Leading Path Consulting; Warrenton (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Leading Path Consulting seeks a hands-on Systems Engineer with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystems spanning cloud and on‑premises environments. You will analyze current systems, document architectures, design future solutions, and implement transformations end‑to‑end.

The role requires collaboration across infrastructure, platform, application, DevSecOps, information systems security, and data teams while owning reliability, performance, scalability, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum ten years of hands-on systems engineering experience.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, OS, middleware, databases, and apps.
• Analyze and document as-is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures.
• Design to-be architectures and detailed engineering designs for modernization and transformation.
• Lead cloud and on-prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades.
• Ensure availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance.
• Integrate infrastructure with DevOps/DevSecOps pipelines.
• Troubleshoot cross-stack issues spanning infra, platforms, and apps.
• Produce technical documentation, diagrams, and runbooks.

Skills

Enterprise networking

Storage technologies

Virtualization

Container platforms

Windows administration

Linux administration

Data platforms

Cloud platforms

Hybrid / on‑prem design

Databases

ETL pipelines

APIs / web services

SDLC fundamentals

Infrastructure as Code

Scripting

CI/CD

Security hardening

Monitoring

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field

Tools

VMware

Hyper‑V

Kubernetes

Docker

PowerShell

Terraform

Ansible

CloudFormation

Jenkins

GitLab CI/CD

GitHub Actions

Prometheus

Grafana

Splunk

Job description

We are seeking a hands-on Systems Engineer with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystem 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 achiever 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 a related technical discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience

Minimum ten (10) years of related systems engineering experience

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

The candidate must demonstrate hands-on experience in all the following areas:

Infrastructure & Platforms

• Enterprise networking (e.g. routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, DNS)
• Storage technologies (e.g. SAN, NAS, object storage)
• Virtualization and container platforms (VMware, Hyper‑V, Kubernetes, Docker)
• Windows and Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)
• Data platforms (HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)

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
• Data platforms (HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)
• Data pipelines, and ETL frameworks – with ETL pipelines, Airflow, Kafka, Spark, or similar frameworks
• Web services, APIs, and middleware
• Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals

Engineering & Automation

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

Architecture & Design

• Ability to create:
• As-is architecture documentation
• To-be architecture and detailed engineering designs
• Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED SKILLS

• Observability and monitoring tools (logging, metrics, tracing)
• Zero Trust and modern security architectures
• Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure
• Experience supporting regulated or mission‑critical environments
• Relevant certifications (cloud, systems, security, or architecture)
• Knowledge of machine learning platforms (TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)
• Familiarity with big data ecosystems (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
• Design to‑be architectures and detailed 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

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

*Eligible TS/SCI w/ FS Poly

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!