Systems Engineer - Level 4 (TS/SCI Clearance with Full Scope Polygraph)

Zohorecruit; Elkridge (MD); On-site; USD 138,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental, Vision Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

PTO and Holidays

401(k) Retirement Plan with Company-Mq

Job summary

Zohorecruit seeks a Systems Engineer Level 4 in Elkridge, MD to drive high-level architecture and platform modernization for defense/intelligence systems.

You will lead architectural trade-offs, support cloud/DevOps initiatives, and integrate AI/ML capabilities into secure environments, collaborating across teams and with customers.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph dated within the last 5 years.
• Senior systems engineering with substantial defense/Intel domain experience.
• Strong architectural design and cross-domain collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Architect and integrate large-scale systems across lifecycle phases.
• Engage multi-disciplinary teams and stakeholders to define baselines.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement modernization solutions.
• Collaborate on cloud, platform design, and MLOps/DevOps pipelines.
• Ensure architectures meet classified security standards and IA mandates.
• Support data workflows, data lifecycle management, and interoperability.

Skills

AI/ML design

ML pipeline

Cloud architecture

DevOps/MLOps

System integration

Education

Master’s degree in Engineering

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Ph.D. in Engineering

High School Diploma + 14+ years experience

Tools

AWS

Amazon SageMaker

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Systems Engineer - Level 4 (TS/SCI Clearance with Full Scope Polygraph)

Elkridge, United States | Posted on 10/01/2026

Clearance Requirement: Active TS/SCI with Polygraph (CI Polygraph within the last 5 years)

Salary Range: $138,000 – $167,000 / year (dependent on experience, education, and skill set)

About the Role

Seeking a senior Systems Engineer (Level 4) to drive high-level system architecture, platform modernization, and technical integration for mission-critical defense and intelligence systems in Elkridge, MD.

In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional technical teams and customer stakeholders to translate complex mission requirements into scalable, secure system designs. You will lead architectural trade-off evaluations, support cloud and platform engineering initiatives, and help integrate emerging capabilities—including AI/ML workflows and automated pipelines—into secure operational environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, analyze, and integrate complex, large-scale systems across all phases of the systems engineering lifecycle.
• Proactively engage with multi-disciplinary engineering teams and customer stakeholders to capture requirements, define technical baselines, and inform system architecture decisions.
• Evaluate system performance, identify architectural bottlenecks, and implement modernization solutions.
• Collaborate on cloud engineering, platform design, and MLOps/DevOps pipeline integrations.
• Ensure system architectures and network configurations strictly adhere to classified security standards and information assurance mandates.
• Support data engineering workflows, data lifecycle management, and end-to-end system interoperability.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Security Clearance

Active TS/SCI with a current Polygraph (Counterintelligence / CI Polygraph dated within the last 5 years).

Education & Experience

High School Diploma / GED plus at least 14 years of general systems engineering experience, OR

Bachelor’s degree in a Qualified Engineering Field or related discipline plus at least 10 years of systems engineering experience, OR

Master’s degree in a Qualified Engineering Field or related discipline plus at least 8 years of systems engineering experience, OR

Ph.D. in a Qualified Engineering Field or related discipline plus at least 8 years of systems engineering experience.

Core Competencies

Proven track record in complex systems engineering, requirement synthesis, baseline management, and stakeholder technical communication.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with Cloud Architecture, Cloud Engineering, or Platform Engineering (specifically within AWS).
• Background in AI/ML system design, implementation, and a strong understanding of the AI lifecycle (development, training, inference, monitoring).
• Hands-on experience with ML pipeline development, model deployment, DevOps/MLOps practices, and Amazon SageMaker.
• Expertise in classified systems security engineering, secure network implementation, and data lifecycle management.

Benefits & Compensation

• Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Basic Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Tuition Reimbursement for continued education and professional certifications

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.